Persian Archery and Swordmanship is one of those books where the author is present but dosn't try to persuade the readers of his own views. In other words Dr. Manouchehr Mashtagh Khorasani presents his
material as it can be found it in the Persian literature and the illustrations therein. As it is mentioned in one of the forewords his book therefore can serve as an introduction for the enthusiast as well as a reference source for researchers.
In 9 chapter Dr. Khorasani describes varous items, that are essential for the Persian martial arts: code of chivalry, archery, mounted combat, spears and lances, swords, maces and axes, knives and daggers, short swords (qame & qaddare) and wrestling.
Compared to contemporary books about historical european martial arts this book is clearly centered on the historical sources, which means, that Dr. Khorasani shows the application of the techiques in photographs, but there is no "didactic" presentation with lessons. The seasoned practitioner of armed martial arts will find lots of clues for his own developement or training nonetheless, especially in the part where Dr. Korasani shows how wrestling techniques can be applied to armed combat for training and war.
Most interesting besides those insights into a fighting system that is as profound and well-developed as its counterparts from Europe and the far East ist the chapter about the code of chivalry, where the tradition of the zurxane (training halls) is described, that survives until today. Here, although most weapon training was removed due to restrictions one still can see the principles of how to prepare the body (and the mind as well) for battle, gaining strenght, flexibility and speed.
There are some small setbacks in this book, as for example a few typos or errors in the layout but the overall quality is very good.
This book is a good supplement for open-minded practitioners of (western) martial arts, who want to widen their horizon, although for practical purposes a shorter, presentation of the material would be even better. It would be a delight to see the experienc of researchers and martial artists from the East and West combined to give the revitalisation of the martial arts of Persia a broader base. There is much to be learned from zurxane, sword-dances and Persian manuscripts and hopefully Dr. Khorasani will be as productive in the future as he is now.
Here is the link where you can buy the book: http://www.moshtaghkhorasani.com/biography/books/persian-archery-and-swordsmanship/
