But heck. If you have a father-and-son team, both bearing the weighty title of "Deserving Coach of the USSR", who have a few dozen world chapionship and Olympic medals between themselves and their disciples, even the rendition into German is a step into the right direction.

If you compare the instructive output of the fencing coaches of the former East bloc and the West German schools, it quickly becomes evident that, page for page, the Commies put out the better books. Where Beck and Schirmer dabble in the mundane, the Tischlers put meat on the table.

Their sections on foil, épée, and saber are extremely well structured, with detailed instructions -- down to minute body movements of the hips, fingers etc. -- very effective and thought-through drills focusing on proprioreceptive conditioning of technical responses, as well as strategic and tactical outlines and scenarios.

The translation is competent and to the point, and apart from the cosmetics of the layout there is not a single negative thing I can think of. Again, the ancient axiom of German fencing literature holds true: Imports rule!

An English-language edition of this title was published in Moscow, and is now available from New York-based Blade Fencing Equipment Inc.