A review of “Obsesseo” by Keith Farrel (Academy of Historical Arts)

Review of "Obsesseo" by David Rawlings



--------------------------
Rawlings, David.
Obsesseo.
DVD, Region 2,
London Longsword Academy,
23rd November 2011
--------------------------

"Obsesseo" is the latest DVD offering by David Rawlings and the London Longsword Academy. The above date is based on the day the DVDs were received, ready for distribution, as announced by Dave on Facebook.

The DVD looks at the I.33 manual, an early medieval manuscript from the late 13th or early 14th century that depicts combat using sword and buckler. It is not an introductory piece; no time is given to discussing how to hold the sword, how best to relate the sword and the buckler, the context of the manual, how to generate power in the strike, how to stand and step and move; instead the discussion moves immediately to what is shown in I.33 and how Dave interprets the different wards, techniques and concepts in a logical common-sense system. This is not to say that a beginner would not find this DVD useful, but it is clearly aimed at people who already understand the basics of sword and buckler and who want to look at the I.33 system in more detail.

The running time is short, just 30-40 minutes. I was expecting a slightly longer running time but I do not feel that extra time would be required. Dave manages to cover all the important points and all the plays of I.33 in this short space of time, nothing is missing. Sometimes in the manuscript the same actions are repeated again and again, shown through illustrations and text. Dave has chosen to omit many of these repetitions, merely reminding the viewer that "from this position you can do all the techniques discussed already in this DVD" in order to keep the DVD short and concise and to the point. This is another reason why the DVD would be better for more experienced practitioners, as beginners might find themselves lost due to the pace at which the presentation moves forward.

I have read on the Schola Gladiatoria forum that some people find it difficult to understand Dave when he is speaking in his previous two DVDs, and also in fact that sometimes he can be difficult to understand in person when he is speaking softly. In "Obsesseo" Dave speaks very clearly and audibly, and his explanations of what is happening is very clear and straight forward. Personally I had no difficulties at all with hearing and understanding what was being said. Just to be certain, I asked one of my foreign friends to listen to the DVD for a little while, and her opinion as a foreigner with good command of the English language was that she had no problems hearing or understanding Dave either; although she sometimes has difficulty with thicker accents such as from Liverpool or from Glasgow, the voice-over for the DVD was excellent and posed no difficulties at all.

The production is of a very high quality throughout. The audio is handled very well, with a clear voice-over and also a pleasant musical score that does not detract at all from the presentation. It fades away into the background when Dave speaks, and when it does play the volume is kept at a reasonable level, never detracting from what is happening on the screen. The audio in this DVD serves to support the visual aspects without ever disrupting the action or otherwise irritating the viewer. The visual aspects of the production are also very well done; the location is stunning, the actors perform the motions comfortably, capably and fluently without making them difficult to see for the viewer. It is almost always easy to see what is going on in the various plays - occasionally the sequence involves moving in such a fashion that an actor ends up with his back to the camera, but each action or sequence is shown from multiple angles, at full speed and in slow motion, so it is never a problem to see what is happening. Matt Galas made a comment recently on SFI that this DVD has "the best production values" he has "ever seen in a HEMA video"; high praise indeed!

The interface of the DVD is nice and simple. You can play the whole way through or you can choose to select a particular technique/sequence from the list. The terms used to describe the different techniques and sequences are simple and straightforward, in English so that knowledge of the Latin names for the movements is not required. The only problem with the interface is that when selecting a particular section to view, to return to the main menu is a little convoluted. One must either return to the first page of the list and choose "back" or go through to the final page of the list and choose "main menu", which links to the first page of the list, whereupon "back" must be selected to return to the main menu. I have mentioned this to Dave and he is looking into changing this for the next run of the DVD so that it works more intuitively.

With regard to the contents of the presentation, I think Dave has done a spectacular job. He is recognised throughout the country as one of the best combatants and instructors for the sword and buckler style of fighting, and this DVD is a good way to follow his thought process. Every action is logical and makes sense given the circumstance. There was not a single technique explained in the DVD where I questioned Dave's interpretation, it all made sense and was demonstrated in a clear and effective manner. While of course other groups and other instructors might have a different method for how to interpret I.33, Dave's method is certainly effective and one could not go too far wrong in learning from this DVD.

I have not practiced a lot of sword and buckler yet. I have looked a little into the later styles and have read a couple of books about I.33, but have not yet had the chance to practice or learn I.33 to any extent. I know the rough theory of how I.33 works as a fighting system, and now that I have this DVD I believe that I will be able to train a number of these sequences and add them to my sword and buckler skills. This DVD is certainly a valuable resource and I am very happy to have made the purchase. I would urge anyone with an interest in sword and buckler to invest in a copy, I think it will have a lot of interesting material for everyone.

The price of "Obsesseo" is £19.99 plus shipping and it is available through Dave's online shop: http://www.londonlongsword.com/dvds.html
-- Keith Farrell --