Flowers of Battle: Medieval Martial Arts

Tue Jun 20 '17 Announcement
over 7 years ago – Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 11:28:41 AM

Hi Everyone!

So we are now one week into the campaign, and thinks continue to move at a fast clip! How fast? Here are a few stats as to what *you* have made possible:
 

Current Contributions (Noon CST, 6/20)

$25,686 USD/ of $8,000 Goal 

321% Funded

Number of Backers: 97

Total Visits:  6,444

Pretty amazing, right? So, we still have three weeks to go, and while we are funded, here is why you should still contribute:

1. The fundraiser was designed to launch Volume One, whose sales would then fund Volume Two, etc. We can now cover the print costs for Volumes One and Two, and the image rights for Volume Three. The funds from the campaign are earmarked, so the more we raise, the faster we bring the entire project to your door!

2. Quality Enhancements: As I said in our initial request, we've found a top-end printer to bring Flowers of Battle to life, and we have now hit our full-color Volume One funding stretch-goal. But we are talking to the printer about other possible quality enhancements, of which you'll hear more, from endpapers to a gloss varnish on the facsimile images, better replicating the look of a manuscript. Details as soon as we have them, but basically, the more money we have to work with, the more we can do!

3. Volume Five keeps getting bigger! This will be the subject of my next update, but now that we know we get a fifth volume, we can include all of the fencing material from the related texts, from the Von Eyb manuscript to the romantically named "Codex 5278". But perhaps most exciting of all, we have reached out to respected HEMA researcher Michael Chidester to join us on Volume Five. Founder of the Wiktenauer and coiner of the term "Blumes des Kampfes", Michael was really the first person to note the recurring, trans-Alpine appearance of Fiore's work, and seriously study it.  Together, we'll be twirling our mustachios and plotting how to make this additional volume something special. 

(Manuscript is really just called 5278. But here's what makes it so cool:

Pretty sweet right?)

That's all the big news for now. But here's a small teaser from Volume Two, courtesy of Tom Leoni:
 

To gain the grips prepared this way I stand

If you’re not fool’d, your fortune will be grand.

I’ll try, during our fight, myself to shift:

And through that shift the ground you will have kissed.

If triumph through artful means you cannot gain,

My strength, I’m sure, will cause you plenty of pain.

With well-stretch’d arms I come to you this way

Through countless means the grips on you to gain.

Thu Jun 15 '17 Announcement
over 7 years ago – Thu, Jun 15, 2017 at 10:47:29 AM

Wow! Or as Fiore might say, Dio mio!

We are not yet at a full two days of funding AND we've just hit our second stretch goal, doubling (and exceeding) our original funding request. We're...well...stunned.

Now, we are looking at the logistics of one final stretch goal, but it will take us a week or so to sort it out. In the meantime, here is what unlocking Book Five means to all of you:

All Fiore dei Liberi and Niccolo d'Este level supporters will get the fifth book as one of their perks. Boom! Four books is now five, and I guess we need to design a bigger slip-case! You don't need to do anything to your contribution, we've got ya covered.

But a number of folks have written in saying that they'd really like to have gotten the $600 perk but they were gone, Well, a deal is a deal: we can't really create more of that perk, or exceed it but...

We can make a new one! And here it is:

Rival Masters - $500
Fiore fought five duels against other masters jealous of his secrets. Now you can have them! A simple perk for the simple swordsman: all four volumes PLUS the unlocked fifth volume, PLUS your name as a Subscriber in Volume One.

I'd go into details, but really, I think it says it all! 

Thank you for the rather humbling support. I'd say more, but there is a manuscript to send to the printer.

Until next time,

Greg 

Wed Jun 14 '17 Announcement
over 7 years ago – Wed, Jun 14, 2017 at 07:42:56 AM

Wow!!! 

We went live yesterday at 3:30 PM CST, and were fully funded by 8:45 PM! That is AMAZING, and we are deeply honored and humbled by your enthusiasm and trust.

But here's even better news: only 12 hours later and we are just $800 short of our first stretch goal: making the book in full color! Not just the facsimile, but our entire front-matter. I am confident we can do that with your support.

There will be more to share later, but for now, thank you all again, from the bottom of our hearts!

Greg and Tom