I was browsing through Amazon.com and came across this note by the author of "The Sicilian Blade : The Art of Sicilian Stiletto Fighting" about his book. (Amazon Price: $13.95, if you're interested.)
"The author, Vito Quattrocchi DonVito321@aol.com , February 28, 1999
This book is dedicated to all honorable men. It was with much uncertainty that I took pen in hand to write this book. It must be clearly understood that the principles of Sicilian Stiletto fighting are deadly techniques that teach one to kill. Because of that reason, the words in this book are vulnerable to condemnation. Nevertheless an honorable purpose stands on its own merit. As long as people do violence against each other in lust, greed and ambition, violence will persist and the violent principles in this book will have a purpose. When a violent, ambitious man takes the life of another to fulfill his greed. 'The suffering of the dead mans family is incomprehensible to the outsider. The realness of this violence must be faced with the same direct approach it attacks with. This way the honorable man may stand his ground in defense of himself and his loved ones. This book is dedicated to all honorable men who stand against evil that they may save their own lives and the lives of those close to them by confidently engaging their enemy with the principles taught in this book. Keep in mind that "THE SICILIAN BLADE" is a recipe for death Use it wisely and with caution. Vito Quattrocchi CSL Knight of the Sicilian Blade."
A while back there was a thread about how to respond when people as why we study the art of violence. I think this sums it up nicely. I haven't read the book so I can't comment on it, but the author interests me.
Rick
The Why
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Bill Glasheen
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The Why
Rick
Not all who avidly study martial arts feel as this man does. But I know a few great martial artists who do. I too am fascinated by such thinking and such personalities.
Bill
Not all who avidly study martial arts feel as this man does. But I know a few great martial artists who do. I too am fascinated by such thinking and such personalities.
Bill
The Why
Another reading to ponder -- William Cassidy's preface to his work, "The Complete Book of Knifefighting." Replace his references to knife/knives and put in gun, stick, or fists... and the thought does not change.
>>Knives are remarkable instruments. They were, most certainly, among the first tools of man, and along the way they also evolved into his first weapon.
There is, indeed, a difference between a weapon and a tool, although the difference does not lie in the instrument itself.
The difference is of finer stuff than mere iron or steel. It lies in the man who uses the instrument, the way he leads his life, and the choices he makes...
This is a book about knives for killing.
I can make no excuses for killing, as there are none. The practice of killing is a matter between a man and his conscience, his respect for life, and his own understanding of right and wrong.
I write this book with a heavy heart, for in my own conscience I know the futility of its aims. To kill, and to keep on killing, is not only a means of destroying life, but a means of erasing whatever small good man has accomplished in his tunure on this planet. Yes, there is some samll good in even the worst of men. This is something we must believe, if only to go on fighting for what we call freedom.
Yet if your purpose in reading this book is to perfect the art of killing, it will not be I who points an accusing finger, nor will I question the motives behind your decision. Instead, I will only ask you to remember.
Remember well a lesson men have continued to learn since time began, and which, it seems, each man must learn for himself. Remember that a moment of reckoning must surely come -- whether that moment be as complex as the various judgements of man's laws, or as simple as life's last breath -- and in that moment you will come to the same province as the beings your have killed: fish, fowl, mammal, or man. Our knife will be of no use to you then, nor your muscle, wit, or any other fleeting prossession. the only thing left to you will be your deeds, the manner in which you walked upon the earth, the way you led your life and the choices you made.
This is not a sermon about the taking of life. this is just a brief appeal for reason and conscience. Were it not for troubled times, these words need never have been written. <<
>>Knives are remarkable instruments. They were, most certainly, among the first tools of man, and along the way they also evolved into his first weapon.
There is, indeed, a difference between a weapon and a tool, although the difference does not lie in the instrument itself.
The difference is of finer stuff than mere iron or steel. It lies in the man who uses the instrument, the way he leads his life, and the choices he makes...
This is a book about knives for killing.
I can make no excuses for killing, as there are none. The practice of killing is a matter between a man and his conscience, his respect for life, and his own understanding of right and wrong.
I write this book with a heavy heart, for in my own conscience I know the futility of its aims. To kill, and to keep on killing, is not only a means of destroying life, but a means of erasing whatever small good man has accomplished in his tunure on this planet. Yes, there is some samll good in even the worst of men. This is something we must believe, if only to go on fighting for what we call freedom.
Yet if your purpose in reading this book is to perfect the art of killing, it will not be I who points an accusing finger, nor will I question the motives behind your decision. Instead, I will only ask you to remember.
Remember well a lesson men have continued to learn since time began, and which, it seems, each man must learn for himself. Remember that a moment of reckoning must surely come -- whether that moment be as complex as the various judgements of man's laws, or as simple as life's last breath -- and in that moment you will come to the same province as the beings your have killed: fish, fowl, mammal, or man. Our knife will be of no use to you then, nor your muscle, wit, or any other fleeting prossession. the only thing left to you will be your deeds, the manner in which you walked upon the earth, the way you led your life and the choices you made.
This is not a sermon about the taking of life. this is just a brief appeal for reason and conscience. Were it not for troubled times, these words need never have been written. <<
