Manual of the Baratero: The Art of Handling the Navaja, the Knife, and the Scissors of the Gypsies

Manual of the Baratero: The Art of Handling the Navaja, the Knife, and the Scissors of the Gypsies. James Loriega. Paladin Press. 2005. This is the oldest manual on Spanish knife fighting ever published and is the only know historical text on the subject. This annotated translation provides a window to the methods of knife fighting practiced by the working class, the criminal class and the Gypsies in 19th century Spain. With original drawings, it offers a revealing glimpse into the ways in which armas blancas cortas, or small edged weapons, were used on the dark and grimy cobblestone streets of the Spanish underworld.