Martial Arts are literally "The Arts of Mars," the Roman god of war. For over two and a half millennia, the combat arts of Europe served the hoplite, gladiator, legionnaire, knight, duelist, boxer and wrestler on the battlefield, in duels, and in the ring. Interest in these traditions has grown dramatically over the last twenty years, bringing together a unique combination of fighters and scholars to preserve the heritage of fighting lore.

The Western Martial Arts Workshop (WMAW), founded in 1999, gave students of these martial arts the opportunity to meet, train, and exchange research. In the Service of Mars, Volume Two is both a compilation of the most popular and detailed lectures and class notes from WMAW's first decade, and a record of the growth of the Western martial arts community over the same time. From longsword to sword and buckler fencing; deadly knife-fighting to mounted combat, the martial traditions of England, Germany, Italy and Spain are all amply represented and combined with detailed, practical instruction.