A wide-ranging and detailed book about all aspects of swordsmanship, it covers:
- The Art of historical swordsmanship: what it is and how it works
- Lessons from the Art you can apply in real life
- Martial arts in general, and swordsmanship in particular
- Equipment: blunt swords, sharp swords, etc.
- How to write swordfights
- How we represented swordfighting in the card game Audatia
- How we train.
It features a foreword by the extraordinary Neal Stephenson, author of some of the best novels ever written, and who gave me the idea to write it in the first place. He wrote:
“Whether you are a writer or game-maker seeking the kind of information I sought while writing The Baroque Cycle, or just a general reader with an interest in the arts to which Guy Windsor has dedicated his career, you should find much that is rewarding in these pages.”
So what are you waiting for? Buy it now!
Reviews
Swordfighting for Writers, Game Designers, and Martial Artists has a 4.6 star rating on Amazon, from 5 reviews.
“Before Swordfighting, I was an unpracticed novice. Now I'm an educated, unpracticed novice.
Seriously, Guy Windsor's work is pretty amazing. I have never known so much about how little I know – from swords to push ups. (Check out The Little Book of Pushups, The Swordsman's Companion, etc). Totally worth the time!” Alfred.“This book is Guy Windsor's swordfighting manifesto – a combination of edited and republished blog posts and articles, as well as original material new just for the book, all of which paints a picture of what it means to be a swordfighting martial artist. It's far less of a guidebook for the audience listed on the cover (writers, game designers, and martial artists) and far more of a view inside Guy's head. In Swordfighting, Guy has put together an in-depth look at what's driven him to be a swordfighter (there's talk of mystical mountaintop revelations), the division between swordplay-as-sport and swordplay-as-martial-art (how much do you deal with the reality of taking another human being's life?), and all of the pesky details that bother swordfighters when it comes to martial arts in fiction (both on the page and on the screen).” Roland Cooper
What you will learn
Swordsmanship is a huge subject, which can be approached from lots of different angles, and be applied in many different areas of your life. Just some of the many things you can get from this book are:
- How to manage and control fear in various situations
- How to write a swordfight
- Why and how to train with sharp swords
- Examples of swordfights that actually happened
- How swordfighting can be incorporated into games
- The benefits of being a beginner.
Who should read Swordfighting for Writers, Game Designers, and Martial Artists
This book is for you if:
- You are interested in the academic side of swordsmanship
- You are interested in putting swordfights into games or books
- You would like to be less afraid
You do not need to be into actually swinging real swords around to get a lot out of this book.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Neal Stephenson
Introduction
Chapter 1: What is Swordsmanship?
Chapter 2: Lessons from the Art
Chapter 3: On Martial Arts
Chapter 4: Swords
Chapter 5: Writing Swordfights
Chapter 6: Gaming
Chapter 7: Training
About a third of the book are edited and improved versions of blogposts from here. These are some of the more popular ones:
How to spot the bullshit in any martial arts drill, and what to do about it.
Five barriers to success and my solutions to them