This is the last episode for a while- I'm off to the states on Wednesday, and will be way too busy going round the Met and teaching at Lord Baltimore's Challenge to be fiddling about with video cameras. The next episode should be out in a couple of weeks though, and will address follow-ups to my concussion video.

Today's episode has me answering some quite tricky questions about tournaments, and some more straightforward ones about, for instance, how to train your neck.

Here's the video:

https://youtu.be/I21Wz-8lHuo

Shownotes

The Sports Gene: https://amzn.to/2xgcPxf

Bounce: https://amzn.to/2xgBbH5

The Swordsman’s Companion: https://guywindsor.net/blog/book/the-swordsmans-companion/

Secrets of Medieval German Swordsmanship: https://amzn.to/2FDumnQ

Concussion edition of Ask the Sword Guy: https://youtu.be/5SkaBEdgDxo

Hi

today's questions are:

Joe Propati's series of questions continue….

1. Since Knights trained their whole life to become masters of the sword, were there any individuals who stood out as the Grand masters of the sword above everyone else in the world and who were they?
2. Did Squires and Knights learn sword play by physical lessons alone or did they also learn through manuscript?
3. Were there instructors during the time period that were Grand masters or individuals that were sought out do to their fame or standing?  Did Knights and Squires traveled to these individuals for special sword training?
4. How long did it take a Knight to become a master or proficient at the long sword?
5. Were Knights taught lethal and non-lethal tactics with the sword or just lethal tactics?
6. If a Knight learned to use a Katana instead of a long sword, how different would the tactics of battle be with two Knights in armor?

Then we have:

What are your thoughts on other historically inspired fighting, eg SCA heavy, rapier, hmb or nvg,

-Nikephoros from lochac

Then Luke from Cyprus asks,

what's the most common situation for a soldier to use a hand and a half sword?

By that I mean, sword and shield was a common deployed combo at one point, but mostly sword were sidearms, right? Would they be carried to war with their spears? If so how?

And a couple of questions regarding my pattern-welded longsword:

What makes your sword with the pattern welded blade cut really well, and can you show some close up images of it?

Thank you,

Brijn, Colorado

And Douglas asks:

I have a question. On your recently published Q&A related to the horse sized duck, you mentioned your pattern welded long sword as being the tool (asides from a light sabre) that you would use. My question is, are pattern welded swords genuinely sharper and more hard wearing than a “normal” modern forged high carbon steel blade? I am looking to buy my first sharp and would like it to be the best and loveliest that I can currently afford / justify and whether to go for a pattern welded blade or not is definitely a factor I am considering.

And finally Robin asks:

1) Obviously you've written and published quite a lot of material on historical martial arts. Have you considered, or *would* you consider, doing something about more fantastic fighting? “A Dungeons and Dragon's Guide to Combat” or something like that? Whether it be purely speculative or aimed at cosplayers/fantasy recreationists/whatever. And yes, this question is inspired by the duck horse question from last time.

2) Do you have a coat of arms, and would you be willing to show it on the video?

3) I didn't realize that you – as you put it – came from an antiques restoration career. Do you still restore old weapons (or old furniture) in your free time?

Here's the video:

https://youtu.be/i4RS3AGSggw

Shownotes:

Updated: Solo Training Course, only $20 during the Corona crisis https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/solo-training/

The Unconquered Knight: A Chronicle of the Deeds of Don Pero Niño, Count of Buelna: https://amzn.to/31FltU6

Christian Cameron’s the Ill-Made Knight series. https://amzn.to/2J9nqzo

Training with sharps AMA video: https://youtu.be/boOVVT9qUxY

Training with Sharp Swords: article on the CFAA blog: https://chivalricfighting.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/why-you-should-train-with-sharp-swords-and-how-to-go-about-it-without-killing-anyone/

My craft blog: http://shinysharpthings.blogspot.com

Which do you prefer- sausage or spaghetti? Mercedes or Ferrari?

Today's questions were:

This is Matthew in Michigan and I'm curious about the why one might choose to study longsword from the German tradition over the Italian tradition, and vice/versa?

Thank you for undertaking this venture and for your ongoing support of the martial arts community.

And

I've got a question! I'm a German longsword student, so in watching your materials one of the things that always strikes me is the Italian preference for double-time actions, as compared to the more single-time focus of the German tradition. So, can you hold forth on that a bit? Why does the Italian tradition embrace double-time and the German tradition eschew it? I can imagine all sorts of reasons why the traditions might have diverged in this way (weapon size, differences in use of space, etc.) but I'm interested in your take on the topic generally.

And

Given that Fiore mostly describes plays at the crossings, how do you approach fights with more percussive fighters who actively avoid the bind? When you're training folks for that, do you look to the guards and strikes part of the manual for this kind of thing? Or is there another part of the manual you think adequately preps people to fight from out-of-measure into gioco largo?

Also: what's your favorite response to a roverso Zwerchau (god that feels weird to type)

Appreciate your work!

Tony

There is one more question, regarding herrings and trousers. And a blooper at the very end. Here's the video:

https://youtu.be/equ9q41Eync

Enjoy!

Shownotes:

Audatia decks on DriveThruCards: https://www.drivethrucards.com/browse.php?keywords=audatia

Training for Foresight: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2016/04/seeing-the-future-training-foresight/

The Medieval Longsword Complete Course: https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/the-medieval-longsword-course

Guards part 1: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2019/02/the-fiore-translation-project-11-the-guards-of-the-sword-part-1-of-3/

Guards part 2: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2019/02/the-fiore-translation-project-12-the-guards-part-2-of-3/

Guards part 3: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2019/03/the-fiore-translation-project-13-the-guards-part-3-of-3/

The Fiore Translation Project #14 The Guards summary: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2019/03/the-fiore-translation-project-14-the-guards-summary/

Size Matters: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2012/08/size-matters/

Fiore Facsimile (the closest you can get to owning the manuscript): https://amzn.to/2MOowWH

This week only discount on the Solo Training Course https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/solo-training/?product_id=1182611&coupon_code=PRELAUNCHMADNESS

In today's video I discuss the problem of mismatched weapons. Swords versus spears, rapiers versus halberds, and so on.

The questions were:

Thanks for taking questions. I've been reading your books for a long time and have more than a few but I'll stick with two recent ones.

1) I've seen a lot of HEMA practitioners on YouTube confidently declare that a quarterstaff or polearm beats a sword hands-down. However, every demo I've seen is with blunt training swords where the bind of blade against shaft is really more of a bounce. I'm wondering if the swordsman's chances improve when a sharp edge binds with a wooden shaft to potentially buy an instant to close distance under cover. Have you ever tested this, and if so what is your prognosis?

Also 1) Some Spanish and Italian treatises show training forms for using two swords (seems to be strictly self-defense or bodyguard scenarios), and I'm wondering if you know how someone carries and draws two swords? I thought maybe it is a “case of rapiers” but the forms seem to favor cuts, so I assume that they are side swords. I'm confused.

Jason from Maine

And:

My question is why is there so little material out there about sword vs spear – given the historical prevalence of both spear and swords in historical battle surely there must be treatises / techniques for these two weapons to match off against each other?

I am happy to be identified – Johan from Sword-Point College of Arms in Perth Western Australia.

And:

Im very interested in mixed weapon sparring as i find it makes me think more about my opponent, since we are not using the same weapon i cant assume their limitations based on my own with the rapier and i need to make more fluid adjustments to my style.

What are the other contemporary weapons that could be tested against rapier, both singly and paired with an offhand tool?

Not anonymous, Evan, Australia

Here it is:

https://youtu.be/PRu4jb6HKMg

Shownotes:

Mixed weapons in episode 1:

https://youtu.be/V3i18qzPgEo

Dagger v sword post: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2019/06/fiore-translation-project-20-defending-with-the-dagger-against-the-sword/

My Fabris on Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/l/xgWFH

I have had a few questions regarding training children coming in, such as this one:

Here’s a question- there are a lot of potentially unscrupulous martial arts clubs out there who’ll give a 5-year-old a black belt if their parents cough up enough cash, but most historical fencing clubs I’ve come across have a lower age limit of 18, so if insurance wasn’t an issue, what is the youngest age of student you’d consider starting to teach historical fencing? As a follow-up, do you have any suggestions for sword-related activities for younger children beyond swinging sticks around with gay abandon?

Best wishes,

Alex

And this one:

I should perhaps provide some back ground to my questions as it might help clarify what I am asking. I've been practicing sword work (entirely casually) for almost 20 years but am no way near an expert. At the moment, I'm a science teacher at a small school in the UK.

My colleagues and I thought that some VERY basic sword work (using sticks with no contact etc..) might be a fun and interesting way to teach a number of science subjects to some of our 13-14 year old students. I've been able to bring in aspects of mechanical physics (balance, centre of gravity, levers, force and so on), biology (muscles, fatigue, reaction times.. ) and even some more general scientific investigations such as building and testing the affects of mock impacts using wood and clay as our human analogue. I've even managed to cover a few nods to history and sociology… Throughout, we've also tried to teach spacial and (very importantly) social awareness so the students have a respect for the class environment, their role within it and how their actions impact on others. I should clarify as well that we don't teach GCSEs at this school so our hands are fortunately not tied to prescriptive teaching methods.

SO.. my first question is this:

If you were teaching VERY BASIC swordsmanship to teenagers in a school, what sort of wider skills and disciplines do you think they could (or should be able to) reasonably write on their C.V.s as a result of the training? And how would you go about introducing these things? (take as long as you need to get the training done but assume, while they are engaged with the training as it takes place that this is not something they intend to pursue in the long run).

I have answered them to the best of my ability here:

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/349411990

(There are no shownotes for this video)

Today's episode has just one question:

What is your opinion on the force levels in HEMA. Especially in regards to the research into the cumulative effects of repeated sub-concussive hits to the head. It seems there are no end of people reporting broken swords or bashed in helmets and I do not believe HEMA is that different or special from other sports that feature head hits.

Here's my answer:

https://youtu.be/5SkaBEdgDxo

Here are the show notes:

Game Brain book, now Concussion: https://amzn.to/2Xewdt4

Rates of concussion in rugby players: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC155428/

In NFL players: Vox article re American Football: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/2/2/16956440/super-bowl-2019-concussion-symptoms-cte-football-nfl-brain-damage-youth

In boxing: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Concussion-rates-per-100-participants-in-combat-sports_tbl1_23665542

Blog post re head wound: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2012/05/bleeding-headwound-anyone/