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Guy frequently keeps this blog updated with thoughts, challenges, interviews and more!

Category: Learning Swordsmanship

It is standard operating procedure to write up an event review in the few days following, and blast it across the socialz. Indeed, after the awesome SwordSquatch I attended at the beginning of September, my various feeds were filled to bursting with just such posts. I was tempted to jump in then and there, but refrained because I hadn’t processed it all yet, and also on the grounds that if it’s worth writing, or worth reading, then it will still be so weeks later. There are very few fields (political commentary being one) where getting it written and published right now is essential, and being even a day late can make your writing pointless.

The event was lovely, as one would expect. There were many interesting instructors, including some I hadn’t met before (such as Maija Soderholm- with whom I actually had a short conversation in Finnish! And much longer conversations about duelling culture) and I think every attendee got their time and money’s worth, and then some. So much, so not much different to many other events out there. So let me focus on the things that made this special.

Firstly, it is far and away the most inclusive event I’ve ever been to. Not just in terms of being explicitly inclusive regarding identity (race, gender, sexuality, etc.), but also in terms of instructors, their backgrounds and experience. They have created a slot explicitly for inexperienced instructors to get some experience at event teaching under their belts. This produced some of the most interesting classes of the weekend. By far the most Renaissance thing I saw was Isaiah Baden-Payne teaching a class on Fabris’ footwork in high heels. This makes perfect sense, because duels would have been fought shod, and those shoes would usually have some pretty chunky heels on them.

A historical perfectionist might note that Isaiah wasn’t wearing early 17th century-type heels, they were wearing snazzy modern stilettos. But the point they were making was abundantly clear- footwear affects footwork, and here’s the takeaway: Fabris’s weird guard position works well, better even, in heels. And it’s easy to get hold of modern heels, much harder to get decent period gear. 

I was also thrilled to see the results of a conversation I had at last year’s Squatch with Rebecca Glass, when she told me she was memorising Liechtenauer’s zettel (mnemonic verses, the foundation of German longsword, to the point that the sources people are basing their interpretations on are almost exclusively glosses on those verses) and I got all excited about the medievalness of doing that. This year, she performed the entire thing. Sadly I was teaching a dagger class at the time, but she kindly did a preview performance for me when I was free. Memorising the zettel has to be the most medieval thing I saw all weekend. And it’s a testament to the organisers of the event that they make space for that kind of thing in the schedule, and more to the point, are themselves so approachable that Isaiah and Rebecca felt comfortable putting themselves forward and applying to run such unusual sessions.

At this event there is none of the respect for hierarchy (or even clicqeuyness) that can lead to the instructors being set apart as an exclusive club. As I’ve usually been a member of that club I’ve tended to take it for granted that that’s the way things are done, and when you’re on the inside, it’s nice. But this is better, for several reasons:

Firstly, there is a lot more interaction between groups that would not normally mix. Everyone fenced everyone, as far as I could see, and there were people crossing swords pretty much all day every day. This is good for training, good for socialisation, good for inspiration. 

Secondly, it prevents the instructors getting precious. Not that we ever would, oh no.

Thirdly, it creates a clear and transparent path for anyone who wants to teach to get started. If all the instructors have decades of experience and multiple publications, etc. etc., then it sets an expectation of ‘that’s what you need to have done to be worthy of teaching’. But it obscures the fact that those of us who have been working in HMA from the beginning were also beginners once, and when we first taught at an international event, we had probably less experience and lower skills than many of the up-and-coming young instructors. And much of what we taught back then was crap. State-of-the-art at the time, we hope, but crap by modern standards. Beginners are the future of the art- but only if there is a path for them to pursue the art along. And this goes double for those learning to teach.

I should also mention it’s the one event offering flaming tetherball as an after-hours activity, which is awesome good fun, and only looks dangerous.

Plus, Mike Lerner set up spear-throwing battleships. I cannot possibly do justice to his introduction to the game, nor the sheer exuberance with which he kept a whole lot of somewhat drunk swordspeople safe while throwing spears at targets. Yes, weapons and alcohol shouldn’t usually mix, but he did an amazing job of setting up and running the game in such a way that it really was safe. Plus, it turns out I’m quite good at throwing spears. I even won a beer!

No wonder this is the only event I’ve ever bought special underwear for. Really. These from MeUndies  encapsulate the Squatch experience.

Rainbow unicorns and stars- but also, really comfortable.

As last year, the organisers gave themselves permission to reward the sorts of behaviour they want to see more of, and during the closing ceremonies they handed out a lot of prizes, for all sorts of things. One student got a beautiful sharp sword made by Gus Trim. One of the volunteers did too. And one instructor. Me. I’m not sure why, but clearly I’ve been doing something right. 

The last time I was in Seattle, in April this year, Gus came by to visit and show me some of his latest creations. I played with them all, and he asked me which was my favourite. The slashiest, wickedest messer was the stand-out choice for me. With no less than three martles on the blade (the bit where the back edge widens out in a spur, to add mass to that bit of the cutting edge). It was gorgeous. And it was the one they gave me during the closing ceremonies. Oh my. Words failed me then, and they continue to fail me nearly a month later. It even came with a group hug. This moment was one of the highlights of my career.

So if you’re thinking about going next year, don’t think, just do it. And if you have an idea for a class, pitch it to them through their online form (all the instructors have to do that- it’s the only way to get on the roster). They won’t bite, and you’re guaranteed a supportive, welcoming, environment whether this is your first event, or your fiftieth, and whether you’re teaching, training, just watching, or all three. See you there!

One of the most stylish techniques in the system is the punta falsa, literally “false thrust”. Fiore’s instructions are very detailed:

Questo zogo si chiama punta falsa o punta curta, e si diro come la fazzo. Io mostro d’venire cum granda forza per ferir lo zugadore cum colpo mezano in la testa. E subito ch’ello fa la coverta, io fiero la sua spada lizeramente. E subito volto la spada mia de l’altra parte piglando la mia spada cum la mane mia mancha quasi al mezo. E la punta gli metto subita in la gola o in lo petto. E de miglore questo zogo in arme che senza.

This play is called the false thrust or the short thrust, and I’ll tell you how I do it. I show that I am coming with great force to strike the player with a middle blow in the head. And immediately that he makes the cover I strike his sword lightly. And immediately turn my sword to the other side, grabbing my sword with my left hand about at the middle. And I place the thrust immediately in the throat or in the chest. And this play is better in armour than without. 

This is the 17th play of the second master of the zogho largo, and so in its basic form is done as a riposte after a successful parry of the first attack (as shown by said master). It can of course be done any time there is an opening to throw the mezano feint, but let’s start out being strictly canonical. We bring this to life like so:

https://youtu.be/BkhdctzyE2g

When practising the punta falsa, there are some things to bear in mind.

  • Make sure you leave enough space to turn your sword when feinting. A small step offline with the back foot can help, when making the feint.
  • Keep the turn of the sword tight, by rotating it around the midpoint of the blade, then let the point lead you in.
  • Cross-handed pairs will find that the punta falsa only works when there is a forehand (mandritto) mezano being met by a parry on the inside of the attack. This allows the turn to half-sword, which is only mechanically possible from this situation. A left-hander will therefore need to strike the mezano to generate a parry from their opponent’s left side; right-handers need to draw a parry from the opponent’s right side.  

Incidentally, in Italian, punta can mean ‘point’ (as in the point of the sword), or ‘thrust’, depending on context. So you may find the term punta falsa translated as ‘false point’, and punta curta as ‘short point’. (or indeed, references to ‘exchanging the point’ or ‘breaking the point’). It doesn’t actually matter from an interpretation standpoint, but as a fencer, I would be more inclined to think about actions rather than parts of the sword. Where it matters are when Fiore is telling us which bit of the swords are crossed (such as in the first master of the zogho largo, crossed at the points of the swords), or where to grab the blade (see for instance the 14th play, where we should grab it ‘near the point’). This has changed over time: in modern Italian ‘a thrust’ is ‘una spinta’, while ‘point of the sword’ remains ‘la punta della spada’.

We should also think a moment about the ‘better in armour’ injunction. Why would Fiore put a play here that apparently belongs in the armoured section? As I see it, it is because firstly it can be done out of armour – it’s quite safe to do if you get it right. And secondly, this play is something that a person wearing armour when you are not might do, and as we shall shortly see, the counter works just fine out of armour. 

The next play is the last play of the zogho largo; the instruction is simplicity itself, but the action is very counterintuitive for most people.

Questo sie lo contrario del zogho ch’e me denanzi, zoe de punta falsa overo di punta curta. E questo contrario si fa per tal modo. Quando lo scolaro fieri in la mia spada, in la volta ch’ello da a la sua spada, subito io do volta a la mia per quello modo che lui da volta a la sua. Salvo che io passo ala traversa per trovar lo compagno pui discoverto. E si gli metto la punta in lo volto. E questo contrario e bono in arme e senza.

This is the counter to the play that is before me, so, the false thrust or short thrust. And this counter is done in this way. When the scholar strikes on my sword, in the turn that he makes with his sword, I immediately make a turn to mine, in the same way that he makes a turn to his. Only I also pass across to find the companion more uncovered. And I place the thrust in his face. And this counter is good in armour and without. 

The exact nature of the blade action and the relationship between the weapons was first figured out, as far as I know, by Sean Hayes at WMAW 2006. We had just attended a lecture on the manuscript given by Brian Stokes, and seen really high resolution scans for the first time- so clear that places where the manuscript had been corrected (by scraping off the original ink and redrawing a line) could be seen. The counter-remedy master’s sword was suddenly, clearly, on the inside of the player’s (the one trying to do the punta falsa). I will never forget the time about half an hour later when Sean tried out this interpretation on me, and sold it in one go as my attack collapsed as his point magically appeared in my mask.

Here’s how it looks in practice: 

https://youtu.be/E4Y0AAZ9Z_0

Perhaps the most common problem when attempting this counter is ending up outside your opponent’s sword. Don’t worry, that’s how everybody did this play for years. It works, it just takes longer. It can also be documented in other sources, so it’s even historically accurate. But if your partner does it, yield immediately to pommel strike on the other side. 

The text continues on this page with two paragraphs side by side, with no illustrations:

Qui finisse zogho largo dela spada a doy mani, che sono zoghi uniti gli quali ano zoghi, zoe rimedii e contrarie da parte dritta e de parte riversa. E contrapunte e contratagli de zaschuna rasone cum roture coverte ferire e ligadure, che tutte queste chose lizerissimamente se porio intendere.

Here ends the wide play of the sword in two hands, that are joined together plays, which plays are: remedies, and counters from the forehand and the backhand side, and counterthrusts and countercuts of ever type, with breaks, covers, strikes and binds, that all these things can be very easily understood.

This passage is actually quite tricky to translate, as the second line is unclear: ‘che sono zoghi uniti gli quali ano zoghi, zoe…’

I am translating ‘zoghi uniti’ as ‘joined together plays’, in the sense of they are joined (united) in some way. It’s a clunky sentence, I think. Though the meaning of it is reasonably straightforward to tease out, the exact grammar makes no sense to me. Then Fiore continues with what appears to be a bare-faced lie: these ‘joined together plays’ are apparently “remedies, and counters from the forehand and the backhand side, and counterthrusts and countercuts of ever type, with breaks, covers, strikes and binds.” We have seen nothing, zip, nada, from the backhand side, and while we have arguably seen a counterthrust, countercuts have there been none. Plus, there has been exactly one counter-remedy (the last play of the section), so not ‘contrarie’, counters plural. Unless we count the 14th play, which kind of counters the break and is then countered.

So what do we do with this statement?

I think we go back and play. And sure enough if we take this material and play with it, pretty soon we do end up doing all these different things. Applying the exchange of thrusts idea to cuts gives us something astonishingly like a zornhau ort, for instance.

What’s a zornhau ort? Don’t you read the German stuff too? It’s really interesting… basically, it’s when a mandritto fendente (sorry, forehand oberhau) is met with the same blow, leaving the defender’s point in the attacker’s face. We’ll need something like that for the next section, so I’ll go into it then.

The plays of the zogho stretto are coming up. Take a look at this two-page spread:

The master of the zogho stretto is the first play on the recto page. The text introducing the stretto plays is at the bottom of the verso page. This makes perfect sense when you see the pages as they are bound in the manuscript, but the sense is lost when you look at individual pages. Or worse, when the pages are bound such that the verso pages are printed on the recto side, and vice versa. 

The text reads:

Qui cominza zogho de spada a doy man zogo stretto, in lo quale sara d’ogni rasone coverte, e feride e ligadure e dislogadure e prese e tore de spade, e sbatter in terra per diversi modi. E sarano gli remedij e gli contrarij de zaschuna rasone ch’e bisogna a offender e a defender.

Here begins the play of the sword in two hands zogo stretto, in which will be, of every type, covers, and strikes, and locks, and dislocations, and grips, and disarms, and throwings to the ground in various ways. And there will be remedies and counters of every type necessary to offend and defend.

Well, that sorts us out then. It reads like a trailer for a movie: there’ll be drama! And excitement! And explosions! And sticky situations over a pound note! Don’t miss it!

(Full marks if you spotted the Blackadder reference. If you don’t know what Blackadder is, start here. The reference is from Season Three episode Ink and Incapability).

I am now working on the next section, the stretto plays. I’ve been thinking though of not publishing them here, just making them available as part of the book I’m compiling from this series (provisionally titled “Fiore dei Liberi’s Longsword Plays on Foot Out of Armour”). What do you think?

And in the meantime, you can get parts one to three as snazzy ebooks here for reading on your phone, kindle, kobo, or other device. 

You can get part one, The Sword in One Hand, as a free PDF by subscribing to my mailing list below, or buy it in ebook format from Amazon or Gumroad. 

You can get Part two, Longsword Mechanics, from Amazon or Gumroad

And you can get Part three, the Plays of the Zogho Largo, from Amazon or Gumroad.

I don't normally use my blog to spread other people's work or ideas; that's not what it's for. But every now and then I come across some things that are too cool, interesting, or important, to keep to myself.

Treatises available free online:

note, the speech bubbles are not in the original ms…

My friend Jaakko Tahkokallio is head of the special collection at the Helsinki National Library, and they have recently digitised their small but important collection of fencing treatises. You can find them here:

https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/168836

Yes, the site is in Finnish (doh! it's a Finnish site!) but you should have no trouble clicking on images.

 

Sharpness and sharpening:

Image from the Science of Sharp blog.

Secondly, I have been fascinated by sharpness and sharpening my whole life. Shiny sharp steel… oh my. If you don't know much about sharpening, the best book by far (though aimed at woodworkers) is Ron Hock's fabulous ‘The Perfect Edge‘. One of the things I love about the book is that he includes magnified images of the edges produced by various sharpening processes. If that sounds like your kind of thing, then you should also check out this blog: The Science of Sharp (from which I borrowed the image above).

Seriously geeky sharpening fun, which dispels many sharpening myths.

 

Benevolent Sexism:

This article, Benevolent Sexism & Chivalry: Tales From A Modern Medieval Warrior Woman, by Marie Vibbert tells the fascinating but awful story of how she got into armoured fighting in the SCA, and why she eventually quit.

https://www.argotmagazine.com/first-person-and-perspectives/benevolent-sexism-chivalry

It's not my place to tell the SCA what to do, but I think that every HMA instructor ought to read this, because it details the pitfalls of treating all fighters the same. It seems like a good and fair approach, but the results are anything but. Kaja Sadowski discusses the same problem from a different perspective in her fantabulous book Fear is the Mind Killer, which you must buy and read if you haven't already.

 

I have just returned from a trip to the USA, centred around Lord Baltimore’s Challenge, a rapier-themed event held in, you guessed it, Baltimore, and organised by David Biggs.
Because of the vagaries of international air travel, I flew to New York on Wednesday 3rd, and took the train down to Baltimore on the 5th. This gave me a full day in Manhattan, which I spent hanging out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Jared Kirby, and then in the Morgan Library.
Oh my. The Met is huge, and has everything.
Even Christian Cameron in a glass case.

(Note, probably not actually Christian)

Before going to visit Christian, I paid homage to the Studiolo of Gubbio. I remember it from my last trip in 2001 as a woodworker’s explosion. Hot damn that’s some fine marquetry. I love my study, but wow, this is in a different league. While chatting to Jared about it I spotted the garter symbol (the ring-shaped object on the left in the picture), and said that the owner of the studio was probably a Knight of the Garter.


I’d forgotten, or never quite made the connection, that the Studiolo of Gubbio was made for Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino! Father of Guidobaldo, to whom Vadi dedicated his treatise!
Father and son are shown here, but this is not the same study, obviously.

 

I should probably do a “Guy's guide to the Met” or somesuch as I could rhapsodise on about these museums for pages, but will move swiftly on to the event…

I took the train down to Baltimore on the Friday, and we began at about 9 on Saturday morning with a rapier and dagger tournament. I was ring director for three pools, and began each with this address to the combatants: “I am drunk, blind, and biased against you. Make it so even an idiot like me can see your hits. I’m not interested in trying to figure out what might have happened- if it’s not clear, I’ll throw it out and you’ll have to try again.” This established my expectations quite clearly, I think, and certainly I saw a lot of clean fencing.
After lunch I judged three or four pools in the sidesword tournament, which was fun to be a part of. Things were running on the late side by then, and I was not needed for the sword and buckler tournament, so I went back to my hotel room (chauffeured by the excellent Conner Craig, who looked after me the entire weekend) and got a solid hour’s nap. That restored me for ring-directing four pools and several elimination matches in the final tournament, sudden-death single rapier. Oh my we got through a lot of fights (on average there are 15 fights per pool, and a further 8 elimination bouts (I think) per tournament). Though at least one of my pools had seven fencers, so 21 bouts.
What stood out for me though was the honourable nature of the fencers. By the end of the day if a fencer disavowed a match-winning point, or called a match-losing point against themselves, I just took it for granted, because that’s what had been happening all day. It was a delight and an honour to be part of it.
Organising tournaments is not my thing- waaay too much work! But it’s certainly more fun to judge or direct than to simply watch, and while it was a very long day (we finished just shy of 8pm), it was very good fun.

On Sunday I had my classes. We started with an hour of learning how to develop fencing memory (as detailed in The Rapier, part three: Developing Your Skills Workbook), and then I taught a subject I’ve never actually written down, nor covered at an event before: Controlling the Story. This is my approach to eliminating expectations in yourself (to prevent the possibility of being surprised), while creating them in your opponent (to be able to surprise her). I think I’d better write it up somewhere in full, do you agree?Tom Leoni visited the event at lunch and gave a fascinating lecture on the Vienna Anonymous, a fascinating manuscript that is essentially a fencer’s notes on Fabris and Capoferro, dating from the early 1600s. The whiteboard looked like this when he was done:

17th century handwriting for the win!

Immediately after that I taught two hours of Problem Solving, running the students through my approach to training by systematically finding and solving problems. Of course I was then buttonholed by students wanting advice on various aspects of the art… which meant I missed all of Devon Boorman, John Mackenzie Gordon, and Mike Prendergast’s classes
One of the greatest pleasures of events like this is putting faces to names. Quite a few names I recognise from email exchanges or attendance on my online courses came up and introduced themselves. (If you were thinking about introducing yourself but didn’t, next time please do!)
The next day David the indefatigable squired Mike and I around DC: the mall, the Air and Space Museum, and then the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.
Holy shit. The plane the Wright brothers built and flew in at Kitty Hawk, in 1903. The Spirit of St Louis, the first plane to cross the Atlantic. The X-1, first plane to break the speed of sound. They have a goddam Moon Lander.


And at the MAA: the only know portrait of Custer. Rockwell’s painting of Nixon. Kehinde Wiley's portrait of Obama. The list goes on and on.

The following day I went back to Manhattan en route to JFK, with enough time to visit the Fountain Pen Hospital (fellow pen geeks writhe in envy), the Public Library to see Winnie the Pooh, and then the Frick Collection, because why the hell not.

They have, among a million treasures, Holbein’s portrait of Thomas Cromwell. But the buggers don’t let you take photos (unlike every other museum I went to this trip), so I scalped this off t’internet.
Home at last yesterday, in time for my younger daughter’s sports day- literally straight off the train from London, no shower for the wicked.
All in all, a wonderful trip, and the event itself was an absolute gem. Thanks particularly to David and Alix, Monica for the food, Lisa for the tea and general organisyness, Conner, my ring judges, and the attendees who made the event such a delight.

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

Today's video is a smorgasbord of topics, ranging from what's next for Audatia, to bridging the gap between basic set drills and freeplay. As well as what to do with a million dollars, and how I'd introduce students to the Bolognese.

Here's the video!

https://youtu.be/8TaRUKVNuV4

Shownotes:

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

Jason Kingsley’s Modern History Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMjlDOf0UO9wSijFqPE9wBw

Sebastien de Castell’s Greatcoats vol. 1: https://amzn.to/2RFqEyx

Swordfighting for Writers, Game Designers, and Martial Artists: https://guywindsor.net/blog/book/swordfighting-for-writers-game-designers-and-martial-artists/

Dall’Aggocchie English translation: http://www.lulu.com/shop/jherek-swanger-and-giovanni-dallagocchie/the-art-of-defense-on-fencing-the-joust-and-battle-formation-by-giovanni-dallagocchie-paperback/paperback/product-23737371.html

DallAggocchie's Passagiata, Walking with the Sword. Eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsSP5KAJUe8

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

Rapier Part Three: https://guywindsor.net/blog/book/rapierpartthree/

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

 

Today's video is a mixed bag of topics, answering the following questions:

How thick were rapier blades?

How wide were rapier blades?

How thick were dagger blades?

How wide were dagger blades?

Thank you,

Brijn, in Colorado

And:

Dear Dr Guy Windsor

I'm sending you pictures of a miniature Spanish sword (a letter opener, made in Toledo).

Do you have any information on this type of swords?

Peter in Venezuela

And:

– Do you experience an asymmetric build up of muscle and/or any asymmetries in posture and movement patterns due to fencing?

– If so, do you do anything to compensate this asymmetry?

– With unexperienced students, what do you do to teach them to stay calm during sparring? How do you teach them to spar in a way that they understand what's going on?

Kind regards, Michael Spring

Here's the video:

https://youtu.be/ZhmKfiiKpnk

Shownotes:

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

Ken Mondschein’s translation of Agrippa: https://amzn.to/2IJQvmo

Tom Leoni’s translation of Fabris: https://amzn.to/2IJR3Zu

The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts: https://guywindsor.net/blog/book/the-theory-and-practice-of-hma/

A Comparison of Late 16th to Early 17th Century Rapiers with Modern Reproductions: http://historisches-fechten.at/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Comparison_of_Period_Rapiers_to_Modern_Reproductions.pdf

The Rapier, part three: Developing your Skills: https://guywindsor.net/blog/book/rapierpartthree/

Episode with left handers: https://youtu.be/vHcAK_LmUk0

Breathing book: https://guywindsor.net/blog/book/breathing/

Lord Baltimore’s Challenge: http://www.lordbaltimoreschallenge.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

Today’s AMA topic are solo training, and training with disabilities. Raymond, in Montana, sent in this question:

“I really enjoy your video trainings and teaching. I purchased the combo package (complete long sword, complete medieval dagger, and footwork) and a few freebies for my 50th birthday. I watched (and practiced) all the footwork, all the medieval dagger and am now about 60% through the long sword.
here is my question:
The biggest problem I have is that I live in fairly remote southeast Montana and do not have any partners with which to practice. My wife is too afraid to assist.  I do what what I can to run through the foot work and various forms, and techniques. Any suggestions for us loners? I may end up starting something in a nearby town eventually (30 miles away), but not financially feasible at this time.”

As it happens, about 95% of my training is done alone. Solo training includes at least the following:
1) physical conditioning, such as range of motion exercises, breathing, and strength training.
2) technical skills practice such as sword handling drills, point control work, pell work
3) theory study, such as research

So much of good training is done alone that it might be more useful to look at what training partners are actually good for. This includes:
1) A social component to your training. We are social animals, and it’s good to have people around you.
2) Practising timing- making your actions with and against somebody else’s actions.
3) Practising technical skills, such as applying an arm bar, or doing a parry riposte that actually works
4) Putting your skills under pressure, with resistance, non-compliance, and randomisation. This can be done as a coaching exercise, or competitively.

All experienced fencers, high level combat sportspeople, and soldiers of every kind do a great deal of solo training- it is the basis upon which their success is built. For experienced swordspeople wanting to improve their solo training routines.

For beginners wanting to get ready for the time when training partners become available. Imagine two people showing up to their first ever class. One of them has never handled a sword before, and is not very fit. The other is fit, limber, and can handle a sword beautifully: they just haven’t done any pair drills yet. Which one is going to progress faster?

I have been working on a Solo Training online course for a while now, which will be ready in August. But Raymond’s question persuaded me that I should pre-launch it now, to get students working with the material immediately, and so that they can tell me what they think the course needs. This will produce a much better course than me trying to anticipate everyone’s needs. Because the course isn’t complete yet, I’m making it available for one week only at a very reduced price. The course will cost $500 at full price, but you can get it for this week only at $180, a savings of 64%.

You can find the course at the discount here.

This course will give you all the tools you need to build an effective solo training practice, whatever your current level of experience.

The second question I address on this video is about training with disability. Will Perry wrote:

I’m a stroke survivor (almost 4 years now). I fence and even used it as therapy after my stroke. What advice would you give to someone who fences/wants to fence that has a disability?
Will Perry from New Hope, Minnesota, US

I’ve addressed that in the video, but if you’re short on time, you can summarise my approach as ‘stalk your strength’.

Here’s the video:

https://youtu.be/GAPiM4E0n2w

Shownotes:

The Solo Training Course: https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/solo-training/?product_id=1182611&coupon_code=PRELAUNCHMADNESS

Blog posts on training after injury:
Recovery from injury: 6 useful ideas: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2018/04/recovering-from-injury-six-useful-ideas/
Fuck it but don’t poke the bear: https://guywindsor.net/blog/2016/03/fuck-it-but-dont-poke-the-bear-how-to-train-when-sick/

Enjoy!

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