Creating a working syllabus is hard. Where do you start? What comes next? How do you know when you’re ready to move on to the next thing? I find it helps to remember that there is no one correct … [Read more...]
How to teach left-handers
I was recently contacted by a reader asking about teaching left handed students. It’s a common and relatively complex problem, so rather than confine my answer to an email I thought I’d post it … [Read more...]
Ridolfo Capoferro’s Gran Simulacro: yours free!
Perhaps the most famous fencing treatise of the 1600s, Ridolfo Capoferro's Gran Simulacro is a wonderful book, and an essential read for all fencing scholars. Characteristically, he spells his name as … [Read more...]
Parry this! A review of the Smallsword Symposium
Last weekend I attended the excellent Smallsword Symposium. I am unusual amongst HEMA instructors in that I do lots of different styles; Armizare, of course, but also I.33 sword and buckler, Capoferro … [Read more...]
This belongs to you. Fabris’s Sienza d’Arme, the best rapier book ever, yours free.
I have the enormous privilege of owning an original copy of Salvatore Fabris’s Sienza e Pratica d’Arme, printed in 1606. I bought it from Sr. Roberto Gotti, of Brescia, in 2014. It is in incredibly … [Read more...]
Size Matters: how long should your rapier be?
As you may know, I am in the process of videoing everything we do in the salle, and putting it up online for free. This project is called the "Syllabus Wiki". One of the many benefits of this is that … [Read more...]