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If you’re curious about historical swordsmanship and historical martial arts — how people actually fought with swords in the past, and how we can train those skills today — you’re in the right place.

I’m Guy Windsor. I research, teach, and write about medieval and Renaissance martial arts, with a particular focus on Italian traditions. I’ve been doing this professionally for 25 years, and my work is grounded in primary historical sources, pressure-tested training, and long experience teaching thousands of real people.

This site has grown over many years, and you don’t need to read everything. The links below are organised to help you find what’s most useful to you, depending on where you’re starting from.

I've also included some links to free courses on our courses platform, and to specific relevant books in our bookshop.

Most people arrive here for one of a few common reasons. Choose the path that fits you best.

I’m new to historical swordsmanship

If you’re completely new, start here. These articles explain what historical European martial arts are, how people train them today, and what actually matters at the beginning.

• Why Swordsmanship?

A reflection on why people are drawn to swordsmanship, and what the practice offers beyond collecting cool techniques.

• Real Swordfighting

What are you really looking for? It’s worth giving that some thought. I go through my own sword history to arrive at what I think of as real swordfighting.

• Choosing a Martial Arts Club

A case study in what a martial arts club should feel like when you join.

• Safety Guidelines for the Practice of Swordsmanship

An outline of the principles and practices that make historical swordsmanship safe and sustainable.

• Being a Beginner Again

Lessons from returning to beginner status (learning to fly a plane!), and why humility and curiosity matter more than prior experience.

• How to Train With Beginners

Advice aimed at more experienced students on getting the most out of training with beginners — and useful context for beginners too.

If you’d like a structured introduction, with clear progressions and no prior experience required, my beginner books and courses are designed to take you from curiosity to competent practice, whether or not you have access to a club. I highly recommend our free Human Maintenance course, covering basics of breathing, meditation, and joint care, and our free Body Mechanics course, which goes into depth and detail about how to move and generate power without hurting yourself.

I already train and want to get better

If you’re already training — in a club or on your own — these articles focus on improving how you practise, not just adding more techniques.

• How to Train Swordsmanship (or Anything Else), Part 1

  A framework for effective practice that applies to swordsmanship and any complex skill.

• How to Train Swordsmanship (or Anything Else), Part 2

  A continuation of the training model, focusing on feedback, progression, and long-term improvement.

• You're probably holding your sword wrong

  Most historical fencers could improve how they hold their swords. Here's how to analyse and improve your grip.

• How to Spot the Bullshit in Any Martial Arts Drill (and What to Do About It)

  Tools for evaluating drills and exercises so your training actually does what you think it does.

• Creating a Physical Practice

  How to build a training routine that integrates body mechanics, conditioning, and skill development.

• 5 Barriers to Success

  Common psychological and structural obstacles to progress — and how to deal with them.

• Consuming Risk

  A deeper look at how risk, control, and decision-making shape effective training and fencing.

Most of my detailed training material lives in structured courses and companion books, where I can lay out complete systems rather than isolated articles.

Training, sparring, and competition

Tournaments and sparring are powerful tools — and they can also distort training if misunderstood. These pieces explore what they’re actually for and how to make use of them.

• Sportification

  How competitive rule sets shape behaviour, incentives, and fencing style — often in unexpected ways.

• Why I Love the HEMA Tournament Scene

  A balanced look at what tournaments do well, what they don’t, and why they’re still valuable.

• Freeplay Class

  A case study on how to develop freeplay skills.

• How to Get the Most Out of a Too-Advanced Class

  Strategies for learning effectively even when the material feels beyond your current level. This is a case study of an advanced climbing class I took while a beginner climber.

History, sources, and interpretation (for academics and serious students)

If you’re interested in the academic side of things, this section focuses on how we know what we know. It's aimed at people who want to get into studying the sources, but don't have a formal education in the process of historical research.

• Show Your Work: Communicate Historical Martial Arts Research and Interpretation

  Why transparency matters in historical martial arts research, and how interpretation should be communicated. This is a very long and thorough look at presenting any academic work that you do.

• Unravelling Academese

  A guide to academic terms. What's the difference between a folio and a quarto? Want to know what ‘rubric', ‘codex', and ‘palimpsest' have to do with each other? This is useful if you want to read or write academic articles.

• Authenticity

  What authenticity actually means in historical martial arts — and what it doesn’t.

• True or False: Vadi’s First Play of the Sword

  A specific case study in close reading and interpretive decision-making.

• A New Project: A Free Translation and Commentary on Fiore

  The starting point for a multi-part examination of Fiore dei Liberi's Il Fior di Battaglia, combining translation, commentary, and practice. This series lead to my book series From Medieval Manuscript to Modern Practice. This is in three parts, wrestling, dagger, and longsword, covering the entirety of the plays on foot out of armour. (Yes, mounted combat and armoured combat volumes are in the works!)

My books and companion volumes go much deeper into individual sources, with full translations, historical context, and practical implications for training.

Just for fun: swordfights in fiction and on screen

Not everything has to be serious. These pieces use popular culture as a way to think about historical fencing more clearly.

• The Princess Bride: How Does Thibault Cancel Out Capoferro?

  A playful but rigorous look at how the world's favourite movie duel might play out if Thibault actually did cancel out Capoferro.

• Is Syrio Forel the Worst Fictional Fencing Master Ever?

  A critical examination of how martial arts are taught (badly) on screen.

• The Best Historical Swordfights on Screen — Ever

  An exploration of film and television swordfights that actually get important things right.