Consulting Swordsman
Guy Windsor I’ve taken up indoor climbing as a hobby. Nothing too serious, and no hanging off skyscrapers. Some friends of ours invited me along, and it was fun, physically and mentally demanding, and reasonably safe. I have a general rule not to take up new hobbies that don’t have a social component. I spend more time … Read more
There is literally nothing more satisfying for a writer than seeing their books in the wild. Normally this happens to me at seminars or events, but sometimes my readers are kind enough to send in photos from far flung places. Dan Weber, for instance, took The Medieval Longsword camping with him (definitely easier to pack … Read more
The guards of the longsword follow on from the blows, which were preceded by the ways of holding the sword. I see this as a progression: hold the sword like this; make these blows; the blows create the guards. It is axiomatic that in Italian swordsmanship “between two guards lies a blow; between two blows … Read more
[oops! I accidentally scheduled part 2 for this week, and part 1 for next. Sorry! don’t worry though, part 1 is in the queue to post then. Part 3 is growing and growing- I thought it was about done but just added another 1000 words to it… and I’m still only part way through. But … Read more
As a historical martial artist, I think a lot about the differences between what my students and I are doing, compared to what the swordspeople of old may have done. Four films (or rather, three and two franchises) have made me think particularly hard about the topic. They are Bohemian Rhapsody, a biopic of Freddie … Read more
This section is very interesting as it describes the seven blows of the sword, and divides one of them (the thrust) into five, which makes eleven in total (like the eleven plays of the sword in one hand). It is also admirably specific in terms of the lines of the blows, and in some cases, … Read more
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 answer, because the optimum structure for the syllabus depends on its goals, and the specific aptitudes … Read more
So how do you hold a longsword then? Simple really: any damn way you like. Fiore shows us six distinct grips, and there’s no suggestion that these are the only possible grips- not least as, whichever interpretation you follow, the guard bicorno is generally agreed to be yet another way of holding the sword (I’ll … Read more
[Note: I have since updated my interpretation of this passage, thanks to a lengthy conversation on my podcast. You can read about the updated interpretation here. I’m leaving this post unchanged as it marks a specific point in the interpretation process.] O lordy. Here we go. This page alone blows every other longsword treatise out … Read more
As I see it, the sword in one hand section is very clearly a short and simple version of the system, foreshadowing Viggiani’s Lo Schermo (1575. Available in translation by Jherek Swanger here: buy it. It’s essential reading for any scholar of Italian swordsmanship of any period.). This parry from the left is so fundamental … Read more