Consulting Swordsman
Guy Windsor Today, Finland celebrates its 100th anniversary of independence. They paid a terrible price for it, both in the civil war that followed the declaration, and in resisting the Soviet invasion during the Second World War. The Finnish conduct of the Winter War was an incredible effort of skill, heroism, and sheer sisu (guts, bottom, sheer stubborn refusal … Read more
You’ve probably heard phrases like “Information wants to be free”, or “What gets measured gets managed” before, usually to justify a particular political decision or business process, but they have slipped into more general use. Here’s the problem: both of them are incomplete. “Information wants to be free” comes from Stewart Brand. Cory Doctorow tells the … Read more
At work on a 15′ dining table at Patrick Baxter Furniture, 18 years ago… It’s my birthday today (November 30th, same as Sir Winston Churchill), and I thought it might be fun to spread the love a bit. I’ll be turning 44 (so, nearly a grown-up) and I’ve set up a discount code that you … Read more
Your knees are the keys to everything. For many martial artists knees are the first thing to go, and signal the end of a career. I don’t want my career to end. I have put my basic knee maintenance program online for free here, and for some reason best known to my subconscious I didn’t … Read more
Boldness is a key virtue in swordsmanship, at least according to Fiore dei Liberi (and who am I to argue?). So I’d like to commend Adam Weller of Auckland Sword and Shield for having the wit and boldness to contact me and ask me to come to Auckland to teach a seminar for him. About … Read more
I’ve been off on my wanderings again. I flew to Singapore on Sunday 22nd, and arrived at 5pm local time on the Monday, to be met by Robin (who runs PHEMAS, my Singapore branch), plus three visiting students from Malaysia, and one from Jakarta, who were all in town to come to my very short … Read more
Time spent sharpening is never wasted. A couple of weeks ago I helped a friend to lay a nice oak wooden floor. This entailed lots of standing up and bending over, and I’m delighted to say that I felt it in my legs the next day, but not in my back at all. Ergonomics for … Read more
You will never be ready. If you wait until you feel ready to be a parent, or change careers, or take up swordsmanship (I had to sneak that in somewhere), or attend your first event, or write your first book, then you will never do it. In any area worth considering, you become ready by … Read more
Sitting will kill you. It’s almost as bad as smoking. Don’t believe me? Read Arsebestos, by Neal Stephenson in his compilation Some Remarks, or more fully, Deskbound by Dr Kelly Starrett. So as a matter of urgency, I created a standing desk adaptation for my work space at the Waterfront Studios. The heart of the … Read more
Once upon a time in Fairy Land, a chap produced something cool, like an online course, and told all his friends just once. Everyone who was interested went out and bought it straight away, and they all lived happily ever after. But in the real world, what happens when you send out one product launch … Read more