Consulting Swordsman
Guy Windsor Medieval scribes had crap posture too! Image from: http://www.booktryst.com/2012/03/medieval-scribes-gripe-about-writing.html One of the challenges of my new lifestyle is that I don’t have class three or four times a week to keep me to a fitness regime. Before I could make the switch in my head from swordsman-writer to writer-swordsman, I had to figure out how … Read more
I am not a ninja. I am not a knight. I am a Jedi. In 2006 I taught a long sword and lightsaber seminar at LucasFilm Singapore to a group of animators working on the Clone Wars series, which, if you think about it in just the right way, makes me a Jedi Master. Hah! … Read more
It’s time for a change of pace. I have been a full-time professional teacher of historical swordsmanship since March 17th 2001. By which I mean it was my one and only job, source of income, and so on. This has had all sorts of benefits, not least that I have accumulated a huge amount of … Read more
I am usually late to any party held on the internet, because I don’t go looking for stuff, and I am pretty cavalier about things like facebook. Which means, much to my chagrin, that I didn’t even hear about the MIGHTY WIKTENAUER Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for their vital work until after it was all … Read more
A couple of weeks ago I took four days away from the wife and kids, and spent a good chunk of money, flying to Belgium for a seminar with Rory Miller. Regular readers will have heard me banging on about his superlative Meditations on Violence. Rory and I have corresponded a little over the last few … Read more
I love books, and swords, and books about swords. Especially old books about swords. Through a series of happy chances, I own an original copy of Salvator Fabris’ Scienza e Pratica d’Arme from 1606, a third edition of Achille Marozzo’s Arte dell’Armi from 1568, and a second edition of P.J.F. Girard’s Traité des Armes from 1740. “Bugger off you lucky sod”, you … Read more
Hello. Do you find yourself explaining the same thing over and over to various friends and colleagues? Wouldn’t it be easier to just explain it once, and then send the explanation to anyone who needs it? In my case, I tend to explain all sorts of things regarding swords, as teaching swordsmanship has been my … Read more
I have been meditating in one form or another for about 18 years. Of all the things I do to be a better human, and a better martial artist, writer and teacher, I think meditation is perhaps the most important, and the most effective in terms of time spent to results obtained. This is because … Read more
I am 42 years old today. As everybody knows, the Meaning of Life is forty two, so a post on the Meaning of Life seems apt. What then have I learned in 42 solar sojourns? (Other than to insert Monty Python, Douglas Adams and Blackadder references wherever possible?) Pay close attention, because this is … Read more
The crowdfunding campaign for my next book, Advanced Longsword, Form and Function is now live! Would you like to win free copies of the book, or commission an instalment of The Swordsman’s Quick Guide? For this campaign, which will only run for 30 days, I am running a competition for referrals. There are two categories: … Read more