Consulting Swordsman
I’m not known as a tournament fencer these days. Indeed it’s been well over 20 years since I last officially competed. But one of the great benefits of interviewing so many people on The Sword Guy is that they spark ideas in me that then get acted on. My conversation with Martin Hoeppner included a … Read more
In July I flew to Kansas to shoot video with Jessica Finley. I originally intended to just get the material for my medieval Italian wrestling course, but when I saw this amazing mural on Jessica’s salle wall, I was hit by a really good idea- why not use this memory-tree of Liechtenauer’s 12 hauptstucke (“chief … Read more
Now that we have a working Jaegerstock, let’s take a look at lessons two and three of the system. This is part three of the Jaegerstock series. You can find the rest here: https://www.guywindsor.net/tag/jaegerstock/
We have to move. If a shark stops swimming it dies- and if we stop moving it doesn’t take long before the problems mount up. We can get away with it for a bit longer than sharks, but sooner or later the bill comes due. Swords are cool- cool enough to get people who have … Read more
Holding the sword correctly is safer One of my students mentioned tendonitis problems in his wrist on the Swordschool Discord server this week. It’s probably caused by holding his sword incorrectly, which forces the small stabiliser muscles to do more work than they evolved for. He is by no means the first student I’ve seen … Read more
One of the things I’m enjoying most about learning to fly is being an absolute beginner, and making beginners’ mistakes. Such as: Getting my radio check and airfield information call in to the office (we don’t have a tower at this airfield), and wondering why I couldn’t get a reply even though the radio seemed … Read more
I am often asked by students if they are “ready” for a class with me. It’s a common insecurity- nobody wants to feel that they are holding the class back, or be overwhelmed by a fire-hose of information. I actively seek out opportunities to be a beginner, partly so that I can better understand and … Read more
Hello. I’m having trouble making sure I hit all the pain points in my own training. I have a simply enormous variety of exercises and practices that I should be keeping up with. Such as: Meditation: Awareness of Breathing, Body Scan, Mantra, Movement. Breathing exercises: Wim Hof method, standing qigong, the Crane, 9 breaths, the … Read more
This post is borrowed from The Complete Rapier Workbook and follows on from How to Train Swordsmanship (or anything else) Part One. The “Rule of Cs” The “Rule of Cs” determines how every drill can be practised. 1. In the beginning, you learn set drills by Co-operating in creating correct choreography. 2. Once the choreography … Read more
This post is borrowed from The Complete Rapier Workbook How do you take things you already know, and make them actually work under pressure? How do you become a swordsman/swordswoman/swordsperson, not just a person who knows some sword moves? This is the heart of swordsmanship, and it’s most sophisticated element. The key skill to learn … Read more