Consulting Swordsman
Fiore’s guards of the longsword form a quite complete mechanical overview of the system of movement that Fiore’s art requires. If you can move fluidly through the guards, with every guard transition forming a blow, or one of the voltas (meza, tuta, stabile), then you are probably moving as Fiore would want us to. Regarding … Read more
This Fiore Translation Project is a monster. Transcribing and translating is fun and quite easy (because this manuscript has been in my head for over 20 years now). The commentary is easy too- it just pours out in a kind of free-association torrent. But editing the videos? Uploading them to youtube? Cropping the images? Creating … Read more
Welcome back! The last page of guards looks like this: And it includes coda longa, bicorno, frontale, and dente di zenghiaro la mezana. Posta di coda longa Questa sie posta di coda longa ch’e destesa in terra di dredo. Ella po metter punta, e denanzi po covrir e ferire. E se ello passa inanci e … Read more
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