Consulting Swordsman
I started editing the second edition of my book Swordfighting for Writers, Game Designers, and Martial Artists a little while ago and pretty quickly it developed into a total rewrite, aimed solely at writers. I’ve cut 45,000 words already, and will probably end up redoing the whole thing from scratch. Good writing is all about … Read more
Swordschool turned 24 years old yesterday! March 17th 2001 saw the very first class I taught as a full-time professional instructor, at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. Not the whole Olympic Stadium. A small room somewhere inside it. I was expecting about 6 to 12 people, and something over 70 showed up. Some of them … Read more
Hallelujah! At last! After three months of back and forth with the printers (and setting up to print with someone else at twice the price), the Fiore Facsimile with translation is now working properly. Everyone who bought it in December has had their order re-run yesterday, so new copies are being printed and shipped. Now … Read more
Medieval German Wrestling Course: the Twirchringen of the Von Baumann manuscript The long-awaited Medieval German Wrestling course from Jessica Finley is finally ready! Last June I flew to Kansas to shoot Fiore dagger plays with Jessica Finley. While I was there she asked if we could also shoot a course on Von Baumann’s wrestling plays, … Read more
In 2011 I dedicated my book The Medieval Dagger to “Lenard Voelker: Gentleman, Scholar, and an inspirational Martial Artist.” A few days before Christmas I got a call from Lenard’s grandson Kyle to let me know that my old friend had died. ‘Old’ in both senses- we have been friends for over 20 years, … Read more
7 Countries. 4 Continents. 6 books. Two online courses. And one really good idea (I think). It’s kind of absurd to summarise an entire year in a single blog post, especially such a busy and yet somehow still productive year as the last 12 months have been, but I need to get a handle on … Read more
It’s an exiting time this week. We have a brand-new book out today, and, as it’s my birthday on Saturday (I’ll be 51), we’re also running a birthday sale on all ebooks, audiobooks, and online courses. Hurrah! Just use the code GUYSBIRTHDAY30 to get 30% off at checkout (code is valid for all digital products- not print … Read more
You may recall that my recent trip to Mexico blew me away. What a country, what people. And yes, what food. I’ve had lots of “Mexican” food before: some awesome, some so-so. But nothing prepared me for the breadth and depth of the Mexican food experience. I ate everywhere from people’s homes, to roadside shacks, … Read more
This is supposed to be a review of the Panoplía Iberoamericana, which I attended over the weekend, teaching several workshops. The event was excellent, a complete delight to attend and teach at. But my hosts here have gone the extra thousand miles to show me the best of their city and culture, and the only … Read more
At the end of June I went to Kansas… and came back with footage of a whole lot of my interpretation of Fiore’s Il Fior di Battaglia, including all 73 plays of the dagger, and 7 new clips on Fiore’s footwork. These are now available with the re-edited and re-released Medieval Dagger Course. Dagger Course Info For … Read more