Consulting Swordsman
I think that training ought to be focussed and goal oriented. The goal in any fencing context is to strike without being struck, so any problem can be thought of as “I’m getting hit” or “I’m not hitting”. Drills are the means by which we fix either of these core problems. Let’s start with the … Read more
I love the HEMA tournament scene. This will come as a surprise to many people, because I am not really involved with it in any direct way. In fact, I have seen people referring to me as “anti-tournament”.* Nothing could be further from the truth. Just because I am not personally interested in entering or … Read more
Are testicles really an advantage in a sword fight? I first met the illustrious Christian Tobler in 2003. We were sat chatting about something and I casually called him “Chris”. He politely replied “it’s Christian, actually”, and with a modicum of effort, I stopped shortening his name, and have called him Christian ever since. If … Read more
I’ve been a tad busy of late (not that that is anything unusual). But the last couple of weeks have been especially interesting. First up, PC Gamer magazine have published an article based on an interview I gave to the journalist Rick Lane; it’s all about trying to make games that involve sword fights more … Read more
This is a progress report for the “get over boarding school” project. If you’re here looking for some technical sword stuff, I suggest going here or here. I usually edit my posts quite carefully. Not this one, because if I do, I will end up deleting the whole thing. So please bear with me. Shortly … Read more
There is a rather stupid convention common in the upbringing of boys and men: because we are supposed to be strong, we ought not to acknowledge our weaknesses. As any weight-lifter could tell you, that is totally counter-productive. If you realise that your biceps are not as strong as they should be, you can adjust … Read more
We are in the middle of our annual monster seminar, the Fiore Extravaganza. We began with a day of pollax training from the medieval French manuscript Jeu de la Hache, taught by Lois Forster. Lois flew over from France with his armour and a squire (hi Vincent!). He is conducting an emprise, a feat of arms … Read more
Oh my, what a week it has been. I was scared of hitting “publish” on my last post, for obvious reasons. I am a big bad scary martial arty swordsman, or at least that’s how a lot of people seem to see me. And now anyone who reads my blog can see me as … Read more
I spent much of yesterday evening crying my eyes out. The kind of wracking sobs that leave you weak and shaky for hours afterwards. This is not normal. I was packed off to boarding school at the age of eight. Unlike most other boarders, I did not get to go home every three weeks. Because … Read more
Rapier Length: responding to criticism from the internet As you may know, I am in the process of videoing everything we do in the salle, and putting it up online for free. This project is called the “Syllabus Wiki“. One of the many benefits of this is that informed commentators can see what we are … Read more