New Beginnings, part 4

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Week 4 and we are half way through the course. We ran through a normal warm-up, including kicking squats, knuckle push-ups and falling. Then I had them remember as much as they could of the four guards drill, with minimal demonstration. A few of the attendees had missed last week’s class, and this really highlighted … Read more

New Beginnings, part 3

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The third class of this beginner’s course was oddly attended, in that half the students present were not members of this course. Great for the true beginners, of course. We started with the salute, of course, then the warm up, into which I incorporated the beginnings of knuckle push-ups— being able to create a stable … Read more

New Beginnings part 2

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The second class of this course (on March 12th) began with the warm-up, to which I added kicking squats, and basic falling. We then swiftly reviewed the four steps and four guards, which they then practiced on their own. From there we tested where your weight should be on your feet for maximum stability, using … Read more

Shoe box 3

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This morning’s meeting got shifted to Monday so I spent the time in the shed. Much progress was made! First, I finished thicknessing the parts: Which required touching up the plane iron. To polish the flat on my 8000grit waterstone I use a variation on David Charlesworth’s ruler trick. My shed does not abound with … Read more

Shoe box base

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Planing the sawn side of a thin bit of wood (about 15″ by 6 1/8″ by 1/4″)  presents some challenges as the wood will buckle if clamped in the width or length, and there’s not much edge to grip anyway. My snazzy solution is to use double sided sticky tape to make a temporary full … Read more

Striking by the numbers

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One of the difficulties of training in any art is the lack of measurable feedback. Every body is different, and there is little we can do to provide objective goals. Enter the tape measure. Readers familiar with my Max Your Lunge approach to developing a good rapier lunge will see where this is going… In … Read more

Shoebox, in oak

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Another project commissioned by my dad for my mum. Here’s the problem: A 20 year old shoe box with their shoe cleaning kit in. It is falling apart. So will be replaced with a similar sized box in oak. We start with a piece of sawn lumber from the woodyard.  I don’t much care for … Read more

Armour progress

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  My armour is coming along, and hit a milestone yesterday. My arming jacket finally had the necessary pointing holes for attaching the arm pieces, which have been ready since December. So this is the first time they have been tried on properly. And oh my, what happy bliss to be clanking about in STEEL!! … Read more

New Beginnings, part 1

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On Tuesday March 5th we began the 2013 Spring beginners’ course. The goal of the course is always the same: to provide a safe and approachable way for interested people to begin training in the Art of Swordsmanship. As usual, we start them off with Fiore’s Art of Arms, not least as this has the … Read more