Consulting Swordsman
There is a very interesting article in the New York Times on the sportification of kendo (thanks for Devon Boorman of Academie Duello for pointing it out) here: The Way of the Sword Is Too Complex for the Olympics – NYTimes.com. For those of us engaged in recreating the killing arts, it seems odd that kendo would … Read more
Last Saturday I taught a singlestick seminar. Singlestick is an odd system for me because it’s the one area of swordsmanship where I am not tied hand and foot to a single source. Having been thoroughly pasted by Terry Brown and his students, I am under no illusions about my current competence with this weapon. … Read more
Entering the Fray with Vigour One of the benefits to running an intermediate level class first thing every Monday evening, is that I get to put the seniors under a bit of pressure, make them work outside their comfort zones, and see what cracks. If a classful of students have difficulty with the same thing, … Read more
Learning about safety in historical martial arts: the hard way. I have often remarked in class that I have broken bones in training so that my students don’t have to. In other words, the safety regulations we have were arrived at through my getting hurt and figuring out ways to avoid it happening again. One … Read more
I am in the process of editing the first printed draft of my translation of the 15th century manuscript De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi. This involves old-school actual writing with pens and stuff. I normally do this kind of thing in the mornings at the kitchen table- it has the best light and best access to … Read more
My Mum bought a sugar spoon in the sixties, and wanted a couple of copies done for two friends of the same vintage. This spoon is a classic example of the angular designs of the period, optimised for mass production and a bit tricky to reproduce in small numbers. The time to build the necessary … Read more
But a nice one to have… whisky glasses (even empty ones) do not belong on the arm of a sofa. They may spill! But for ages now, that’s where they’ve gone. Given the quality of the single malts involved, this is a very high risk situation. The solution: This little table is made from scrap … Read more
It proved too clunky to do the whole page in one post, so here’s the rest: Bows Some examples of early bowmaking efforts. English longbow in elm with a linen back: Clan Cameron 15 … Read more
This post shows examples of some woodworking projects I’ve done over the last 10 years or so. Some readers of this blog have asked about custom work- in short, I don’t take orders, unless offered sufficiently vast sums of money to compensate for taking a fun hobby and making it into work, or you happen … Read more
It’s my youngest daughter’s second birthday next month, so I am making her a fairy castle picture frame- each window will have a photo of a family member in it. The watercolour is the basic sketch I’m working off, though there are some changes occurring between the painting and actually cutting wood. The castle was … Read more