Consulting Swordsman
I do like a bit of woodwork. And what is a jaegerstock if not a very long stick with some pointy bits attached? This instalment takes place entirely in my workshop, as I’m fitting the heads to the shaft. This is part two of the Jaegerstock series. You can find part one here: Taking up … Read more
I recently interviewed Reinier van Noort for my podcast, and while we were talking he mentioned a documented set of solo forms for the Jaegerstock, a nine-foot long spear with a point at both ends. The source is Johann Georg Pascha’s book Kurtze ANLEIDUNG Wie der BASTON A DEUX BOUS, Das ist JAEGERSTOCK/ Halbe Pique … Read more
Who doesn’t love Fiore’s art of arms? I mean really, it’s got everything. If you’re into medieval stuff, it’s the best-documented knightly sword, with source manuscripts dating back to the late 14th century. If you’re into any kind of unarmoured fencing, this system lays down the eternal fundamental rule: parry and strike. Then takes that … Read more
We have to move. If a shark stops swimming it dies- and if we stop moving it doesn’t take long before the problems mount up. We can get away with it for a bit longer than sharks, but sooner or later the bill comes due. Swords are cool- cool enough to get people who have … Read more
I wrote Max Your Lunge in 2007, long before this blog was conceived. It’s past time it became a properly formatted post! My research into Capoferro’s Gran Simulacro (1610) has lead me to rethink the lunge (which he calls l’incredibile accrescimento della botta lunga, “the incredible increase of the long blow”). He is absolutely clear … Read more
What the world really needs right now is obviously a better beginners’ guide to training in Fiore’s Art of Arms, right? So I have created one. So what’s special about that? I always, always, try to instil self-direction into my students. My job is to make myself redundant. I do this in practice by giving … Read more
21 years ago today I taught my first class as a professional instructor. It was in a small room in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. I expected about six people to show up, but we had over 70, from as far afield as Turku and Tampere. My class plan went out of the window because there … Read more
Holding the sword correctly is safer One of my students mentioned tendonitis problems in his wrist on the Swordschool Discord server this week. It’s probably caused by holding his sword incorrectly, which forces the small stabiliser muscles to do more work than they evolved for. He is by no means the first student I’ve seen … Read more
One of the things I’m enjoying most about learning to fly is being an absolute beginner, and making beginners’ mistakes. Such as: Getting my radio check and airfield information call in to the office (we don’t have a tower at this airfield), and wondering why I couldn’t get a reply even though the radio seemed … Read more
You probably remember the moment you first held a sword. It’s electric. For some of my students, they hadn’t realised what was missing until they came to their first class. For others, they had dreamed about becoming a swordswoman for years. It’s not reducible to practicalities or psychoanalysis. There is no need to know how … Read more