Consulting Swordsman
I get asked a lot of questions about the nitty-gritty of swordsmanship mechanics, and interpreting historical sources. I recently received a very long and involved question about the mezani blows in Il Fior di Battaglia from Dustin Jones. In short, he believed that I’ve read the manuscript incorrectly, and these horizontal blows should be done … Read more
For the first time in my life, on Sunday night I actually, deliberately, watched a football game. My kids’ friends were heavily invested in the outcome and so my kids wanted to watch what their friends were watching. Before I go on: to my English friends, I’m sorry you didn’t get what you wanted. E … Read more
My friend Eleonora Rebecchi has designed several covers for my short ebooks, including the entire The Swordsman’s Quick Guide series, and my Swords in the Time of Corona. So it seemed apt to me to show her that I can make book covers too! And I thought that putting her initials on the cover, in … Read more
Back before the internet, back before Wiktenauer, in the days when historical fencing treatises were photocopied and distributed by hand, one man did something extraordinary, which we benefit from to this day. Dr. Patri Pugliese was finding, reproducing, photocopying and distributing fencing treatises back in the bad old days, before many of our community’s leading … Read more
Last month’s challenge was very simple: prioritise sleep. While sleep quality varies hugely, it’s still basically the same thing for everyone: there’s good sleep, there’s bad sleep, and there’s enough sleep or not. We all know what we mean by ‘sleep well’. But what do we mean by ‘eat well’? ‘Eat well’ is incredibly varied. … Read more
On March 17th 2001 I taught my first class as a full-time professional instructor of historical fencing, at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. I had expected five, maybe ten people to show up, but to my astonishment and delight, the place was packed with perhaps 70. Some had driven for hundreds of kilometres to be … Read more
Ah, sleep. The foundation of all health, mental, physical, or otherwise. One bad night’s sleep can ruin a day, and get no sleep at all for 8 days and you’ll probably die.But we as a culture do not appreciate it nearly as much as we should.Your challenge this week is to put sleep first: both … Read more
No, this post isn’t a few days late. I posted this last week for my Patrons on Patreon: rewarding their commitment with early access to the things I produce seems fair to me. Want to join them? There’s a link in the sidebar. Now, on with the post. Challenge: February 2021 Well, that didn’t go … Read more
It can be a lonely business running classes or even a whole club, taking responsibility for everyone’s safety, helping students to progress down the path towards mastery of the Art of Arms. My friends and I started a historical fencing club in 1994 to attract people to fight with, and we soon realised that the … Read more
Happy New Year! Though really, this is just an arbitrary calendar change. Years, solstices and equinoxes are real, observable, astronomical events. But this dating system is entirely human and arbitrary. And wouldn’t it make much more sense to date the New Year from the Spring Equinox? But I digress… I don’t do resolutions. They don’t … Read more