Consulting Swordsman
I am not a ninja. I am not a knight. I am a Jedi. In 2006 I taught a long sword and lightsaber seminar at LucasFilm Singapore to a group of animators working on the Clone Wars series, which, if you think about it in just the right way, makes me a Jedi Master. Hah! … Read more
Yesterday, I gave the impression that I had found an authentic medieval Italian falchion treatise. But actually it was the work of Heidi Zimmerman (the Meyer plates printing genius), an anonymous calligrapher friend, and yours truly. I got the idea long ago, and while talking to Heidi over skype one day, asked her in on … Read more
UPDATE: this was posted on April 1st, and was, as some readers spotted, a giant jape. For more details, see here. Oh. My. God. As you may be aware, I have spent most of this year in Italy, and much of that time looking for insight into the systems I teach. While I was there, … Read more
Fifteen years ago today, my employer Patrick Baxter laid me off from my job as a cabinet maker. Exactly one year later, I opened the School of European Swordsmanship in Helsinki. We began with a free demo class, which was hopelessly over-attended; so much so that the demo class turned into a lecture instead. The … Read more
Without doubt the best rapier duel in cinematic history is the one between Inigo Montoya and the Man in Black at the top of the Cliffs of Insanity, in The Princess Bride (1987). To celebrate breaking 10,000€ on my recent crowdfunding campaign, I told my backers I would put up a video of how the duel might … Read more
A mysterious parcel was waiting for me when I arrived at my School’s Christmas Party (and my 40th birthday party) on Saturday, November 23. It had been shipped from Edinburgh and was addressed to me, but I was not expecting a delivery that day. Besides, shipping companies do not normally deliver on a Saturday in … Read more
This blog has now been up for one whole year. Huzzah! In that time I have published 58 posts, in 11 categories. By far the most-viewed post, with nearly double the hits of the next most viewed, has been “Plastic swords are for children”, which is interesting as the majority of hits have been sent … Read more