Consulting Swordsman
Every time I post something even remotely concerned with human rights on my blog, I get a slew of bile from all quarters. Most of it comes from my natural enemies, such as this moron responding to my post Fascists are poisoning HEMA: Or this one: That’s quite incontrovertible evidence that the post was worth … Read more
I’m reading Invisible Women: Exposing Gender Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez, and it’s one of those books that simply everybody on the planet ought to read. The raging unfairness she exposes has made me rethink a lot of things. It’s not like I was unaware of what was going on, … Read more
There’s a meme running round the socialz: post an image a day for ten days, with no explanations, and nominating a friend to take up the “challenge” each day. I was nominated by Nikodemus Siivola, an old friend who used to train with me back in the early days of my School. I was travelling … Read more
I arrived home from my trip Down Under a couple of days ago, and have been reflecting on why it was such a particularly good experience. I got to see some old friends, make some new ones, and even went surfing for the first time ever (I’ll be writing that up in some detail shortly). … Read more
I often get asked “What’s your favourite sword?” Here’s my answer: How can one possibly choose amongst so many lovely options? And in other news, I finished my sword rack, at last! It’s in cherry, with acrylic supports, and carved finials: And it’s rather over-loaded: Because how on earth could I leave any one of … Read more
This Fiore Translation Project is a monster. Transcribing and translating is fun and quite easy (because this manuscript has been in my head for over 20 years now). The commentary is easy too- it just pours out in a kind of free-association torrent. But editing the videos? Uploading them to youtube? Cropping the images? Creating … Read more
I’ve taken up indoor climbing as a hobby. Nothing too serious, and no hanging off skyscrapers. Some friends of ours invited me along, and it was fun, physically and mentally demanding, and reasonably safe. I have a general rule not to take up new hobbies that don’t have a social component. I spend more time … Read more
As a historical martial artist, I think a lot about the differences between what my students and I are doing, compared to what the swordspeople of old may have done. Four films (or rather, three and two franchises) have made me think particularly hard about the topic. They are Bohemian Rhapsody, a biopic of Freddie … Read more
Good writing advice often includes ‘get rid of all unnecessary words’. The awesome Zinsser says as much in his must-read On Writing Well, and he’s right. But one can go too far. Why is it that editors these days, especially the ones that live in your own head, want to pare everything down to the … Read more
My friends at Valkyrie Martial Arts recently ran an event called Big Gay Sword Day. The point of it was to make it super-explicitly minority-friendly, though not in the least exclusive. And yet they’ve come under fire from people who feel that this is unfairly excluding straight white men from the HEMA world. Seriously. All … Read more