Consulting Swordsman
Not long ago I braved the North Passage and flew to Seattle via Iceland. This was about my twentieth trip to Seattle, but my first to SwordSquatch. The event is run by a group of Lonin students who got together a few years ago to create the event that they would want to go to. … Read more
In early September I will be leaping aboard an aircraft with a spring in my step, as I will be off to see my friends in Seattle (again). The pretext for this merry jaunt is attending the awesome SwordSquatch event for the first time. This is the third Squatch, and for the last couple of … Read more
I spent last weekend on the Isle of Wight taking part in the Action Challenge Ultra event, which raised a chunky £844 (so far) for the excellent charity Room to Read. Six writers set out at 8am on Saturday morning, lead by Joanna Penn who had invited her podcast listeners to join her on the … Read more
Boldness is a key virtue in swordsmanship, at least according to Fiore dei Liberi (and who am I to argue?). So I’d like to commend Adam Weller of Auckland Sword and Shield for having the wit and boldness to contact me and ask me to come to Auckland to teach a seminar for him. About … Read more
I’ve been off on my wanderings again. I flew to Singapore on Sunday 22nd, and arrived at 5pm local time on the Monday, to be met by Robin (who runs PHEMAS, my Singapore branch), plus three visiting students from Malaysia, and one from Jakarta, who were all in town to come to my very short … Read more
Every HEMA school has its own particular vibe, a culture and a way of being. I spent my last weekend in the New World at Valkyrie Martial Arts Assembly, teaching a longsword weekend; a day of Fiore and a day of Vadi. So far, so normal. But the Valkyrie vibe is quite unlike any other … Read more
It has been a splendid few days in Seattle so far, kicked off by a trapeze lesson with the excellent Milla Marshall at SANCA. The place was pretty empty, so there was no-one to hold the camera (Milla was busy spotting me through the tricky bits), but we did manage to catch this new trick … Read more
A recurring theme in my life is a contact from someone who narrowly missed a seminar with me in some far-flung outpost because they didn’t know it was happening. So let me take a minute of your time to let you know about two events coming up in the Pacific North West: This weekend, April … Read more
I was expecting to be far more nostalgic about seeing Helsinki again after nine months away. It’s by far the longest time I’ve been absent from my city since 2001. There are changes here and there- most excitingly perhaps a bespoke shoemaker has opened a workshop near Kamppi. Good thing I’ve been too busy to … Read more
I am resistant to change in the English language. I dislike the use of ‘reference’ as a verb. Refer to something, don’t reference it. And as for the astonishingly lazy and stupid “I could care less” when the speaker means “I couldn’t care less”, well, that makes me quite cross. But every now and then … Read more