The Sword Guy Podcast

The Sword Guy Podcast episode 64 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy My interview today is with Malcolm Fare, who is a collector of historical fencing books, a fencer himself and proprietor of the National Fencing Museum in the UK. The museum houses a library of over 300 books, 250 paintings and prints, 200 weapons, numerous masks, kit, trophies, posters, programmes, medals, stamps, postcards and other ephemera. You can click through on the museum’s website to see photos of the items. In 2017 I spent three days at the National Fencing Museum with a decent camera and a book-photography rig, taking hi-res images of the cream of their amazing collection of treatises, with the kind assistance of James Hester, and Malcolm himself. Here is a link to the Senese: https://guywindsor.net/2018/06/the-last-of-the-bolognese-seneses-the-true-handling-of-the-sword-yours-free/ and De La Touche: https://guywindsor.net/2017/07/the-true-principles-of-the-sword/ In the interview I mention the photos I took of McBane’s The Expert Sword Man’s Companion. They are sadly still in a disorderly state on my hard drive, and not yet fit to share. If anyone would like to organise them, please get in touch! Listen to this episode to hear how Malcolm got his hands on some of his favourite books. It’s a wonderful tale involving auctions, barons, and chance encounters. You can get in touch with Malcolm and arrange a visit to the National Fencing Museum at http://www.fencingmuseum.com/ Guy’s new book, as mentioned in the intro, can be found at www.guywindsor.net/solo

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 62 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/drawing-swords-episode62/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Yael Nathan is a comic artist who draws swords as part of her Warriors series. She has also worked with IDW on several Star Wars comics. Find her work at https://elcomics.gumroad.com/# and https://yaeln.com. Yael is also the author of the Serpent webcomic. https://tapas.io/series/Serpent/info and https://www.facebook.com/SerpentWebcomic Serpent is the story of a girl born into a guild that does not accept her, in a land where women are no more than property. Through determination and deceit, she leaves her home and infiltrates the assassin’s guild, rises up through the ranks to become the king’s personal assassin; only to be betrayed and extradited to the enemy land of Dane, where she’ll fall in love and help bring about a revolution in her homeland. We talk about her grandfather’s Kris sword. Here are some photos of it: In our conversation we mention Gunpowder Milkshake, the new film written by Yael’s friend and collaborator, Ehud Lavski: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8368408/ Guy’s new book, as mentioned in the intro, can be found at guywindsor.net/solo

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/your-challenge-for-august-get-stronger/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Your challenge for August is to get stronger, following the principles of conditioning as described in Guy Windsor's new book, The Windsor Method. In this episode Guy reads the chapter aloud for you (with minor changes).

The Sword Guy Podcast Episode 61 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/steven-pressfield-episode-61/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Steven Pressfield is the author of The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Gates of Fire, The War of Art, and many other novels and non-fiction titles about writing. His latest book is A Man at Arms, and he has a YouTube channel in which he investigates the warrior archetype. In our conversation we discuss what it takes to become an overnight success. We also talk about writing about Spartans, what a sword actually is, the rules of war and what happens when those rules are broken. Steven has written film scripts for both Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren (amongst others). Listen to this episode to find out who he thinks would win in a fight between the two men. A Man At Arms is Steven’s new book. We talk about this, of course, and the MacGuffin in the story. From Steven’s website: “A Man at Arms starts with Telamon, the seemingly amoral mercenary of the ancient world, accepting an assignment from Rome to intercept and destroy a certain letter bound from Ephesus in Asia Minor to Corinth in Greece.” Steven has a very different answer to the usual question of “what is the best idea you have never acted upon?” which is well worth a listen. www.stevenpressfield.com Guy’s new book, as mentioned in the intro, can be found at www.guywindsor.net/solo

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/pirates-and-batons-episode60/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy This week’s guest is Julie Olson, senior instructor at the Athena School of Arms in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a director of the Iron Gate Exhibition, the largest New England historical martial arts event. She's also well-known on the longsword tournament circuit. Julie was placed 7th in the Longsword Triathlon at Longpoint 2019, the highest ranking woman in that event. In our chat we get into the nitty gritty of running a club and competing in tournaments. We also talk about Julie’s really fun idea of creating a pirate ship LARP and her current favourite niche weapon, the Italian baton from Giuseppe Cerri’s 1854 treatise. Here's the playlist Julie mentions in the show from Zsolt Sander: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFo_vW1NCyGRA1xWzn5fqn6PI_lV2mKQE You can clearly see how each movement is performed. If stick fighting is your thing, also check out episode 38 of the podcast, with Jessica Gomez, where we talk about Portuguese stick fighting, Jogo do Pau: https://guywindsor.net/2021/03/portuguese-party-weapons-episode38/ For the Athena School of Arms: http://athenaschoolofarms.org/ The Iron Gate Exhibition: http://www.irongateexhibition.com/ Guy’s new book, as mentioned in the intro, can be found at guywindsor.net/solo

The Sword Guy Podcast episode 59 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/who-whacked-talhoffer-epsiode59/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy This episode is with Dierk Hagedorn, who is something of a legend in our community. He is a translator and author of very many books. Last summer he had seven new books on the go at once. Dierk has translated and produced scholarly editions of Gladiatoria and Lecküchner’s Messer fencing treatise, Peter von Danzig’s manuscript, Albrecht Dürer, and many more. Last year, when Dierk was working on a translation and transcription with Christian Tobler, he discovered a passage which somebody had taken great pains to try and erase. With a lot of detective work and perseverance, he discovered that the deleted passage referred to Hans Talhoffer being sliced in the hand and whacked on the head. We discuss why it might have been deleted, and why it was there in the first place. And of course, I have to quote Dierk when he said “Liechtenauer possibly wasn’t that good.” You’ll have to listen to the episode to find out the context of that! Useful Links Dierk Hagedorn on Wiktenauer Dierk Hagedorn design Hammaborg Historischer Schwertkampf Dierk’s YouTube channel Guy’s new book, as mentioned in the intro, can be found at guywindsor.net/solo

The Sword Guy Podcast episode 58 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/lightsaber-twirling-episode58/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Jill Bearup is a stage combatant, YouTuber and a lightsaber twirler. I first came across her work through her YouTube channel critiquing swordfights in TV and movies, which is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRrvZqCL1YsqRA8IpXrhYQQ. Jill loves pretending to fight people on stage and screen and her videos cover how a good fight can add to the story being told, and also, in case you need it, how to sword fight in a dress. You can find her online at www.patreon.dot.com/JillBearup and her website is www.jillbearup.com. In our conversation we talk a lot about Star Wars and lightsabers. The lightsabers Jill has are from Saberzone www.saberzonecosplay.com. To watch the Kylo Ren and Rey Throne Room fight with all that random twirling from the Red Guards, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4cugJ7JzvM We don’t just talk about Star Wars, we discuss other swordfights on the big and small screen. This is a favourite of ours; the final duel in Rob Roy, with Liam Neeson and Tim Roth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERmM5l2ceoY. It’s not all good though, we also talk about the sword fighting in Game of Thrones. You might be interested in Jill’s YouTube channel for hair tutorials, where she recreates hair styles from film, including Princess Leia’s braids: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSCElWJIZPQnf4_ZuGpI8RA

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/monthly-challenge-breathe-better-in-july-the-sword-guy-episode-57/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Your monthly challenge for July 2021: breathe better. For more on this subject, please see The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts, also available as an audiobook read by Kelley Costigan. Or the try my online course, Fundamentals: Breathing, which covers much of my breathing practice. It’s included with the monthly subscription package, and with the Solo Training course. The first class is available as part of my free Human Maintenance course.

Episode 56 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/persian-martial-arts-episode56/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Manouchehr Moshtagh Khorasani is a Frankfurt-based museum analyst, university professor, author of many books and over one hundred and eighty articles on the historical martial arts of Iran. He is a highly skilled martial artist and is currently waiting for the pandemic to be over so he can get his third Dan black belt in Kyokushin Karate. Manouchehr is a highly skilled wrestler, and in this episode we talk about the importance of wrestling in Iranian culture, and how it is an integral part of his Razmafzar school of Iranian/Persian martial arts, which also uses swords, shields, knives, spears and bows. https://youtu.be/Q-jOZRoOyR8 Here is a video of some of the weapons used in the Razmafzar system. You can find Manouchehr online at https://www.moshtaghkhorasani.com/, where you will find a really extraordinary range of articles and resources on Persian martial arts. His books include The Lexicon of Arms and Armour from Iran; Persian Archery and Swordsmanship: Historical Martial Arts of Iran; and Arms and Armor from Iran: The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period. There are lots of videos of Razmafzar in action on Manouchehr’s Facebook and Instagram pages, and there is absolutely loads of content on RazmafzarTV’s YouTube channel, including both Persian weapons, armour, archery and martial arts, and also Manouchehr’s swimming, solo training and Kyokushin katas, which we talk about in the second half of the episode.

The Sword Guy Podcast episode 55 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/shakespeare-and-silver-epsiode55/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Ben Crystal is an actor, author, producer, and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production. In this episode we talk about Ben’s work in exploring how actors would have rehearsed, staged, and performed Shakespeare’s plays in the 16th century, and how the original rhymes and pronunciation would have sounded. It makes for a completely different experience to what we think of as “Shakespearean” in modern times. Even if you aren’t into Shakespeare this is a fascinating conversation about theatre, memory, language, and of course, swords. Which leads us on to George Silver. Find out what Ben thinks of Silver and whether he would have wanted to go to the pub with him. For those of you unaware of our project, in 1599 George Silver published his Paradoxes of Defence, offering a window into the Tudor and medieval martial arts as practiced in England. I am bringing that book to life in glorious audio, both in modern pronunciation (narrated by Jonathan Hartman), and Original Pronunciation (narrated by Ben Crystal). Renowned historical harpist Andrew Lawrence-King is providing the musical punctuation. You can support the project here: www.guywindsor.net/silver and listen to a sample of Ben’s original pronunciation towards the end of the episode here: https://guywindsor.net/2021/05/paradoxes-of-defence-in-audio/. Visit Ben Crystal’s website at www.bencrystal.com and find him on Twitter @bencrystal.

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 54 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/movement-matters-with-katy-bowman/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Bestselling author, speaker, and a leader in the Movement movement, biomechanist Katy Bowman has been changing the way we move and think about our need for movement. Her eight books, including the groundbreaking “Move Your DNA” and “Movement Matters” have been translated into more than a dozen languages worldwide. Bowman teaches movement globally and speaks about sedentarism and movement ecology to academic and scientific audiences. Her work has been featured in diverse media such as the Today Show, CBC Radio One, the Seattle Times, and Good Housekeeping. One of Maria Shriver’s “Architects of Change” and an America Walks “Woman of the Walking Movement”, Katy has worked with companies like Patagonia, Nike and Google as well as a wide range of non-profits and other communities, sharing her “move more, move more body parts, move more for what you need” message. Her movement education company, Nutritious Movement, is based in Washington State, where she lives with her family. In our conversation we talk about form, feet, injuries, and Jess Finley’s ‘hooky’ acromion process (it’s part of your shoulder). When you use swords, or do any other sport, the movements - or lack of - that you do all of the rest of the time when you are not doing swords create your ability to move freely and effectively with a sword in your hand. What is your body doing when it is not doing swords? We mention Ruth Goodman’s book, How to be a Tudor. You can find out more here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/287/287072/how-to-be-a-tudor/9780241973714.html and listen to our podcast episode here: https://guywindsor.net/2021/04/fire-and-cauldrons-episode44/ If the section on barefoot shoes inspires you, check out Freet shoes https://freetbarefoot.com Use this code at checkout: THESWORDGUY10 to get 10% off- and if you do, I’ll also get a small commission. Yay! The author mentioned when we are talking about Finland is Robert Holdstock, the Mythago Wood series. We also discuss sedentary culture, what it’s doing to us and our kids, and how we might improve our environment to make movement more likely. Human movement is at an all-time low and our children are currently facing both a movement and nature deficiency, with physical, mental and environmental consequences. The good news is, while the problem feels massive, the solution is quite simple…and fun! Katy’s forthcoming book, “Grow Wild: The Whole-Child, Whole-Family, Nature-Rich Guide to Moving More” is out in the UK on 24th June, SRP £24.99, published by Propriometrics Press; distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing. On Bookshop UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/grow-wild-the-whole-child-whole-family-nature-rich-guide-to-moving-more/9781943370160 On amazon UK.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Wild-Whole-Child-Whole-Family-Nature-Rich/dp/1943370168/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29X0ZIYTB1DAG&dchild=1&keywords=grow+wild+book+katy+bowman&qid=1615844073&sprefix=grow+wild%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-1 Katy’s web/social media links: https://www.nutritiousmovement.com https://www.facebook.com/NutritiousMovement/ https://www.instagram.com/nutritiousmovement/

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 53 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/turning-the-tables-episode53/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy To celebrate a whole year of The Sword Guy Podcast, we are going right back to where it all began, with Jess Finley. Except this time the tables are turned and it’s Jess interviewing me! In our wide-ranging conversation we talk about my history of antiques restoration and starting a sword school. We also talk in depth about flipping hierarchies on their head to give students what they want, and how to deal with those rare students who roll their eyes at our teaching. Jess also gets to ask the now very familiar question: "What’s the best idea you have never acted upon?”

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/challenge-of-the-month-meditate-in-june/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy For a free meditation class, see: https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/free-courses-human-maintenance-longsword-rapier And check out the Paradoxes of Defence audiobook here: guywindsor.net/silver

Episode 52 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-sparkle-school-episode52/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Claire Wemyss lives in Vancouver and is a coach, educator, and co-founder of Kunst des Funkelns, which focusses on the martial arts of medieval Germany and runs from Valkyrie Western Martial Arts Assembly. In this episode, Claire describes how she and her training partner Jon Mills came up with the name of Kunst des Funkelns, her love for the Messer, and why play-based learning is so important. Claire is also an ADHD coach, and towards the end of our conversation, she describes how coaches can best work with neurodivergent students, and how neurodivergent students themselves can self-advocate to ensure they get the most out of the learning environment. Useful links: Kunst des Funkelns on Instagram. I said in the episode I would post a link to Foametheus Forge, but they don’t appear to be in business any more. Episode 5 with Kaja Sadowski Episode 23 with Da’Mon Stith

Episode 51 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/mines-and-mimeographs-episode51/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Professor Steven Muhlberger is an absolute legend in the historical martial arts community and is a 50 year veteran of the SCA. In this episode we talk about the very early days of the SCA, and how newsletters were vital in spreading the word. His books are foundationally important for anyone who is studying medieval martial arts, and they include Deeds of Arms, Jousts and Tournaments, Formal Combat in the Fourteenth Century, Royal Jousts, Murder, Rape and Treason: Judicial Combat in the Late Middle Ages and all sorts of other titles too. You can find more information at http://smuhlberger.weebly.com/ As you can see from the list of book titles, Steven is something of an expert in chivalric combat in the 14th century, and in our conversation he describes some that took place in France, and his favourite story of the Duke of Bourbon fighting some English roughnecks in a tiny mine, which led to a great result for all involved. Read more from Steven in Muhlberger's World History blog: http://smuhlberger.blogspot.com/

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/paradoxes-of-defence-in-audio/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy guywindsor.net/silver In 1599 George Silver, gentleman, published his Paradoxes of Defence, which lambastes the outlandish (i.e. foreign) Italian rapier fencing that was becoming popular in England, and offers an extraordinary window into the medieval martial arts that the rapier was superceding. Whatever you think about Silver, or rapier fencing, his book is simply essential reading for all historical martial artists. It is one of the few historical fencing sources that doesn't rely on images, so it struck me that it would make an excellent audiobook. Why not listen to Silver in the car, while cooking, doing housework, or whatever else? And, why not have him read not only in our modern pronunciation, but also in Original pronunciation? I hired Jonathan Hartman to do a modern narration, and Ben Crystal to do the Original pronunciation. Renowned historical harpist Andrew Lawrence-King is providing the musical punctuation. This project provides Silver's work in an accessible format, and an unmissable opportunity to compare and contrast the two versions. If you are a sword person, a historian, a linguist, re-enactor or a Shakespeare fan, this is for you. I've put together a crowdfunding campaign to help raise funds to pay for the rest of the work. If you think this is a good idea, please support it!

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 50 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/revolution-cooking-knitting-episode50/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy It’s the 50th episode! This week I’m in conversation with Monica Gaudio, known in the SCA as Illadore de Bedegrayne, and she is a cook, fencer, Marshal, Seneschal, knitter, Laurel and Master of Defence. We get into what all those titles mean in the episode. Monica has been studying medieval cookery for 30 years, with a mostly hands-on approach, i.e. trying to feed anywhere from 40 to 150 people at feast or dinner in the most "period" way possible. She is known for an internet furore concerning a plagiarised apple pie recipe, which kicked off a massive “nerd rage”. So much so, there is a Wikipedia page about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooks_Source_infringement_controversy Here's the medieval cooking website that Monica manages: http://www.godecookery.com/godeboke/godeboke.htm When we talk about knitting, the book mentioned is this one: https://www.amazon.com/History-Hand-Knitting-Richard-Rutt/dp/0979607345 and this is what a Monmouth Cap looks like: (Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monmouth_cap) As well as medieval cookery and knitting, we discuss the antagonism between the SCA and HEMA communities, and go into a bit of detail about how the SCA is structured and what all the different titles mean. Monica is an accomplished fencer, currently ranked 35th, and she shares her techniques for getting into the right mindset for the many tournaments that she competes in. For more on mindset, check out my Solo Training course, which Monica very kindly recommends: https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/solo-training And finally, listen to the end to hear about the revolution Monica is starting in the SCA, and the wider historical martial arts world. To join her, contact Monica on: [email protected]

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-progression-of-teacher-training-in-swordschool/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Teaching well is a skill that can be learned. In this in-between-isode, I give you the key to teaching teachers. If you have a student who has expressed an interest in teaching, how can you empower them to become a good teacher? This episode covers essentials such as: Avoiding burnout Giving feedback How to teach and structure a class, take responsibility, and broaden their skills This was prepared for one of my Coaches’ Corner sessions. Coaches’ Corner sessions are a monthly get together at 3pm (UK time) on the second Saturday of each month. Each session has a theme, and we have a discussion and Q&A session afterwards. It is a really useful environment for both those who are interested in teaching and those who have decades of experience. If that sounds like your sort of thing, feel free to join us. You can find the link to the sessions at www.guywindsor.net/coaching.

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 48 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/mike-loades-episode48/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Best known as a television presenter and for his appearances as a historical weapons specialist and military historian in over one hundred tv documentaries, Mike also works as a tv director, a writer and as a consultant and film-maker for the video games industry. If you've been swinging swords, certainly in Britain at least, at any point in the last 30 years, you'll certainly have heard of him. He has had three major books published, Swords and Swordsmen, War Bows and Dogs: Working Origins and Traditional Tasks, with more commissioned books in the pipeline (about horses). Other works include The Longbow, The Crossbow and The Composite Bow for Osprey and he was a primary contributor to The Worldwide History of Warfare (Thames and Hudson) and to ‘Masters of the Steppe: The Impact of the Scythians and Later Nomad Societies of Eurasia’ (Archeopress). In our conversation we cover galloping a Roman chariot through central London, war bows, dogs, castles, and what it was like doing historical martial arts before it became popular. Mike has many incredible stories and insights from his long career, which I am sure you will enjoy as much as I did. As a taster, have a watch of this video showing some of his horsemanship and archery skills: https://player.vimeo.com/video/412913409 This video and many more can be found on Mike’s website: http://www.mikeloades.com/ The Mike Loades YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC39m9qw0F45UaMWlug0sbGg

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/may-challenge-skill/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Last month’s challenge (Eat Well in April) was difficult for many people, mostly because food is such an emotional subject. Personally, I spent the month avoiding starch and sugar, which has helped with energy levels, weight management, and especially my reflux problem. I’ve also been adhering more closely to a 16:8 intermittent fasting routine, which is also better for my reflux. The odd thing is that though the house is full of Nutella, chocolate (I haven’t had my easter eggs yet), crisps, bread, etc., it’s actually been really easy to stay off them. I don’t know why, but I think planning ahead and making sure that there were starch and sugar free alternatives ready beforehand was really helpful. I’m planning on relaxing things a bit (those easter eggs need eating) but keeping off the starch most of the time, especially at breakfast. So what’s next for May? You already know how to break a habit and make a habit, and you’re hopefully sleeping better and eating better. So you are perfectly placed to start learning something new. That’s the challenge: learn a new skill. It can be anything: pick up a language on Duolingo. Knitting. Sewing yourself a shirt. Playing the lute. Or the flute. Flying a plane. You can make it something useful if you like (one of the best decisions I ever made was learning to touch-type (described here: Artist and Slugs, Typing Too)), but what I have in mind is something fun, whatever fun looks like to you. Ideally, this will put you into that arse-clenchingly frustrating “oh goddess why won’t my fingers do what they’re supposed to” beginners’ experience. So, if you’re already an accomplished woodworker, learning to carve might not give you that. But sewing might. Wood stays still- cloth moves about all over the bloody place! Getting right outside your comfort zone and putting in the time to get past that first dip is the point of this exercise. I’d ask that you commit to a regular practice schedule for the month. You can quit at the end of the month if it turns out to be not fun, or not a useful skill, but just a month should be enough for you to get the hit of beginneriness (yes, that is a word, I just wrote it) that will deliver the benefits. Those benefits are: 1. Neuroplasticity- which is just the fancy way of saying your brain making new connections and rewiring itself. This is the fundamental biological process that is learning. You get better at it the more you do it. 2. Empathy for beginners. This is especially useful for instructors, who may forget what it was like to be totally clueless at the art they are trying to teach. 3. Fun, and the satisfaction of seeing progress. You’ll probably never progress quite so far so quickly as in that first month, when you go from “this is all totally unfamiliar” to “this is really hard but I can do this first small thing”. As always with my challenges, there are no hard and fast limits. You’ll know if you’re taking the soft option, or cheating. Here’s one idea you may not have considered. I saw this last week when one of my students sent it to me (thanks Jason!): toe yoga. https://vimeo.com/200836488 Have fun with that!

Episode 46 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/people-like-us-daniele-cybulskie-episode46/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy As a writer, professor, TEDx speaker, and podcaster, Danièle has been making the Middle Ages fun, entertaining, and accessible for over a decade. She is the author of Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction, and The Five-Minute Medievalist, which debuted at the top of Amazon’s Canadian charts, as well as the forthcoming How to Live Like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life. Through her featured articles at Medievalists.net, as well as those she’s written for several international magazines, Danièle’s work has reached over a million readers worldwide. Danièle is also the creator and host of The Medieval Podcast, a weekly show on which she interviews experts on the Middle Ages about a wide variety of topics. In this episode, we share some of the questions we get asked, like, “Were swords sharp?” or, “Did medieval people love their children?” Danièle is passionate about dispelling some of the myths many of us grew up with about this time period, as well as helping people to realise that Middle Ages folk were human beings, with exactly the same loves, fears, and feelings as you or I. We also discuss Danièle’s online course, The Medieval Masterclass for Creators, which is designed to provide novelists, game developers, and other fiction creators with information about various aspects of medieval life, such as what a drinking cup looked like, what the texture is of a piece of medieval linen, or what medieval life sounded like. You can follow her on Twitter @5MinMedievalist or visit her website, danielecybulskie.com.

Episode 45 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/swords-and-historical-handcrafts-episode45/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Bill Grandy is a long time professional historical martial arts instructor at the Virginia Academy of Fencing (VAF) in the United States, and also a historical handcrafter making beautiful scabbards and shields and things. Check out his website at www.historicalhandcrafts.com. In this episode we talk about lots of different aspects of being a sword person, including teaching professionally and as an amateur; getting to play with antique swords and the work of the Oakeshott Institute; and owning Michael Chidester’s wonderful facsimiles of medieval manuscripts. We also talk about getting books written and published (or not), and how a sport fencing background influences your teaching of historical martial arts. There’s even more too - this episode really does cover a lot! Useful links: Bill’s websites: www.historicalhandcrafts.com for his leather and woodwork, and for the full details and pictures of the Schiavona and Dussack we talk about in the episode: www.thehemaists.com Bill’s Styrian Dussack For more on the Oakeshott Institute and antique swords, here’s my conversation with Craig Johnson: https://guywindsor.net/2021/02/how-to-make-swords-episode33/ For more about Wiktenauer and Michael Chidester, my conversation with Michael is here: https://guywindsor.net/2020/11/wiktenauer-episode21/ and Michael’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/michaelchidester The Virginia Academy of Fencing: www.vafinc.com And finally, for woodworkers, this is the YouTube channel by Rex Krueger we talk about: Rex Krueger: Making Woodwork Fun. Here’s a photo of my dovetail joint, as promised:

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 44 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/fire-and-cauldrons-episode44/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Ruth Goodman is a social and domestic historian working with museums, theatre, television and educational establishments. She has presented and consulted on several highly successful television series for the BBC. She has also written several excellent books we'll be talking about today, including The Domestic Revolution, How to be a Tudor and How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England. In this episode, Ruth and I talk about some of the lesser known, but nonetheless fascinating aspects of life in the Middle Ages, without what we think of “essential” cleaning products, or temperature controlled ovens. Yet people did get their clothes properly clean, and they were able to bake excellent cakes, pastries and bread. Ruth explains how they did this, and the type of learning that has been largely lost nowadays. In our wide-ranging conversation, we also cover the importance of sheds, leaving kids in forests, giving knives to toddlers, and understanding fire. Ruth has a special passion for medieval cauldrons. Here’s a picture: We also talk about how people would have dressed and moved at this time, all of which is very relevant if you are interested in martial arts from this, or any other period of history. We discuss how to research when there aren’t many sources available – as it turns out, there are many ways to skin a rabbit.

Episode 43 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/what-is-a-sword-episode43/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy What is a sword? When does a dagger become a sword? When does a sword become a spear? Can a boomerang even be a sword? In a follow-up to my conversation with Australian martial artist and philosopher, Damon Young, this special episode picks up where episode 31 finishes, with a discussion where we try to come to an agreement on what a definition of a sword might be. If you have ever wondered about this very question, or already have your own definition in mind, have a listen and see if you agree with us! Damon is the author of books like Philosophy in the Garden, and On Getting Off: Sex and Philosophy. He has also edited a couple of books on philosophy and martial arts: Engagement, Philosophy and the Martial Arts, and Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness. If you missed the first part of my conversation with Damon, you can find it here. It’s about the importance of the study of philosophy when practising martial arts. How we know the difference between bravery and foolhardiness, how can someone engage in violence and still be a good person. And perhaps, most importantly, however we define them, why are swords so damn cool?

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 42 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/sitting-still-episode42/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Tim Parks is a prolific novelist, non-fiction writer and translator and perhaps most importantly from my perspective, he wrote a fantastic memoir on getting into meditation, called Teach us to Sit Still. Those of you that train with me know that meditation is one of the core parts of my practise and in this episode Tim explains the circumstances that led to him going to his first meditation retreat, how it changes people, and how he does it. Tim has lived in Italy for many years, and we also talk about translating texts and about horribly illegible Renaissance handwriting. Discussing his book, Medici Money, leads us into a fascinating digression about the meaning and morality of money. To find out more about Tim Parks and his work, visit https://timparks.com/

Episode 41 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/writing-and-walking-episode41/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Joanna Penn is a writer (both fiction and non-fiction), podcaster and ultramarathon walker. She doesn’t do swords, or even a lot of history, but she has been a huge influence on my work and this podcast. We don’t talk about martial arts in this episode, but we do discuss physical training, accomplishing goals, and Joanna’s medieval-style pilgrimage from London’s Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. That’s 182 km or 113 miles on foot. This took place in 2020, which was the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, and we discuss cadaver tombs, memento mori, and what taking such a very long walk teaches you. To read more about Joanna’s pilgrimage, see: https://www.booksandtravel.page/pilgrimage-canterbury/ And a list of questions to consider when taking a pilgrimage: https://www.booksandtravel.page/pilgrimage-questions/ For all Joanna Penn’s books, links to her podcast, blog, and support for writers, where you will find resources to help you write, publish and market your book, as well as make a living with your writing:

Eat Well. 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. Eat well for what? The challenge this month is simply this: pay attention to what you eat and why. No area of human health is more riven with controversy and ill-feeling than discussions around what we eat. Very few people are actually rational about it, and I’m certainly not one of them. You can optimise your diet for many different things, and they will all look different. Here are some common priorities, in no particular order: 1. Athletic performance in your chosen field. Should sprinters eat like marathon runners? Probably not. 2. Muscle gain. All serious bodybuilders have pretty strict diets, and are often eating far more than they really want to, to persuade their bodies to store so much protein as muscle. 3. Fat loss. Probably the most common reason people pay attention to their food habits, and also an area where emotions run very high. 4. Pleasure. Many pleasurable foods are contraindicated by other priorities. If only chocolate was disgusting… 5. Ethics. The food you choose to buy has been produced, distributed, and sold by people. All three of those steps have ethical considerations. Animal welfare is one; the environmental impact of crops like soy is another. How far the food has travelled is yet another. 6. Longevity. This usually revolves around restricting calories, fasting, and other unpleasant practices. 7. Social connections. Many food practices have social dimensions. I have dinner with my wife and kids every day. We sit down together for it, no screens. Sometimes what we eat is affected by that priority; if we’re running late and the kids are hungry, I might make something quickly so we can eat together. Making something that is a treat for the kids usually means it’s not good for my longevity, athletic performance, or fat loss. But it’s very good for my mental health to have strong bonds with my children. 8. Convenience. How often have we eaten a less-optimal food because it was right there, instead of taking the time to make or find something better? 9. Cost. Many people can’t afford to buy enough of the higher-quality food that would be better for them. Some people just don’t prioritise food in their budget the way they prioritise other things. The principles of nutrition are quite straightforward: eat enough of the things you need but not too much, avoid the things that are bad for you, and spend enough time without eating for your gut to rest. Given that we live in a culture of abundance we tend to classify diets by restrictions, and take the “getting enough” side of things for granted. Those restrictions are: 1. Restricting specific foods. Many cultures have a taboo food that other cultures suffer no ill effects from. Most weight-loss diets have some form of ‘don’t eat sugar’. Vegetarianism restricts all meat. 2. Restricting food quantity. You can have this much ice-cream, but no more. For most of my lifetime, most of the popular weight-loss diets have been about calorie counting, and reducing the overall quantity of food. 3. Restricting when you can eat. Most traditional cultures have periodic fasts, and we all fast while we’re asleep. One currently popular form of this (which I actually find very useful for my body and my purposes) is the not-very-well-named “intermittent fasting”, in which you restrict food to an eating window, such as 14 hours of no food, 10 hours of food (so if you eat breakfast at 7am, you need to stop eating by 5pm). Popular versions of this include 16:8 and 20:4. But my own parents remember food rationing during the war. Perhaps half the people currently alive and 99% of all humans who lived before the 1950s are far more concerned with getting enough food than with being precious about when and how much they eat. There are also psychological costs to viewing food as something to be restricted, so you may prefer to think about how do you get enough of the high-quality food, rather than restricting yourself. So what should you do? The Challenge this month is: examine your priorities regarding food, and make choices consistent with those priorities. I did say that’s a challenge. It’s really, really, hard for most people. I would start by asking yourself what your priorities are. Are they even on my list? Then look at what you are actually doing, and decide how closely your actions match your priorities. It might be better to do that the other way round- look at what you are doing, and from there deduce your priorities. Some priorities are mutually exclusive. Generally speaking, dietary practices associated with longevity are not associated with muscle gain, or pleasure. But most people have many conflicting priorities. So prioriti

Episode 40 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/jousting-episode40/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Callum Forbes is an extremely experienced martial artist, having got into sports fencing in the late ‘70s, and Hapkido from 1982. But then HEMA drew him in, both from a love of Dungeons and Dragons, and from a disillusionment with the ruleset of sports fencing. In this, our 40th episode, Callum tells us all about jousting – how it works, how he trains, what sort of horses you need and how competitions are held. Since the mid ‘80s, Callum has been building up jousting tournaments in his native New Zealand, to the point where he hosts international tournaments. We discuss the challenges that brings, particularly when you are not a multimillionaire and can’t fly your own horse around the world with you. He also explains what a fantastically all-inclusive sport jousting is, so long as you can ride a horse! We also talk about recreating Fiore’s highly dangerous (and effective) mounted combat plays, and Callum has kindly agreed to film them for us. Watch this space for those. Callum’s YouTube channel is here, with lots of videos of jousting training: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0s38rZT23Y67XwVy2ypsjA/videos And for The Wellington Hapkido Academy, where Callum is chief instructor, see here: https://www.wellingtonhapkido.com/about

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 39 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/unconventional-approach-to-hema-episode39/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Lauren Juliette Ings is an assistant instructor with the Stoccata School of Defence in Sydney, Australia, and is also a circus performer, a burlesque dancer and an actor. In this episode we chat about making HEMA more appealing to women, the LGBTQI+ community, and people of different physical abilities. Lauren is hugely passionate about making HEMA more accessible, friendly and fun for all and her style of teaching is rather different from the “middle aged white dudes” of traditional historical fencing schools. We talk about what we can do to get that first woman in through the door, and how important representation is in our schools, books, and materials. You can find Lauren on Instagram @La.Petite.Morticia. (Nudity warning!) The Stoccata School of Defence: https://stoccata.org/

The Sword Guy Podcast, episode 38 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/portuguese-party-weapons-episode38/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Jessica Gomes runs her own club, the Velha Guarda Marcial, in beautiful Sintra, Portugal. She focuses on Fiore’s system, Capoferro rapier, and Portuguese staff fighting, Jogo do Pau. Jessica explains what this Iberian “party weapon” is all about, and how it influences and complements training with other systems. There are some pictures of the Portuguese staffs here, with English translation: https://www.jogodopau.pt/category/media/fotos/feiras-e-romarias/ We talk about teaching different weapons systems alongside one another, such as Jogo do Pau and rapier, and how you keep them separate… or not. There is also lots of advice in this episode for anyone thinking of setting up their own club. We discuss the cultural side of HEMA and how we could get it recognised as a world heritage activity, with the aim of making it easier for new clubs to get started and to help with weapons regulations. For more information on the Roberto Gotti exhibition in Minsk that Jessica attended in 2019, see here: https://www.hema-minsk2019.org/catalogue

Episode 37 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/medieval-swords-and-research-episode37/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy James Hester has been involved with HEMA since the age of 15, when he began performing fight shows throughout New England. He then set his course as an academic and educator, working in museums before completing an MA in Medieval Studies in the UK. He then joined the Royal Armouries Museum, rising over five years to become Curator of Tower Collections at the Tower of London. In 2015 he was awarded the Arms & Armour Heritage Trust Studentship to complete a PhD focusing on late medieval martial arts at the University of Southampton. A summary of the PhD thesis is here. In this episode we talk about James’s exciting research, particularly about matching up the treatises and other sources we have from the period with the notches and dings found on weapons and skeletal evidence from battlefield graves to work out whether the techniques detailed in the fencing treatises were ones that were actually used at the time. Is it possible to extrapolate from a fencing treatise that this is how people actually fought? Click on the link for a video lecture on some of James’s research into damage on arms and armour. We also talk about the passage of arms events James has organised, and his attempts to make the armour at these events as historically accurate as possible, i.e. not what we would think of as “safe” by modern standards. To read more about the 2018 passage of arms at the beautiful Château de Castelnaud in the Dordogne, France, see here: A brief write-up of the 2018 Judgement of Mars with some photos. For more photos, see this link from Facebook: Photos by La Mesnie du Blanc Castel of the 2019 Judgement of Mars on their Facebook page. In the introduction I mention photographs of the treatises at the Fencing Museum in the U.K. You can see these here: https://guywindsor.net/2017/06/a-great-week-for-historical-fencing/ For more information on James and his work, see: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/schoolofmars Website: http://www.schoolofmars.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/schoolofmars Twitter: @schoolofmars

Episode 36 Photo by Keane Chan. For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/historical-medieval-battle-nz-episode36/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Dayna Berghan-Whyman is the President of the New Zealand Federation for Historical Medieval Battle and Buhurt. In case you haven’t heard of it, Historical Medieval Battles (HMB) are full contact sports fighting, where defensive and offensive weapons of the Middle Ages are used. It includes historical fencing, buhurts, melee, duels, small-group battles, mass field battles, professional fights, etc. In our conversation Dayna explains her involvement in getting this sport recognised in New Zealand. In this highly entertaining episode we talk about the challenges of competing in tournaments on a world stage, when you live SO FAR away from everywhere else. Dayna explains what it’s like to get off the plane after 30 hours and realise your armour hasn’t arrived, or what to do when the Italian medics cut your armour off you when you get knocked out in a battle. It’s very costly in terms of time and money doing this sport at a top level, especially in Covid-19 times with the potential for lengthy quarantines. She also talks about the challenges facing women in the sport and how hard it is to get experience when you simply don’t have enough opponents. Listen to this episode for a hilarious anecdote involving Dayna’s mouth guard and bird poo (yes, it’s as bad as you think) and why a bloody knife made Dayna late for a seminar with Guy. Please note that this conversation was conducted in December 2020 and the details of some 2021 competitions have since changed. To find out more about HMB and Buhurt, visit: Buhurt New Zealand Historical Medieval Battle International Association

Episode 35 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/analysing-sword-science-episode35/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Myles Cupp is an instructor at South Coast Swords, in California. You might have seen him on the History Channel's Knife or Death show, and he's a contributor to swordstem.com. SwordSTEM is a website dedicated to applying science to sword martial arts, which analyses martial arts with rational, evidence-based methodologies. In our discussion we talk about some of the articles on SwordSTEM, and how looking at the numbers can influence the rules of tournaments, the gear we use, and the most effective ways to fight. Myles’ day job is as an engineer at Disneyland, and we talk about working on rides like the new Star Wars Rise of the Resistance. We also chat about driverless cars, and speaking Italian like a native, but the episode is really all about swords! One of Myles’ guiding principles is about sharing knowledge, and his work on SwordSTEM is bringing fascinating information to light on really understanding what is going on in tournaments, the swords themselves, and our training methods. Useful links from this episode: Store Webpage: https://southcoastswords.com/ Club webpage: https://southcoastsword.com/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM5BmY0WSmMUq6dskeIUluQ SoCal Swordfight: https://socalswordfight.com/ And of course, SwordSTEM: http://swordstem.com/

Episode 34 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/battle-of-nations-episode34/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy In this episode I talk to Beth Hammer. One of Beth’s favourite pastimes is “This is Sparta” kicking people through fences as part of Battle of Nations competitions. Based in Seattle, USA, Beth practises HEMA and Escrima, and is now enjoying the freedom of Battle of Nations fighting. In this episode we explore what this fun activity involves, and also talk about Beth’s other hobby of fireman’s lifting men much bigger than herself, including me! Photo by Olivia Blake Beth is also an artist, specialising in sculpture and making models. And when she is not doing all that, she also finds the time to be one of the organisers of Swordsquatch, which is an amazing annual event for swordy people. We talk about what goes into organising and planning it, and if you listen there’s also a mention of my purple sparkly unicorn underpants, which you'll want to see: You can find Beth at @mudskipperrodeo on Instagram, and her Patreon for her tiny monster sculpture is www.patreon.com/mudskipperrodeo.

Episode 33 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/how-to-make-swords-episode33/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Craig Johnson is Manager of Arms and Armor, a sword lover's dream job, as they make a wide variety of items from the Medieval and Renaissance periods to faithfully recreate the look, feel, and function of historic weapons. In this episode, we talk about recreating medieval swords as faithfully as possible, modern fashions in sword design, and the intricacies of sword manufacture. If you are interested in anything to do with swords and how they are made, this episode is a must-listen. Craig has been involved in Historical European Martial Arts / Western Martial Arts since the early days of the community and he is the secretary of the Oakeshott Institute, a non-profit organization, established by Christopher Poor in 2000. The Institute is named after the late Ewart Oakeshott, a leading authority on European arms and armour. Ewart spent a lifetime researching and collecting swords and Craig tells us about continuing his legacy, and we talk about how being able to handle original swords is how you can really come to understand them and the people who wielded them. In this episode Craig mentions blog posts about heat treating swords to imbue them with different qualities, which are linked for you here: HISTORICAL SWORD MAKING – HEAT TREATMENT Pt1 HISTORICAL SWORD MAKING – HEAT TREATMENT Pt2 HISTORICAL SWORD MAKING – HEAT TREATMENT Pt3 HISTORICAL SWORD MAKING – HEAT TREATMENT Pt4 For sword typology, (type XVIII, etc.) see Oakeshott’s Typology on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakeshott_typology One of Craig’s top two “golden swords” is this Swiss sabre (from the Wallace Collection). We talk in some depth about what makes it so special, and you need to see the pictures of it to understand: Related to this, here’s a blog post about complex hilted longswords: Complex Hilted Longswords https://www.arms-n-armor.com/blogs/news/complex-hilted-longswords Later on in our conversation we discuss the difference in size between medieval steel gauntlets and their modern counterparts. You might find this blog post interesting about medieval sword grips: https://www.arms-n-armor.com/blogs/news/medieval-sword-grip-size Arms and Armor are on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and YouTube.

Episode 32 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/pole-dancing-with-swords-episode32/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy In this week’s episode I interview Kelley Costigan. Kelley is an actor, director, pole dancer, fencer, performance combatant, adventurer and pirate, currently living in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, home of William Shakespeare. Listen to our conversation to discover the Shakespeare connection that inspired me to ask Kelley to narrate my audiobook, The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts. (It’s out now: you can probably find it in your audiobook app of choice, or get it directly from me here: https://gumroad.com/l/ttphmaaudio.) As a child, Kelley was told that fencing was “not something that girls do”, but she has since made up for it after taking up HEMA in her 40s. We also talk about competitive fencing, competitive pole dancing (yes, that’s a thing,) not being a Russian spy, and what Kelley would do with a million pounds. In case you’ve never seen someone pole dancing with a sword before, here’s one of Kelley’s performances on Vimeo. To find out more about Kelley, her website is www.kelleycostigan.com and you can also find her on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Episode 31 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/why-swords-are-cool-episode31/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Damon Young is an Australian martial artist and philosopher, author of books like Philosophy in the Garden and the soon to be published in Europe, already out in Australia, On Getting Off: Sex and Philosophy. He has also edited a couple of books on philosophy and martial arts: Engagement, Philosophy and the Martial Arts, and Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness. In this fascinating conversation we discuss the importance of the study of philosophy when practising martial arts. How do we know the difference between bravery and foolhardiness? How can someone engage in violence and still be a good person? And perhaps, most importantly, why are swords so damn cool? For Damon’s essay on why swords are cool, you can find the details of the Meanjin magazine article in Damon’s blog post here. Damon has also written a series of six books for children, which he mentions near the end of this episode. If you would like to check them out, the first one is My Nanna is a Ninja, which is available in the usual bookshops. You can watch him reading it on YouTube here. The transcription of this episode is on my website here.

Episode 30 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/fencing-in-russia-episode30/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Elena Muzurina is a military sabre instructor, longsword champion and owner of a HEMA equipment company. Elena is a Russian champion – one of her proudest moments was winning at Swordfish – but HEMA is relatively new to Russia. In this episode we talk about what it is like learning Italian rapier and longsword in a country where there are very few sources translated into the language. We talk about the problems with fencing equipment, and what she would do with a million dollars to improve HEMA in Russia. When listening to this episode you might not have caught some of the names Elena mentions, so here they are in case you are interested: Andrey Muzurin – Elena's longsword trainer and husband Vadim Senichev – translator of Fiore in Russian Kristine Konsmo and Carl Ryberg – HEMA in Sweden, fencers and Swordfish orgs Leonid Křížek – Czech Republic HEMA, trainer at Ars Dimicatoria school, instructor and researcher of Barbasetti military sabre method, writer Sergei Kultaev – Russian HEMA, longsword champion and trainer at FreiFechter Gilde, Saint Petersburg Here is the Facebook page for Fox Tail Equipment: www.facebook.com/FoxTailEquipment And this is the online store: www.ft-fencing.com You can find Elena on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/elena.muzurina Instagram: @silent_battle_song YouTube: Silent Battle Song Vkontate: vk.com/yelena_muzurina

Episode 29 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/violence-and-self-defence-episode29/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Rory Miller is a martial arts and self-defence expert and author of many books, ebooks and video courses, including “Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence”, which is widely considered as one of the best books on martial arts ever written and I urge you to read it. Speaking of best books on martial arts, Rory and I have a chat about our top 5 favourites in this episode, so if you are after some new reading material, have a listen. In this episode, the conversation goes in some unexpected places, including sailing across the Atlantic, from South Africa to Florida in a custom catamaran; being “raised by coyotes” in the desert; poo-flinging monkeys on Facebook; and a whole lot in between about self-defence and violence. Rory’s Chiron Training website is here: https://chirontraining.com/ and his blog is here: http://chirontraining.blogspot.com/

Episode 28 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/art-and-fencing-episode28/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Nora is an artist and a fencer from sunny Southern California. She works primarily in watercolours and in illumination, though we cover a lot in this episode, including calligraphy, translations, making a living from your art and whether simply putting in the hours of practise is enough to get good. You can see an example of her work here with the logo she produced for the Spada Press: In this episode we talk about how exacting and unforgiving some art forms can be, and the differences between different media in painting. Nora talks about the artist Lori Lamont who works exclusively in watercolour, and you can see her work here. When we talk about fencing in the SCA scene in Southern California, we mention Nora’s painted fencing masks. Here are some examples: This is the link to the Our Fake History podcast, which Nora mentions when talking about her thoughts on the Book of the Five Rings: www.ourfakehistory.com Here is the fanciest fuckoff piece that Nora produced using all the gold (listen at around 1hr 9min in). Credit for the calligraphy goes to Master Thomas Brownwell. Nora did all the gilding and painting: Nora’s website is www.noracannaday.com and you can find her on the usual social media too.

Episode 27 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/irish-stick-fighting-episode27/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Maxime doesn’t do longsword. But he does practise Irish Stick Fighting, 19th century sabre, and has a background in karate and kenjutsu. In this episode Maxime describes Irish Stick Fighting, the challenges of finding someone to learn it from, and how he was able to bring it back to life as a martial art. Maxime’s website, HEMA Misfits, is all about the fringes of historical martial arts, the less popular styles, and we talk about some of these less common forms of the art. Content warning: In the second half of our conversation there is some pretty gory stuff about sword fighting injuries and how they were treated. (Maybe not for listening to over the Christmas dinner table!) Maxime's article on the subject is here. Merry Christmas everybody!

Episode 26 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/straight-white-men-with-swords-episode26/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Claire Mead is an English/French freelance curator with museums and heritage sites specialising in making collections and programming more inclusive, specifically in terms of women's narratives and LGBTQI narratives. Claire also fences with foil and longsword. Since recording the episode she has taken the post of Programme Manager at the National Videogame Museum. In this episode we have a fascinating conversation about how a traditionally white, male perspective of history has overlooked many women, people of colour and those from the LGBTQI community. Did you know that one of the foremost fencers of the 18th century was black, and another was trans? I mention two African-born emperors of Rome. These are: Lucius Septimius Severus, who was a Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna, at that time a Roman province in Africa. His eldest son, Lucius Septimius Bassianus, commonly known as Caracalla, was Emperor from 211 to 217. In the second half of the podcast we talk about Claire’s webcomic The Girls’ School of Knighthood and also discuss depictions of women holding swords in art, particularly Judith slaying Holofernes. To see the paintings we talk about, see this episode's webpage. To find Claire Mead and her work, visit: Webzine: Girls’ School of Knighthood Podcast: Bustles & Broadswords Patreon: www.patreon.com/clairemead

Episode 25 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/fire-eating-and-fencing-episode25/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy David Ito is a sport épée fencer, Kendoka, longsword practitioner, and a fire eater. He also does 100 burpees first thing every morning. In this episode David tells us how he got into both fencing and fire eating, takes us through his somewhat intensive training regime, and shares good advice for anyone looking to get into teaching fencing as a career. In the podcast you will hear David talk about a footwork training machine, and if you are interested to see it in action, head over to https://guywindsor.net/2020/12/the-sword-guy-episode-25-david-ito/ ‎to see the video. We also talk about the effect of the covid pandemic and what we might expect a post-covid world to look like for martial artists. To find out more about David and his work, you can find him on Instagram @ittofireshow, or at www.illuminair-entertainment.com. He also works at www.swordplayers.com and has taught at www.aemma.org, both of which are in Toronto, Canada.

Episode 24 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/designing-knives-random-flow-episode24/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Maija Soderholm lives in the United States, but grew up in England with Finnish parents. She trained with the late Filipino master Sonny Umpad, and she has taken this multicultural approach in her designs with her company, SoMiCo Knives. In this week’s episode we discuss how Maija got into martial arts and designing knives, including the most important use for a knife in Finland. We also discuss the Random Flow technique of sparring, which uses constant movement and no choreographed drills or pre-set patterns. Maija’s first book The Liar, The Cheat and the Thief: Deception and the Art of Swordplay, came out in 2014. Her new book The Hustler – Swordplay and the Art of Tactical Thinking is also out now, and in this episode we discuss the tactics of fighting, why we should aim to be more like pickpockets, and how fighting for real is, more often than not, a lose/lose situation. In the podcast, Guy mentions a smallsword treatise where the writer recommends taking a blade into the palm of your hand, sliding your hand up the blade and grabbing the handle. This may be one of those times when memory plays tricks- he's looking for the book but hasn't found it yet. Have your bullshit detectors set to high alert!

Episode 23 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/african-martial-arts-episode23/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Da’Mon Stith is the Chief Instructor and Founder of the Guild of the Silent Sword, teaching a range of African martial arts. In this conversation we discuss how he began his martial arts journey, and go into the specifics of how he recreates African arts, many of which do not have detailed written sources. You can find his Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/austinwarriorarts We discuss many aspects of African martial arts, and he mentions a lot of weapons the average HMA practitioner may be unfamiliar with. Here are some of them (images are borrowed from the internet- if they belong to you, l'll happily give credit or take them down, just get in touch): Khopesh: Shotel swords: Takoba sword Tetela sword:

Episode 22 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/tournament-mindet-episode22/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Brittany Reeves is the co-founder of Mordhau Historical Combat in Mesa, Arizona, and has taught internationally. She has medalled at tournaments in longsword, cutting, glima, and ringen. She also has a degree in Ancient and Medieval history. In this conversation we discuss tournament mindset, her advice to beginners wanting to go to tournaments for the first time, and of course, equipment. You can support the show at Patreon.com/TheSwordGuy Patrons get access to the episode transcriptions as they are produced, the opportunity to suggest questions for upcoming guests, and even some outtakes from the interviews. Join us!

Episode 21 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/wiktenauer-episode21/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Michael Chidester is the a long-time researcher and practitioner of historical martial arts, and the Director of Wiktenauer. There were some unfortunate technical problems with the recording of this interview, so you may wish to refer to the transcription below. You can also support the show at Patreon.com/TheSwordGuy Patrons get access to the episode transcriptions as they are produced, the opportunity to suggest questions for upcoming guests, and even some outtakes from the interviews. Join us! Transcription: GW: Hello, sword people, this is Guy Windsor, also known as The Sword Guy. And I'm here today with Michael Chidester. Michael is the Director of wiktenauer.com, which for those of you who are new to historical martial arts, and who may not have even heard of it yet, it is a fantastic Internet repository of scans of historical fencing treatises dating back as far as you can imagine. There are just hundreds of them there. It is this extraordinary resource and not content with that gigantic contribution to the art of arms, Michael is also the author of several books, including Concordance of Fiore’s Plays, the Meyer Study Companion, Translation of 3227a; from which you can gather he's something of a Fiore man, something of Meyer researcher, something of a Liechtenauer person. And he has also got into producing very high quality facsimiles, first of the Thott manuscript. I have that on my bookshelf right now and it is a glory and a delight. And, at the time of recording, but it'll be done by the time the show goes out, he has a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to do Fiore’s Getty Manuscript in glorious, glorious, hand-bound leather gorgeousness. So, Michael, welcome to the show. MC: Thanks, Guy. GW: It's lovely to see you. Now, just so we can orient everyone, whereabouts in the world are you? MC: I currently live in a small city outside of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States of America. GW: Lovely. I saw you there a year or so ago, so, what event was that? That was when I was teaching in Boston. MC: Yeah, we met up just after. GW: Yes, and thanks to the technical hitches at the beginning of this podcast recording, next time I'm over that way, I definitely owe you a beer. OK, so let's kick off straight in. Now, obviously, from your published works, we can tell you have a pretty broad set of interests, but what would you say are your main research interests? MC: So I, as anyone who looks at Wiktenauer can tell, I've looked at a lot of different sources, but really, and this is something that people sort of anticipate - that everything that’s on Wiktenauer I have studied in depth, but you don't actually have to really understand something to put it on a website. GW: You’re not that old. You would have to be a thousand years old to have studied all those things in depth. MC: A lot of what I do with that is a lot of copying and pasting and light proofreading. So I don't have to process all of it. A lot of the work on Wiktenauer around that is just trying to find out the history of the book as opposed to the teachings. As far as the stuff that I studied in depth and study on a physical level, Fiore was my first love. That was the first treatise I ever tried to interpret on my own. But I can't say that I really ever became a Fiorist. I was never in a club that studied it. And so it was all on my own time. And I went through all the dagger plays and most of the rest of the book and I think I've done the sword stuff very slightly and that's about it. So there's a lot of Fiore’s teachings that I have no experience with outside of translating them. And also likewise Meyer I’m involved with mostly because I love the Meyer Freifechter Guild, which is a network of Meyer-focused clubs, and I been to their annual symposium several times, and I like to support them however I can. So I've done some Meyer research more on that level. What I study in terms of physical practice is early 15th century Liechtenauer fencing and primarily longsword, although I've been trying to get into armour for the past few years and had financial woes that kept me out of it so far. GW: Yeah. You basically have to be able to afford a second car before you can afford a suit of armour. MC: I don’t even have a first car. GW: I thought that was illegal in America? Every United States citizen has to have at least one car. MC: If you live in certain cities, people get around it, where we actually have civilized public transportation. Only certain cities though. GW: So you’re getting into the armoured combat side of Liechtenauer as best you can. MC: I've been on a horse about twice in my life, so I haven't really got into that much either. And to really understand that, I think you probably have to do all three and I'm not there. GW:

Episode 20 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/spanish-rapier-episode20/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Lois Spangler is a Verdadera Destreza ("Spanish Rapier") instructor and researcher with the Brisbane School of Iberian Swordsmanship. We discuss translating Spanish fencing sources, the problems of getting fencing jackets that actually fit, and even the philosophy of narrative. Check out her blog at StoryTrade.Net, and her Patreon account at Patreon.com/LoisSpangler She has been involved in producing a fencing jacket (the LS Diestrx) with HemaGearCanada, which you can find on their Facebook feed here. The jacket has undergone testing and has been certified to 410 newtons. We also mention a lecture she gave for Puck Curtis and Eric Myers, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/FhRbXO9XZZg

Episode 19 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/founding-longpoint-fencing-in-armour-episode19/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Jake Norwood is a highly experienced and widely respected historical martial arts instructor. He co-founded the HEMA Alliance (one of the largest historical martial arts associations), and Longpoint (one of the best-known US historical martial arts events). He has taught and competed internationally. We talked about the founding of Longpoint, creating tournament structures that give you the outcomes you want, preparing for armoured combat, and many other things.

Episode 18 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-sword-guy-episode-18-kendra-brown/ To support the show, come join the Patrons at https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Kendra Brown is a swordswoman, researcher, and translator of the Latin version of Fiore’s Il Fior di Battaglia (known as the Florius manuscript). She has an awesome blog at https://darthkendraresearch.wordpress.com/ In this wide ranging conversation we discuss the perils and pitfalls of translation, women in combat in medieval times, and even what a very pregnant Caterina Sforza wore to occupy the Castel Santangelo. In this episode we cover a lot of ground, and make a lot of references. For a complete list of references, please go to: https://guywindsor.net/2020/10/the-sword-guy-episode-18-kendra-brown/