The Sword Guy Podcast

Armoured Martial Arts, with Jenny Häbry

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-213-armoured-martial-arts-with-jenny-habry

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

Jenny Häbry is an armoured martial arts competitor who has crowned UK's best female fighter in both 2022 and 2024, and again in 2025. And since 2024 has served as the Women's National captain. She has founded her own team, and her favourite discipline is pro fighting, where she remains undefeated. In 2025 she secured three World Championship gold medals, further cementing her place as one of the sport's leading fighters. Jenny also travels worldwide, sharing her expertise and passion through teaching. She runs Armoured Martial Arts Nottingham with UK men’s team captain Daniel Winter.

In our conversation, we find out what the modern sport of Armoured Martial Arts involves; the different elements of competition, the physical risks, how Jenny trains, and what this very small sport needs to grow. We also hear about her titanium armour!

Jenny also tells us about her recent trip to America, where the sport is much more popular. Here’s a photo of her winning the crown in the first female five-round championship fight: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-213-armoured-martial-arts-with-jenny-habry

Find Armoured Martial Arts Nottingham here: https://www.armouredmartialartsnottingham.com/

Physio for Ninjas, with Erick Ellison

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-212-physio-for-ninjas-with-erick-ellison 

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

This episode is with Erick Ellison, who is a Bujinkan instructor and physiotherapist in Helsinki Finland. Regular listeners will already have heard of him as the person who fixed very old injuries in my shoulder, my knee, my neck and various other places. He qualified as a physiotherapist in 2007 and has been running his own practice since 2012. His list of professional credentials is both very long and very varied, incorporating modern medicine and traditional Japanese approaches.

In our conversation we talk about the history of Ninja, their strategies and techniques, and some of the misconceptions around them. We also talk about physiotherapy and the training involved, and how a practitioner like Erick chooses which technique to use on a person.

Erick also shares a set of movements called the Five Tibetan Rites, which he believes are a great general guideline for maintaining strength and flexibility.

You can find Erick online here: https://www.fysiosakura.fi/

Embodying martial arts in an aging body, with Jess Finley

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-211-embodying-martial-arts-in-an-aging-body-with-jess-finley 

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

The inestimable Jess Finley is back on the podcast! If you’re not aware of her work, she has written a wonderful book about medieval wrestling, starred in several of my online courses, and we recently collaborated on an online course about Von Baumann’s wrestling. On her Patreon account, she produces translations, interpretations, previews of books in progress and videos. She also teaches swords around the world.

We start by talking about travelling with knives and guns, before moving onto the main topic, which is looking at the ways to mitigate the downsides of aging as we train and get older. One of the main things to work out is understanding the difference between discomfort and dysfunction, i.e. is this pain OK, or have I catastrophically injured myself? And at what point should I listen to the fear? We talk about what lessons a long term martial arts practice has given us in our daily lives, especially when dealing with life’s big moments.

Links of interest:

Jess Finley on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jessfinley/

Books and publications: https://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Jessica_Finley

Von Baumann wrestling course: https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/medieval-german-wrestling-the-twirchringen-of-von-baumann

How Emotions are Made, by Lisa Feldman Barrett: https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/how-emotions-are-made/

The book that Jess and Guy discuss about the Olympic athletes was Howard Schatz’s Athlete.

From Homeschool to Author, with Amos Wilson

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-210-from-homeschool-to-author-with-amos-wilson 

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

Amos Christian Wilson is an independent Christian author, poet and musician. He is also a home school graduate and third born of 12 who loves reading, the outdoors, theology and history. He went from high school to a wide range of trade jobs, from carpentry to piano tuning to horse shoeing. He seeks to write books which centre around religious characters and immersive world building.

In our conversation we talk about growing up as one of 12 and being homeschooled, and how a picture book about arms and armour sparked Amos’s love of swords, followed by a Fiore manual from a homeschool organisation’s catalogue of “toys for growing men”.

We talk about some of the different jobs Amos has done over the years to support his true career as a writer. He describes his four-book Gwambi series as Treasure Island meets Chronicles of Narnia, with maybe a little bit of Charles Dickens thrown in there. You can find Amos on Substack and download a free ebook there. Or find out more on his website, https://www.acwilson.net. 

As Amos isn’t a historical martial artist, he has a different idea of what he would do with $1 million, and it’s one that Guy is fascinated by.

Medieval European Body Culture, with Dr Maciej Talaga

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-209-medieval-european-body-culture-with-dr-maciej-talaga

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

Dr Maciej Talaga is an assistant professor at the University of Warsaw. His research interests have revolved around premodern European martial traditions, with particular focus on late medieval, Central European and the so-called German School of fighting. His goal is to elevate HEMA studies into a legitimate field of research within academic history and archaeology.

Maciej is a member of HEMAtac, a HEMA coaching organization, and is a qualified Olympic fencing instructor in the Polish Fencing Association. He also runs the Sprechfenster blog on Patreon. Guy first came across Maciej’s work through his article Probing the Depth of Medieval European Body Culture: Preliminary Research on Methods of Physical Training, 1250 to 1500.

We talk about how Maciej got into historical martial arts, and a bit of background of the development of the HEMA scene in Poland. Both Maciej and Guy have experience of sport fencing, and we talk about how sport fencing coaching techniques can be beneficial in training historical fencing, giving you a framework for understanding concepts in historical fencing.

Maciej sees HEMA as a grand project, with tournaments having a key place within this project. We discuss the benefits of the competitive environment, how it affects your training, and how it reveals the differences between what’s in the fight books and how we practice sword fighting today. Guy talks himself into getting back into tournament fencing – for seniors only, mind you.

We also discuss the topic of Maciej’s article about medieval European body culture. What sports did people do, how did they train? What sources do we have to prove what people did?

Links of interest:

Probing the Depth of Medieval European Body Culture: Preliminary Research on Methods of Physical Training, 1250 to 1500

HEMAtac: https://hematacticalanalys.wixsite.com/hematac

Maciej’s Sprechfenster blog: https://www.patreon.com/sprechfenster

Swords are where I can be me, with Vera Martocchia

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-208-swords-are-where-i-can-be-me-with-vera-martocchia 

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

Vera Martocchia is a professional sword fighting instructor with nearly a decade of experience in historical martial arts. She co-founded the historical martial arts club Swordpunch in London, and teaches a wide range of weapons, including sidesword, longsword, dagger, sickle and more.

In addition to her historical martial arts practice, Vera holds a master’s degree in international business, works as a marketing professional in tech and is a certified fitness professional with over 16 years of experience.

Our wide-ranging conversation covers how getting pregnant is what got Vera into historical martial arts (in a roundabout sort of way) and the reasons she and her business partner Jack set up their own club. Setting up your own club may not be the practical choice, and we discuss how to manage all the responsibilities of both the club and life – hint: the answer is not to sleep.

One of Vera’s driving forces was to create a club that is welcoming and a healthy learning and training environment with professional teaching methods. We talk about how to help vulnerable students, and how to professionalise HEMA teaching.

The perfectly rational fencer? With Martin Höppner

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-207-the-perfectly-rational-fencer-with-martin-hoppner 

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

Dr Martin Höppner has been involved in historical martial arts since joining a local reenactment club, “Berliner Rittergilde” in 2008 before getting into historical fencing in 2015 studying classical sabre and rapier at the University of Berlin club. He then moved into sword and buckler, inspired by Roland Warzecha’s work (you can hear from Roland here) and Fiore’s Art of Arms, before being seduced by Manciolino and Marozzo. In 2017 he co-founded Schildwache Potsdam as a collaboration between the Berliner Rittergilde and the University of Potsdam’s Academic Sports Centre. In 2020 and 2021 he was on the DDHF national longsword first squad. And since 2022 he was on the Rapier national squad, where he is now head coach. He runs the Schildwache Potsdam YouTube channel, and is one of the organizers of one of my favourite events, Swords of the Renaissance. He is a research associate at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg and has a PhD in economics and social sciences.

Economics is very relevant to this episode, because Martin and I discuss how Game Theory relates to fencing. What is it rational to do when sparring and what do people actually do? What is the most rational way to react to an opponent who hits you increasingly hard or fast? Should you match them, or walk away?

We also talk about rule sets in tournaments, and Martin’s thoughts on how to devise them to stop people gaming the rules, and make the fencing cleaner and scoring fairer.

 

Links of interest:

Schildwache Potsdam (Martin’s club) and info on Swords of the Renaissance event: https://schildwache-potsdam.de/

The Schildwache Potsdam Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/SchildwachePotsdam

Schildwache Potsdam YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/schildwache-potsdam

 

You’re a Fechtmeister too, with Liam Clark

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-206-you-re-a-fechtmeister-too-with-liam-clark

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

Liam H. Clarke is a historical fencer with a focus on Renaissance-era German fencing traditions, specifically the work of Joachim Meyer. He has been practicing since 2016, first in the Rocky Mountains before returning home to the Pacific Northwest. For the last few years, he has been delving into the archives, researching the lives and times of the contemporaries of Joachim Meyer, publishing his findings, including illuminating Joachim Meyer’s family through his Substack, Evergreen Historical Fencing.

In our chat, we discuss the appeal of delving into archives instead of just doing swordfighting: does having a better understanding of the lives of past masters help us fence better, or have a deeper enjoyment of practising historical fencing?

Liam explains who Meyer was, his family’s background in paper production, and what life was like in city states like Strasbourg in the 16^th Century. Every (male) citizen had a responsibility to own arms and armour and be prepared to protect the city, whether on night watch, military conflicts, or fire calls. Liam’s research can help us picture what daily life was like for Meyer and his contemporaries, and how they had the same struggles with money and other commitments that we have today.

One thing Liam’s research has highlighted is how young these fencing masters were, and how a “Fechtmeister” wouldn’t have been a wizened old man with a long beard. Meyer was only in his early thirties when he died. Many of us practising HEMA today would qualify as a ‘Master’, which is a nice thought for reducing the imposter syndrome!

All of Liam’s research findings and articles are open source and freely available at https://evergreenfencing.substack.com/p/three-other-fechtmeisters-of-strasbourg Check it out!

Salute before you cross swords with Damon Young

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/salute-before-you-cross-swords-with-damon-young

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

My guest today, Damon Young, is an Australian philosopher, author and martial artist. He has written 14 books or so, including Philosophy in the Garden, Distraction, and On Getting Off: Sex and Philosophy. He has also edited a couple of books on philosophy and martial arts, such as Engagement: Philosophy and the Martial Arts, and Martial Arts and Philosophy: Beating and Nothingness, perhaps my favourite title.

His latest work is Immortal Gestures, Journeys in the Unspoken.

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to:

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

You might remember Damon from his previous appearances on this show in Episode 31, Why Swords Are Cool, and again in Episode 44, What is a Sword?

Unfortunately for Damon, he’s not doing a lot of sword swinging at the moment because of an as yet unidentified issue with his arms. We discuss how he might get this issue sorted – which may involve flying to Helsinki – and how it can be tricky to prioritise your own health over other priorities and difficult life stuff.

We also revisit the definition of a sword. What is a sword? When is a sword-like object not a sword?

Damon’s new book is about gestures, and we talk about the weird politeness of a salute or a bow that’s absolutely essential before you try and murder someone with a kilo of sharp steel. A gesture can be an important symbol of trust and respect, and this courtesy separates martial arts or duels from a more bestial act or something a commoner might do.

Our conversation goes off in several tangents, discussing whether philosophy is a scam, pens, getting rid of stuff, cataloguing your book collection, notebooks and the history of sticking two fingers up to the French.

Staying Fit for Fencing, with Dr. Elizabeth Scott

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-204-staying-fit-for-fencing-with-dr-elizabeth-scott 

To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy

Elizabeth Scott is a historical martial arts and armoured combat practitioner on foot and on horseback, which is extremely cool, as well as being an orthopaedic surgeon, which is arguably even cooler. Her latest venture is Sprezzatura Sports, a company providing health and fitness training for sports fencers and historical martial artists. Of course, her main claim to fame is having appeared on this show before in episode 114.

Things have changed for Liz since our last conversation in 2022, as at the time of recording, she was preparing to move herself, her dog, and maybe her horse over to the UK to start a master’s degree in Sport, Strength and Conditioning at Loughborough University. It’s just Liz doing the degree, not the dog or the horse.

In our conversation we talk about recovery from injury, how to stay injury free and take care of our bodies as we age. We also talk about training for historical fencing, training for tournaments, and dealing with both the mental and physical sides of tournament fencing.

Liz is a mounted combat enthusiast, and we discuss vaulting onto your horse – while in full armour – and how this was an essential part of the medieval training, despite seeming pretty impossible to us modern folk.