The Sword Guy Podcast

Behind the Scenes at The Sword Guy, with Katie Mackenzie

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.com/podcast/behind-the-scenes-at-the-sword-guy-with-katie-mackenzie/ 

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

It’s the 150^th(ish) episode! So to mark this momentous occasion we’ve got a guest who can’t think of any reason at all why she would want someone to run at her with a pointy sword. Katie Mackenzie is the organising principle behind the show, as well as an excellent author's assistant. She is an author herself, of the very approachable, Easy Fitness for Quitters: How to Become a Happy Exerciser. And she wrote these show notes, so she can say what she wants!

In our conversation we talk about the trickier aspects of producing the transcriptions for the podcast, and Katie has a quiz for Guy, to find out what he actually said when the transcription software thought he was talking about “venereal potatoes.”

We talk about writing books, climbing, and what Katie thinks of the sword world and the other podcast guests. What would a non-sword person do with £1 million to improve historical martial arts?

If you haven’t joined SwordPeople.com yet, do consider it – we discuss what the platform could look like in the future, and how we need the membership to grow to achieve this.

Finally, do you ever read the episode transcriptions? (Click the link at the top to find the transcription for this episode.) If you think Katie’s hard work every week is a sensible use of her time, do let Guy know!

Bringing Fiore to a Knife Fight, with Ian Davis

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.com/podcast/bringing-fiore-to-a-knife-fight-with-ian-davis/ 

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

Ian Davis is a historical fencing instructor at Boston Armizare, specialising in Italian fencing from the 14th to the 16th centuries. These days he is almost exclusively interested in wrestling, dagger and harness.

Ian has been testing to discover what it actually takes to stick a sword point through historical maille. Here are some videos of his tests:

Maille testing round 1 (sword): https://youtu.be/CLDcmiF1u1s

Maille testing round 1 (dagger): https://youtu.be/WRE80BpQi7I

Maille testing round 1 (spear): https://youtu.be/51KVNtdKBFY

This is a full year after the first series:

Maille testing round 2: https://youtu.be/RH1zbd0WFPw

We also talk about the contentious topic of bringing Fiore into the modern combative self-defence context. How can wrestling techniques from the likes of Fiore, Vadi and Monte help people defend themselves against an assailant with a knife or a gun? Also, how do you square the murderousness of a knightly combat system with the modern legalities and ethical issues of self-defence?

Click here to see the Vadi headlock image we mention: https://swordschool.com/podcast/bringing-fiore-to-a-knife-fight-with-ian-davis/ 

In the final question of the interview, Ian talks about spending a million dollars on getting manuscripts into the public domain. Here’s the link to the Raymond J. Lord collection we discuss:

Raymond J. Lord: https://www.umass.edu/renaissance/lord

Babies, horses, and a secret knife, with Gretchen Settle

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.com/podcast/babies-horses-and-a-secret-knife-with-gretchen-settle/

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

Gretchen Settle models, swordfights and makes stuff. She is getting back into training after giving birth to an incredibly adorable young sword person who looks very good with her little sword.

We talk about Gretchen’s background with horses and how she came to get into longsword and ringen with Maryland Kunst des Fechtens. Her love of historical martial arts has spilled over into her modelling work, and here is a link to the ‘Blossfechten’ photo we discuss, which can be found on Gretchen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/COlisAdHtqE/

And here is a photo of the tiny knife Gretchen hid in her garter on her wedding day: https://www.instagram.com/p/CVwUS1WrjFS/

As Gretchen has recently had a baby, we talk about trying to keep up with training when you’re pregnant (not possible if you’ve got horrendous morning sickness) and how you get back into it after having the baby.

Boldly Going with Stephen Hand

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.com/podcast/boldly-going-with-stephen-hand/

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

Stephen Hand is a founder of the Stoccata School of Defence, author of several books, including English Swordsmanship: The True Fight of George Silver and Swordplay in the Age of Shakespeare, and he currently teaches at the Stoccata Branch in Hobart, Tasmania. He has also choreographed a sword fighting movie about Macbeth. We’ve known each other a long time, and we have a little reminisce about what it was like trying to get hold of manuals and equipment back in the olden days of the 1990s. We also talk about what it was like to be in the first generation of instructors in the fledgling historical martial arts community.

Steve is known for his work on George Silver, and also Joseph Swetnam, who was well known for being a raging misogynist pig, and a bit of a dick even by the standards of his day. But the most important question is who would win in a three-way fight between Swetnam, Silver and Saviolo?

HEMA in Mexico and Inspirational Women

For transcriptions, images and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.com/podcast/hema-in-mexico-and-inspirational-women/ 

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

Mariana Lopez is a historical fencer, coach, artist and one of the founders of HEMA in Mexico, 16 years ago. She is also the co-founder of Esfinges, an international network of female historical fencers.

In our conversation we talk about how the HEMA scene in Mexico differs from the U.S. or Europe, and what other countries might learn from the Mexican way of doing things.

We also talk about Esfinges, and what it was like to found the network, the abuse she has faced for it, and how hearing from so many women in HEMA has affected her views.

Mariana is keen to improve tournament culture, and we hear how she would like to do that – and how her approach differs from Guy’s. She is also looking to set up a scholarship, and towards the end of the interview she explains how it could be done.

Swordbeards and Violence, with Dr. Mark Geldof

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to:  https://swordschool.com/podcast/swordbeards-and-violence-with-dr-mark-geldof/

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

Dr. Mark Geldof specialises in all kinds of historical violence. He has a DPhil in history from the University of Oxford on Change and Continuity in English Elite Conceptions of Violence, 1450-1560 and an M.A. entitled The Heart, the Foot, the Eye to Accord: Procedural Writing and Three Middle English Manuscripts of Martial Instruction.

He got into swords through the SCA, and he explains how the knowledge he gained through whacking people with sticks has influenced his work.

We talk about the three English sword texts from the 15^th century, and how Mark wrote a 122 page master’s thesis with a 22 page bibliography on 400 lines of text. He has plenty of advice for the amateur historian on avoiding pitfalls and making sure that you are studying the best sources.

We also talk about why what seems like excessive violence is actually necessary or expected, and how humans can keep going even after they’ve been stabbed in the heart or skewered on a spear, so if you’re going to kill someone, you’ve got to keep going until they are definitely dead.

There are lots of useful links for this episode. Firstly, we refer to the episodes with Paul Wagner and Mike Prendergast that you might want to listen back to. And here are the links from Mark:

- Link to the Patreon: https://patreon.com/dr_violence

- Link to the MA thesis download: https://harvest.usask.ca/handle/10388/ETD-2011-08-77?show=full (note that these transcriptions are not perfect, in this ed. But they are better than what’s been around most often)

- Link to the doctoral thesis for those interested: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6d6be72b-b6ea-460f-b222-beb0547465eb

- The most current edition of Titus A xxv: https://bl.iro.bl.uk/concern/articles/614dcee4-907c-4ab8-879d-5143b0e5c673?locale=en

- Gentileschi Judith and her Maidservant 1: https://discover.hubpages.com/art/Judith-and-her-Maidservant---My-Take

- Judith and Maidservant 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_Gentileschi#/media/File:Artemisia_Gentileschi_Judith_Maidservant_DIA.jpg

- Judith slaying Holofernes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Slaying_Holofernes_%28Artemisia_Gentileschi,_Naples%29#/media/File:Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_Judith_Beheading_Holofernes_-_WGA8563.jpg

 - See the shownotes on Swordschool.com for the draft of the paper on the Additional ms that’s in submission right now. 

Patience and Perspective, with Ginny Beatty

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to:  https://swordschool.com/podcast/patience-and-perspective-with-ginny-beatty/

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

Ginny Beatty is a historical fencer in the SCA in Ohio, USA, and she took up arms in her late forties, having done everything else first: historical cookery, archery, heraldry, and making costumes, armour and weapons. She now loves fencing with a rapier and buckler and explains the importance of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and learning new things to stay young. 

We talk about how to keep yourself in shape when you are slightly older. What the challenges are (and the advantages) and how to cross-train. Also, how to win a fencing match against someone taller or more aggressive than yourself. Ginny describes her nutrition plan that keeps her energy up and the importance of proper body mechanics to avoid injury.

Fiore: The Movie, with Alberto Mattea

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.com/podcast/fiore-the-movie-with-alberto-mattea/ 

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

Alberto Mattea is an Italian film composer and filmmaker, actor and re-enactor with a deep interest in the Middle Ages. In the historical martial arts world, he is perhaps best known for his short film Fiore, which is, I think, the most accurate representation of the late 14th century ever put on the screen.

In this episode Alberto explains how the film got made on a tiny budget of €3,000, how they built the sets, made the costumes and did the special effects. And who made the swords! Listen to the very end of this episode to hear some of the music Alberto composed for the film.

We also talk about what TV series Alberto ought to make next, which would change the perception of the Middle Ages in popular culture.

You can see Fiore on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_H3dkTiaRA and here is the video with the breakdown of the visual effects that is mentioned in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja5Q-70XEDA 

For more information about Alberto, this is his website: https://www.albertomattea.com/

The Whack Don’t Die Method, with Kari Holman

For transcriptions, photos and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-whack-dont-die-method-with-kari-holman/ 

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

Kari Holman is a rapier fencer and a licensed therapist. She has also written Psychology and the SCA Fencing Woman: a Manual for Students and Teachers. The moment I read it, I asked if I could include it in my How to Teach course because it's that good. So of course, we talk about teaching women and what’s been going wrong with teaching that leads to so many women dropping out before they reach the higher echelons of the fencing community.

We also talk about trauma and PTSD. Kari explains about different types of trauma, whether we are all traumatised, and how similar events could be traumatic or not at all, depending on the context.

Kari volunteers as a psychological counsellor at the Midwest FurFest, which currently the largest free convention in the US. We have a very interesting chat about why she’s needed, what happens at these conventions, and why so many thousands of people might want to dress up in a fur suit in the first place.

Becoming Your Best Swordsman with Robert Childs

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/becoming-your-best-swordsman-with-robert-childs/ 

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

Robert Childs is a well-known rapier competition champion and author of the new book Revelations of Rapier. In our conversation we talk about how he trains for tournaments and what has made him so successful. We talk about judging tournaments and the difficulty of spotting lightening fast thrusts.

Robert has synthesised his own eclectic method for rapier fencing, and he explains some of it for us in this episode. He also takes us through his school’s unusual ranking system, in which you have to win tournaments and eventually fight multiple opponents at once in order to progress up the ranks.

The best idea Robert hasn’t acted on yet it to develop a team sport called Blood of Heroes, which involves weapons, dog skulls, and working as a team to beat your opponents. It sounds great fun.

And finally, Robert is actually building his own castle! If you are interested in finding out more or supporting the project, his Patreon is here: https://www.patreon.com/castleandsword

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/robertchildsrapier