The Sword Guy Podcast

Boldly Going with Stephen Hand

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

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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/ 

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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

The importance of mixer taps, with Eleanor Janega

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-importance-of-mixer-taps-with-eleanor-janega/ 

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

I am delighted to announce that Dr Eleanor Janega is back! She was first on the show way back in episode 16, which is one of our most popular episodes. Since her last appearance on The Sword Guy, Eleanor has published a book and been on TV. Time to catch up on what she has been working on!

Just to remind you, Eleanor is a guest lecturer at LSC in the Department of International History. She has a Ph.D. in history. She has a blog called Going Medieval that you definitely should check out. She's a co-host of the We're Not So Different podcast. She has a Patreon account, at patreon.com/goingmedieval. And she's the author of The Middle Ages: A Graphic History, which came out last year and of The Once and Future Sex coming out next year. In addition to all of this, she is a presenter of the History Hit TV shows Going Medieval and Exploring the Medieval Afterlife.

In this episode we talk about sexism through the ages, the death of Queen Elizabeth II, being a foreigner in Britain and what ‘Britishness’ actually is, medieval ghosts, beer, and quite a few other things too.

 

Outnumbered combat and catching imaginary balls, with Luis Preto

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/outnumbered-combat-and-catching-imaginary-balls-with-luis-preto/ 

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

Luis Preto is a Jogo do Pau instructor and author of multiple books, including a tutorial on multiple opponent combat with one handed weapons. He also has two master's degrees, one in teaching sports and the other in Kineseology.

Jogo do Pau is known as Portuguese stick fighting, which shares a cultural heritage with similar combat systems in Europe, but one difference is that in the Portuguese system, the multiple opponent training has been preserved. We talk about why training in outnumbered combat may have been lost in other areas, and how to train for such scenarios in a safe way. Luis explains how it’s actually quite simple to protect your head from being whacked by a big stick.

To watch some Jogo do Pau videos, here is Luis’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC45K3e12LNK9EajBvpMtmKg

We also talk about teacher training, and how to teach movement through practises that give trainees intrinsic feedback, rather than repeating specific techniques that may not be helpful in the reality of a swordfight. It is all about the context and the motivation. We also talk about how martial arts practitioners can improve their training, and how coaches can get better at coaching.

 

 

Medieval Shoulders, Trees and Swords, with Jessica Finley (Episode 1 Repeat)

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/medieval-shoulders-trees-and-swords-with-jessica-finley-episode-1-repeat/ 

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

This week’s repeated episode is the very first Sword Guy Podcast episode, with the inestimable Jessica Finley, who may be known to you from her wonderful book about medieval wrestling. Those of you who are enrolled on my Solo Training course may have sweated and grunted through her “solo training for wrestlers” section of the course, and if you know her on her Patreon account, she produces translations, interpretations, previews of books in progress, and videos also for her patrons and you can find her there at www.patreon.com/jessfinley.

Birthday Sale

You still have two days left to use the code, GUYTURNS49 to get £5 off any of my books at swordschool.shop and 30% off any course at courses.swordschool.com. The code will work until the end of December 2022.