The Sword Guy Podcast

Fear is the Mind Killer, with Kajetan Sadowski (Episode 5 Repeat)

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/fear-is-the-mind-killer-with-kajetan-sadowski-episode-5-repeat/ 

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

As it’s the Christmas holiday period I have decided to repeat a couple of classic episodes, which you may not have heard first time around. The first is with Kajetan Sadowski. Kajetan has changed his name and pronouns since the time of recording, and in the episode you’ll hear me using his old name of Kaja.

Kajetan is the author of the must-read Fear is the Mind-Killer, one of my top ten books on martial arts.

We also talk about training with two swords, training in high-stress situations, and lots more training besides!

Kajetan has been a physical instructor since 2004, teaching figure skating, rock climbing, and mountaineering before coming to martial arts in 2010. He joined the coaching team at Valkyrie Western Martial Arts Assembly in 2012, and created their beginner program shortly afterwards. He currently teaches group and private lessons to students of all experience levels, and runs the school’s self defense program. His website is https://kajaswords.com/

This week’s non-sponsor

This week it is to remind you of the mighty wiktenauer.com, which is a gigantic reference source for everything historical martial arts. It’s run by Michael Chidester, who I interviewed in episode 21, and it includes scans, transcriptions, translations and articles and just keeps getting better every day. I use it almost daily and it’s a simply astonishing resource.

Birthday Sale - it's still running!

Don’t forget, it was my birthday on November 30^th and as has become traditional, I have a present for you. You can 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.

 

 

 

The Yeti of Chest Protection, with Veronica Young

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-yeti-of-chest-protection-with-veronica-young/ 

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

Veronica Young is an industrial designer, historical martial artist and founder of Cryptid Combat Wear, and she is also currently running a campaign for making a chest protector for women, which will actually fit and allow for movement. Veronica explains how she developed the prototypes, and how she has worked on the sizing to fit the widest range of people. The Indigogo campaign is running until 6^th January, and you can support it here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fencing-chest-protector#/

You might recall from the AMA episode a couple of weeks ago, we had a question about women’s knees, and how to prevent injury from fencing in a Meyerist fashion. Well, Veronica practises Meyer, and she has knees, so I asked her what she does to protect them. It’s all about the inner quads!

Veronica has got heavily into tournament fencing, and we talk about the mindset one needs to compete successfully, and about being a minority in HEMA – the stereotypes and the difficulties of different genders fighting one another. We also talk about how to win a fight against someone much taller than you.

Birthday Sale

Don’t forget, it was my birthday on November 30^th and as has become traditional, I have a present for you. You can 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.

This week’s non-sponsor

It’s Freelance Academy Press, which is a publishing house dedicated to serving the historical martial arts community. It was founded by Christian Tobler (see episode 101) and Greg Mele, and it has a fantastic catalogue of books you might be interested in. Such as my own, The Medieval Dagger, of course, but also their stunning critical editions of the Fiore manuscripts, translations of Bolognese and rapier texts, and works on German medieval combat. There’s really something for everyone. So, if you are looking for something to read, go to freelanceacademypress.com.

 

 

 

What Makes a Warrior? With Cain Maxwell

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/what-makes-a-warrior-with-cain-maxwell/ 

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

Cain Maxwell is an instructor of physical culture, who's been teaching physical skills his entire life, from swimming to military firearms to ballroom dancing, even. And now he is teaching mounted martial arts and runs a school called Martial Equestrian, a mounted combat school in Hinckley, Ohio.

Cain learned to fight by fighting for real in a rough neighbourhood. In his own words, he had a chip on his shoulder. So he approaches martial arts with the question of whether it would really work on the streets. In our conversation we talk about pedagogy, translation, choosing a source, and martial culture. We discuss the difference between a warrior and a thug. They are both willing to do violence to others, so what is the difference? And can martial arts really teach good character in life outside the salle?

Listen to this episode for one of the most unexpected and thought-provoking answers to the question, “What would you do with $1 million to improve martial arts worldwide?”

 

Birthday Sale

Don’t forget, it was my birthday on November 30^th and as has become traditional, I have a present for you. You can 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.

This week’s non-sponsor:

Arms-n-armor.com are makers of swords and training weapons. I got my default training rapier from them in 2005 and my longsword in 2004 and they are both still going strong. They also made my sharp rapier and dagger, and my training smallsword. I interviewed smith Craig Johnson in episode 33 and he is not just a great smith, he is also a good friend. So you might think I’m biased, except those swords are still on the rack, scratched and worn. I’ve replaced the leather on the longsword grip at least twice and it’s still going strong after at least 15 years. So, if you are looking for a new sword, go to arms-n-armor.com.

 

For more information about the host Guy Windsor and his work, as well as transcriptions of all the episodes, check out his website at https://swordschool.com/podcast  

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

Furries, Bar Fights, and Cryotherapy, with Lisa Losito

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/furries-bar-fights-and-cryotherapy-with-lisa-losito/ 

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

Lisa Losito is a sword mom, historical fencer and an organising brain behind Lord Baltimore's Challenge. Lisa suffers from a chronic illness which affects her training, but she is absolutely passionate about helping others achieve their vision for events within the historical martial arts world. Whether that’s a big event like Lord Baltimore’s Challenge, or small grassroots events with local clubs, Lisa will make sure everyone has what they need, and make sure that everyone is safe.

Safety is something we discuss in this episode, both in terms of gear (particularly head protection) and physical and emotional safety within the environment. We talk about the culture change that is needed to prevent injuries like concussion and to keep bad actors out of historical martial arts.

Plus, we also find out that Lisa wants to open a salle with a brothel attached. (That’s not exactly true…)

Birthday Sale

In other news, it was my birthday on November 30^th and as has become traditional, I have a present for you. You can 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.

This Week’s Non-Sponsor

Most podcasts have sponsors who offer discounts to the listeners and money to the host. In the sword world most of the companies and organisations offering products or services to sword people have tiny profit margins and very little cash. So I thought I’d introduce a non-sponsor segment to the show, where I call out producers of good sword stuff and recommend it to our listeners without getting paid for it.

The first non-sponsor to the show is the mighty wiktenauer.com which is a gigantic reference source for everything historical martial arts. It’s run by Michael Chidester, who I interviewed in episode 21, and it includes scans, transcriptions, translations and articles and just keeps getting better every day. I use it almost daily and it’s a simply astonishing resource.

Ask Me Anything! With Guy Windsor

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/ask-me-anything-with-guy-windsor/ 

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

Today's episode is a little bit different. It's an Ask Me Anything with me. I sent out a query to my patrons on Patreon and also to my mailing list, and I got a whole bunch of questions that apparently people want answers to, so I’ve answered them. Find out which historical master I would like on my side in a tavern brawl, my funniest moment in teaching, my ideal podcast guest, and more.

A couple of useful links

From the question about the best rapier fencing system:

• Link to the Swordschool Wiki where you can find plate 17 and plate 19 from Capoferro: https://www.swordschool.com/wiki/index.php/Specific_Plays_from_Capoferro

From the question about the lefty Todesca:

• Here is the link to Eleanora Rebecchi’s episode: https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-four-virtues-of-sword-making-with-eleonora-rebecchi
• And my unboxing video: Malleus Martialis Todesca Unboxing.mp4 from Swordschool.

 

 

 

 

Medieval Banana Hammocks with Tasha Dandelion Kelly

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/medieval-banana-hammocks-with-tasha-dandelion-kelly/ 

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

Today’s episode is with Tasha Dandelion Kelly, an expert in medieval clothing who blogs at La Cotte Simple and in my opinion, knows perhaps more than anyone else on the planet about how a gambeson should be made.

We talk about the Charles de Blois pourpoint, which is constructed in such a way that it gives incredible freedom of movement. You can see pictures of different examples on Tasha’s website – check out the construction around the shoulders: https://cottesimple.com/images/cdb-pourpoint-pattern/

If you fancy making one, Tasha’s pourpoint pattern book is for sale here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/tasha-kelly/the-pourpoint-of-charles-de-blois/paperback/product-1rg4jw2g.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Here is a direct link to the PDF of her article on the red coat armour at Chartres: https://cottesimple.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Charles-VI-pourpoint-article-Tasha-D-Kelly-reduced-size.pdf

This is a video summary of the paper about the Lengberg finds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGg8xbUVXT4 In the video you can see the world’s oldest bra, which the priests were not at all happy about. Those naughty women!

Lengberg experts Q+A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LnWIveL5l4

 

 

Broadsword for Kids, with Andrew Newton

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/broadsword-for-kids-with-andrew-newton/ 

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

Andrew Newton lives in the Annapolis Valley in Eastern Canada. He is a historical fencer and mounted archer and runs the Annapolis Valley Historical Fencing Club, teaching broadsword, sabre and cutlass. Andrew was also an officer in the Air Force, so of course there’s a bit of plane chat. In our discussion we talk about the business end of running a club: how to make money, effective marketing tips, and why even if you’re a non-profit you still need to have a business-like approach.

Andrew is running very successful youth classes, for both younger kids and teenagers. He talks about how to teach children and why it’s not that different to teaching adults. We discuss the importance of getting youngsters into HMA.

Useful links:

Guy’s Farfalla di Ferro drill video: https://vimeo.com/540592226

Sea Winds horse archery: https://www.seawindshorsearchers.ca/

Cateran Society broadsword: https://cateransociety.org/

This is Guy’s lengthy and ultra-geeky post about stretto: https://guywindsor.net/2018/06/freedom-to-strike-a-lengthy-discussion-of-largo-and-stretto/

 

How to build a space rocket, with Leigh Shocki

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/how-to-build-a-space-rocket-with-leigh-shocki/ 

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

Leigh Shocki works for Blue Origin as an Instructional Designer – she can teach you to build a rocket, even though she flunked maths. You too can work at a space company, even if you’re not a rocket scientist!

Leigh is passionate about making both space travel and swords more diverse and we discuss the code of conduct she wrote for Lonin which builds in things like inclusive language and ensuring everyone feels safe: https://www.lonin.org/code-of-conduct/ Leigh also mentions the Esfinges Facebook group for women in HMA which now has 2k members and 6.9k followers of the page.

Here are the links for the Beth Hammer episode, the Neal Stephenson episode and the Kaja Sadowski episode we refer to.

And then on the space inclusivity side see: https://astroaccess.org/ and https://spaceforhumanity.org/?locale=en

Leigh hasn’t trained at her club since she suffered a traumatic head injury in a car crash three years ago. Obviously, there is a high risk of being whacked in the head when sword fighting, and so we talk about how best to return to training whilst minimising the risks to Leigh. It’s worth a listen for anyone who has suffered a concussion or looking to modify their training practice for similar reasons.

This is the link to Blue Origin’s New Glenn re-usable launch vehicle: https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn/

 

Podcasting with the Sword Whisperers (Schwertgeflüster)

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/podcasting-with-the-sword-whisperers-schwertgefluster/ 

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

Michael Sprenger and Alexander Fürgut are the creators of Schwertgeflüster, a (usually) German-speaking podcast about all things HMA. In this episode Michael and Alexander interview Guy, while Guy also interviews Michael and Alexander a bit too. It’s not as confusing as it sounds.

We talk about how Alexander can’t get into the correct position for Fabris’s rapier fencing, which Guy diagnoses as possible tight hamstrings. If you also want to work on lengthening your hamstrings, here’s Guy’s trainalong hamstring special. The warmup section is about 25min, then we get into the hamstring stretches… vimeo.com/504380949/d22be1ece5  

We also talk about the art and science of making a podcast, what’s wrong with HEMA tournaments, publishing lawsuits, and more.

The Schwertgeflüster website can be found at www.schwertgefluester.de  and the HEMA event calendar mentioned is hema.events/

Here is a link to the podcasting editing video mentioned in the outro: vimeo.com/755065041/b9eca60702

 

The episode in which Guy gets challenged to a duel, with Auri Poso

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-episode-in-which-guy-gets-challenged-to-a-duel-with-auri-poso/ 

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

Auri Poso is a long time student of Guy’s and one of the first teachers he ever trained. Auri now runs her own school, the Gladiolus School of Arms in Helsinki/Espoo, Finland.

In our conversation we talk about Star Wars, which leads to a disagreement about Luke Skywalker needing a good slap. Whether lightsabers would be a suitable weapon in the ensuing duel between Guy and Auri causes another difference of opinion…

We also talk about returning to classes and teaching after an extended break to have children, the challenges of starting a school in a crowded market, taking a summer break to tour Europe’s sword schools, and using €1 million to set up an incredible historical martial arts centre.