The Sword Guy Podcast

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.

 

Poofy pants and Murderhobos with Adam Franti

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/poofy-pants-and-murderhobos-with-adam-franti/ 

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

Adam Franti is a member of the Meyer Freifechter Guild and an organiser of the Midwest Historical Fencing League. He also started the Lansing Longsword Guild in the summer of 2017, which focuses on Meyer’s longsword. And he is a fellow podcaster, host of a show called Murderhobos, which covers chivalry, duelling and warfare.

We talk about 19^th century American military history, and then hop back in time to 16^th century Germany. Adam is something of an expert in Meyer’s dusack, and we find out what drew him in to this system. He tells us about the Fechtschule fencing competitions, duelling and warfare in Germany at that time. There are links and photos below to accompany the episode:

Adam’s workbook on Meyer’s fencing:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/adam-franti-and-joachim-meyer/foundations-of-fencing/paperback/product-mnw2gr.html

 

His dusack video series:

https://youtu.be/9XmI4WYqvqw?list=PLYv4p_FmRMfKSI9-9YPg4fI-9BzugzI8G

 

A couple of Adam’s historical lectures:

https://youtu.be/HsARLoyFmoI?list=PLGRaseBnVpX6yZU9yHcW9sqY9fJzqrA56

 

And a direct link to the Murderhobos podcast, with all the episodes we discussed, including Donald McBane and Götz von Berlichingen:

https://sites.libsyn.com/411899

 

The Four Virtues of Sword Making, with Eleonora Rebecchi

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/the-four-virtues-of-sword-making-with-eleonora-rebecchi/ 

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

Eleonora Rebecchi is the creative director at Malleus Martialis, producer of excellent training swords, as well as a practising historical fencer and a graphic artist who has done some lovely covers for Guy. She is also a classically trained singer, which you’ll get to hear in this episode.

We talk about how Eleanora and her partner Rodolfo got into designing swords for a living, what goes into the design process, and what qualities a business selling swords needs.

Eleonora explains how the aesthetics, ergonomics and dynamics of a sword fit together, which is demonstrated by Guy’s delightful new longsword.

Here is the unboxing video so you can see what he means: https://vimeo.com/722218823

 

How to Teach Historical Martial Arts, with Guy Windsor

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/how-to-teach-historical-martial-arts-with-guy-windsor/ 

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

This episode of the podcast is a little bit different because I'm not interviewing anyone. I'm here to talk to you about how to teach. I believe that teaching historical martial arts or anything else is a skill, and as such it can be studied and taught. In other words, you're not born a good teacher, you become one through mindful practise. So the question, I guess, is how do you set about that in a systematic and useful way that will lead you to your desired result? Well, I have a course. Of course I have a course; I always have a course. I am releasing this week my course on how to teach. Now, before you just dash off and buy it, because you're just that sort of excellently supportive listener to the show, I think it would be a good idea if you listen to some excerpts and get an idea of what the course is all about and then decide whether it's really for you.

Listen to the episode or read the transcript for exclusive extracts from the course. And to buy the course itself, you can find it at guywindsor.net/teach, where there is a 40% discount offer - only valid until Wednesday 5th of October.

 

From Katanas to Creating the Metaverse, with Neal Stephenson

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/from-katanas-to-creating-the-metaverse-with-neal-stephenson/ 

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

Neal Stephenson is a best-selling author, futurist, tech geek and swordsman whose works include Cryptonomicron, Seveneves, The Diamond Age, Snow Crash. He has also co-written several other books and graphic novels which we discuss in this episode. His latest book, Termination Shock goes into depth and detail about Sikh martial arts, which he had to research during the Covid lockdowns.

Of course, Neal’s main claim to fame is that he wrote the preface to my own Swordfighting for Writers, Game Designers and Martial Artists.

We cover an enormously wide range of topics in this episode, from fountain pens to working with Jeff Bezos building rockets. If you want to find anything in particular, the timestamps and related links are listed below:

• [03:07] How Neal got into swords. Neal’s club in Seattle is Lonin.
• [08:12] Ellis Amdur and Japanese martial arts.
• [14:31] Bartitsu
• [17:53] Silver and McBane. Note: It was Captain John Godfrey's 1747, A Treatise Upon The Useful Science of Defence, where he said that “The Small-Sword is the Call of Honour, the Back-Sword the Call of Duty.”
• [28:50] Indian Club training
• [37:46] Sword fights in fiction and how to write one
• [43:48] Working with Charles C. Mann on Cimarronin. The Manila Galleons. We mention Da’Mon Stith and episode 23 of this podcast. For the photo of Ellis Amdur sticking an eight foot spear into Neal’s chest, see: https://swordschool.com/podcast/from-katanas-to-creating-the-metaverse-with-neal-stephenson/ 
• [52:40] Fountain pens
• [55:38] How Neal plots, writes and edits his books, and how he co-writes with another author
• [1:01:09] How Neal’s books changed culture – e.g. influenced the development of the Kindle (see Fiona image here: https://swordschool.com/podcast/from-katanas-to-creating-the-metaverse-with-neal-stephenson/ Fiona is a character in The Diamond Age. Amazon used the codename ‘Fiona’ for their Kindle project.)
• [1:03:47] Working with Jeff Bezos at Blue Origin finding better ways to power space rockets
• [1:14:05] Bullwhips
• [1:15:41] LAMINA1 and building a new open platform for metaverses
• [1:28:28] The best idea Neal hasn’t acted on yet
• [1:32:14] What Neal would do with $1 million to improve historical martial arts

 

Elementary, my dear Windsor, with Dr. Ashley Polasek

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/elementary-my-dear-windsor/ 

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

Dr. Ashley Polasek is a historical martial artist who started with Lichtenauer and now teaches Bolognese swordsmanship. She is based in South Carolina, but spends much of her time travelling for her day job working with one of the world’s most successful playwrights.   

Ashley is an expert in Sherlock Holmes. She was a consultant on the first Enola Holmes movie and is a member of the exclusive ‘Baker Street Irregulars’. Her PhD is in adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, and it is fascinating how the character pops up in so many different versions, and yet they are all recognisably Sherlock Holmes. Even Sherlock Gnomes.

(As she is so keen on adaptation, I’m sure Ashley won’t mind that the misquoted title of this episode, “Elementary, my dear Watson,” was never actually said by Sherlock in any of the books.)

We also talk about how having no vision in one eye affects Ashley’s swordfighting, training to be a Ninja Warrior, women’s hips, and getting swords into schools.

 

Teaching horses martial arts with the Horsemen of Eire

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/teaching-horses-martial-arts-with-the-horsemen-of-eire/ 

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

Alessia Pagani and Jack Gassman run Horsemen of Eire, an equestrian training school and medieval combat academy outside Wexford in Ireland. Alessia specialises in natural horsemanship and Jack takes care of the swords.

In this episode we talk about what’s natural about ‘natural horsemanship’, and its origins in American cowboys and medieval training techniques. There is a blog post here with pictures of the single and double pillar training techniques we discuss: https://dariocaballeros.blogspot.com/2013/09/antoine-de-pluvinel-images-from.html 

Alessia spent time living and working as a cowgirl in Arizona and she explains how Rossfechten (swordfighting on horseback) is similar to herding cattle. Teaching horses to fight is not dissimilar to teaching humans to fight, when you understand their motivations and characters. As Jack says, horses intimately understand violence and will beat the shit out of each other over “you looked at me funny”.

We also find out why there is so much unarmoured longsword in Liechtenauer, why it helps to be a dancer, and how many plates you have to spin to run a business involving horses.

Audiobook Bundle Special Offer!

Don’t forget to check out my audiobook bundle for The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts. This includes the ebook and the audiobook version, narrated by Kelley Costigan. You can find it at guywindsor.net/tsg22. That link will get you 20% off the list price until 15^th September 2022.