Hi!

I’m on holiday as this goes out, so I wrote and scheduled it a full week ago. If the sword world has exploded since then and I don’t mention it here, that’s why.

An excellent time was had by all at the Hit What You Aim At webinar. I really enjoy teaching these sessions, even if my study turns into a steam room in this weather.

I’ve now edited some of the Angelo and Point Control webinar content into short clips and added them to the Solo Training course on Teachable. The course was a bit light on smallsword and a bit light on the finer points of point control training, so this filled the gaps. I’m thinking about expanding other sections too.

Here’s a clip of one of the exercises:

And during the second Q&A I went off on a brief rant about the so-called “hammer grip”. It’s only a couple of minutes long, but you might enjoy it.

One Angelo fan asked me during the webinar when my audiobook of The School of Fencing (1787) would be ready. I wasn’t planning on releasing it until I’ve written the book that goes with it, but who am I to hold it back? If you’d like to hear me reading The School of Fencing aloud, you can find it here:

Next up: Rapier Mechanics

One of the most-requested follow-up webinars is on rapier mechanics.

As you probably know, I’m a Capoferro man, and his way of moving is both incredibly efficient and very demanding. To help people prepare, I’ve bundled my free Get Ready for Rapier video series into the free Fundamentals: Body Mechanics course.​

I recommend working through the series whether or not you train rapier. Much of it applies to other weapons and system, assuming they require working knees, wrists, etc.. If you’re planning to join the webinar, it’ll make it much easier to keep up, though we’ll cover the essential material live as well.

We’ll cover:

• The main footwork actions: lunge, pass, step forward, step back and the scansi.
• The guard positions: prima, seconda, terza and quarta.
• The mechanics of striking from all four guards.
• Capoferro’s “secure way to defend yourself against all sorts of blows.”

The two sessions will cover broadly the same material, but with different emphases. We’ll spend more time on footwork in the first session, and more time on the nuances of holding the sword and bladework in the second.

Expect a deep dive into the details. For example: what exactly should your back foot be doing when you lunge, and why?

After the live sessions I will update the workbook to include links to the recordings, video chapter headings with time stamps so you can easily find the bit you want, and a summary of the Q&A, so you’ll have everything in one place.

Writing news

How to Win a Sword Fight has now passed 19,000 words. Yay!

Experienced writers will know that word count is mostly vanity. There’s no telling how many of those words will survive into the finished book. Still, it’s nice to see tangible progress. I think I’ll edit it down a bit before adding more material. It’s probably sensible to have a cleaner, tighter framework to build on from here.

I do seem to be writing an appalling number of sidebars, though.

Do I really need a sidebar on the montante as used against multiple opponents?

Why yes. Yes I do.

Does that mean I need a montante?

Maaaaybe??

Yours,

Guy