German Wrestling is awesome! Von Baumann for the win.


Hi!

Fair warning- this is the beginning of a launch sequence. Which means a pile of emails in your inbox over the next week or so.

If you’ve been on my list for a while, you’ll know that it’s sadly necessary to send out a sequence of launch emails to generate course sales. This is just because people need reminding. I avoid making the emails too fancy because I don’t want to persuade anyone to buy the course. If Medieval German Wrestling: The Twirchringen of Von Baumann taught by Jessica Finley, is not an immediate “hell yes!” to you, then don’t buy it. And if you can’t afford it right now (even with the 10 month instalments option), then please, don’t buy it.

If you’re not even a bit interested in Von Baumann’s wrestling stuff, then click on this link, which will take you to a post about syllabus design for rapier fencing, and also tell my very clever email system not to send you any more of these emails about the wrestling course (though it will be one of many things I mention in this week's newsletter; but you won't get any of the specific launch emails).

And if you are a Patron, or have bought the Abrazare or Hauptstucke courses, you should already have received an even bigger discount code. If that's not the case, reply to this email and I'll send it to you.

Rather than fill up your inbox with boring reminders, I’m going to make this sequence useful and interesting to anyone who is at all into German wrestling (or any other kind of wrestling). Each email will include the “get it at 40% off for the next x days” offer, of course. But it will also include a video clip from the course itself, and some insight into what it was like making the course and things that I, as a Fiore person, learned from it. The sales page has free previews of the entire first section of the course, so there's a lot of free material to get you started and give you a fair idea of what's on the course and whether it's your sort of thing.

So, let’s start with:

Yay! the course is ready! Here’s a 40% discount on the $250 course price, so it’s yours for only $150, or $15 per month for the next 10 months:

The offer expires at midnight EST, on Sunday February 9th.

About the course

This comprehensive course delves into the fascinating world of medieval German wrestling, exploring the seven Twirchringen (cross-wrestling) plays from the 15th-century Von Baumann manuscript. You’ll learn the core techniques, their counters, and the counter-counters, as well as setting up the plays and joining them together.


This course is ideal for:

• Beginners looking for an accessible introduction to medieval wrestling.

• Practitioners of German or Italian medieval martial arts seeking to expand their knowledge of unarmed combat.

• Anyone with an interest in historical martial arts and the rich traditions of medieval combat.

Course Structure:

1. Introduction: Course overview, safety briefing, and academic materials (transcription and translation of the Von Baumann manuscript).

2. First Twirchringen: The first play, its counter, and the counter to the counter.

3. Second Twirchringen: The second play, its counter, and the counter to the counter.

4. Third Twirchringen: The third play, its counter, and the counter to the counter.

5. Fourth Twirchringen: The fourth play, its counter, and the counter to the counter.

6. Fifth Twirchringen: The fifth play, its counter, and the counter to the counter.

7. Sixth Twirchringen: The sixth play, its counter, and the counter to the counter.

8. Seventh Twirchringen: The seventh play, its counter, and the counter to the counter.

9. Connecting the Plays: Techniques for setting up the plays, and ways to link them together for fluid combat.


And if it’s already a “hell yes!”, you can enrol in the course here:

Please do share that link wherever you like, and with any friends you have who you think might be interested. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

yours,

Guy.

Guy Windsor's Swordschool

Dr. Guy Windsor is a world-renowned instructor and a pioneering researcher of medieval and renaissance martial arts. He has been teaching the Art of Arms full-time since founding The School of European Swordsmanship in Helsinki, Finland, in 2001. His day job is finding and analysing historical swordsmanship treatises, figuring out the systems they represent, creating a syllabus from the treatises for his students to train with, and teaching the system to his students all over the world. Guy is the author of numerous classic books about the art of swordsmanship and has consulted on swordfighting game design and stage combat. He developed the card game, Audatia, based on Fiore dei Liberi's Art of Arms, his primary field of study. In 2018 Edinburgh University awarded him a PhD by Research Publications for his work recreating historical combat systems. When not studying medieval and renaissance swordsmanship or writing books Guy can be found in his shed woodworking or spending time with his family.

Read more from Guy Windsor's Swordschool
Two kids with swords

BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! I know, I know, this was supposed to go out yesterday. But I’m running late for one good reason and one bad one. The good reason: My brother and his family came over from Abu Dhabi last Saturday to stay at my mum’s, so I went up to visit on Sunday. I spent the vast majority of the week getting the shit kicked out of me training martial arts with his two young kids. I brought a big bag of swords for them to have a go with, though we spent most of the...

Vera Martocchia

BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! Yes I know we’re not due another newsletter until next week, but I have a long blog post for you, a new podcast episode, and a question, so why wait? Let’s start with the question… (with apologies to the Spice Girls for the terrible subject line) What do you want? I’m thinking about what I produced over the last year. It wasn’t the publishing explosion of 2024, but I did produce two full length courses (Vadi Longsword and Vadi Dagger), created the...

Dr Martin Hoeppner

BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! It’s that time of year again… I’ve just ordered my Swordschool Training Year Planner. This is a great tool for (you guessed it) planning your training, but it’s also just a lovely thing to have in the house. You don’t have to start it in January; it’s been carefully designed so that you can start at any point in the year (it makes a lot of sense to start a new year in Spring, for instance). But I need a new one now! I have a fancy code that gets me...