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.
Get Them Moving: how to teach is now out!
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Hi! I hope this finds you well. I'm at home between trips, and the lovely Katie who normally formats and schedules my newsletters is away on a much-deserved holiday, so please excuse any irregularities as I create this announcement all by myself! This is just to let you know that my new book, Get Them Moving: how to teach historical martial arts is now available at the swordschool shop. It will go live on other platforms (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc etc.) in a few months, but you can get it now, here: https://swordschool.shop/collections/get-them-moving Here's the blurb: In
, I’ve distilled over twenty years of teaching experience into a comprehensive guide that’s as practical as it is motivational. Whether you’re stepping into the salle as an instructor for the first time or you’ve been teaching students for years, this book offers clear and actionable guidelines to improve outcomes for your students. From constructing effective lesson plans to overcoming the hurdle of imposter syndrome, I’ve laid out strategies and insights to elevate your teaching craft. Learn how to engage beginners with effective drills, run advanced classes, and how to incorporate the historical sources into your teaching.
This isn’t just a manual; it’s a mentorship in book form, designed to accompany you as you forge the next generation of martial artists. Ready to transform your practice into impactful teaching? Let’s begin. Here's a thought- you could get a copy for your historical fencing instructor... if they will take it as a friendly gesture, not a critique of their current skills! cheers, 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.
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi, Over the last couple of weeks I have been diving into the “organise The Sword Guy material” project. It really needs a better working title. I’m leaning towards “Lessons from The Sword Guy”, what do you think? It is turning into a much harder project than I anticipated. It turns out 2.4 million words is a bit much for most search functions to actually search reliably! I had to learn how to generate a markup file of all 200 or so transcripts. And even...
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi, Parry like it’s 1482! You probably recall I’ve got a new book out, the companion volume to the Vadi facsimile. And I mentioned that my daughter created sketches of all the images in the treatise, to get around pesky Italian copyright contrarianism. The excellent Katie Mackenzie took one of those sketches, coloured it in, and created awesome t-shirts from the results. I have one ordered already, and you can get your own by clicking on the link below:...
Hi! I’ve been mad about smallsword since the nineties, and for the last five months I’ve been returned to my first historical fencing love, Domenico Angelo’s School of Fencing (1787), transcribing the text and preparing it for modern students. Every martial art is a way of moving and a set of tactical preferences. The tactical preferences require safety equipment and a training partner, but you can train the way of moving alone, with little or no gear. So I’ve decided to teach a live online...