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.
Who would win: Fiore or Vadi?
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Hi! There’s a knotty question which I’m sure keeps you up at night. Who would win in a longsword duel, Fiore or Vadi? Well, Fiore was a famous soldier, commander of the artillery on the walls of Udine, with streets named after him. And who claims to have fought five grudge matches against other fencing masters. Vadi… we’re not 100% sure. There’s some evidence to suggest he was governor of Reggio from 1452 to 1470, and he probably lived from 1425-1501. But no record of him ever teaching swordsmanship, or fighting anyone. So, despite my enduring love for his work, my money would be on the Friulian. Sorry Philippo. That is not to say that Vadi’s treatise isn’t an absolute banger of a book. He’s the first writer that we know of to produce a lengthy treatise on the theory of fencing, rather than lots of specific examples of techniques. I do include my interpretation of several of the specific injunctions from the introductory chapters, such as these from chapter 11: https://vimeo.com/1073904430/f3312b2234 If this kind of thing is your jam, then you’ll probably love the rest of the new Vadi course. You can get it now for 40% off the regular price of £400. The launch period ends on May 5th, at which point the 40% discount code will stop working. As with all my courses, there is a 30 day no-questions-asked money back guarantee. So you can buy it, try it, and if it isn’t for you I’ll happily refund your money. I’ll be back in your inbox with more Vadi-tastic stuff next week. (And a reminder baked into the regular newsletter this Friday.) If Vadi isn’t your thing, you can click this link, which will send you to one of my blog posts, about forging a Viking knife, and also tell my very clever email system not to send you any more launch emails. You can find the course here: https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/the-longsword-of-philippo-vadi?coupon_code=VADITASTICLAUNCH&product_id=6204895 If that discount code link isn’t working, go to courses.swordschool.com and use the code VADITASTICLAUNCH at checkout. Please do share the link far and wide, with anyone you think may be interested in the course. 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.
Hi! When I get to the end of a major project I usually clear my desk and have a general tidy up. It’s then very likely that I’ll spend some time making something physical. There’s something about editing video that makes doing woodwork a psychological necessity. Pretty much the moment I hit “Publish” on the new Vadi course I went out to my shed and got to work cleaning and sharpening my most-used chisels. As I was slotting them back into their rack, I thought it was about time I upgraded...
Hi! I hope you’re getting some time off for Easter this weekend. And lots of Easter eggs. We all need to keep moving to burn off some of that chocolate, so here’s a short gentle warm-up routine from the new Vadi course: https://vimeo.com/1071693384/0c6d4215e2 Yes it’s very gentle, because I’ve made the course fit for absolute beginners, as well as much more advanced students. So I include everything from how to hold the sword, through basic actions, techniques and counters, up to quite...
Hi! It’s a great week for Vadi fans. My comprehensive new course “The Philippo Vadi Longsword Course” is now live on both Teachable and Swordpeople, and my friend Michael Chidester has also just launched his new crowdfunding campaign for a very high-end and beautiful facsimile of Vadi’s treatise, De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi. This was a coincidence, and not ideal from a marketing perspective, but it does open up possibilities for co-operations and collaborations. For instance: Michael is...