BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! I spent the last weekend of August at Swords of the Renaissance (my fourth time at this jewel of an event). It was a delight from start to finish, as expected! I taught three classes: “Attack with Capoferro”, which included a lengthy digression into how to hold the sword properly, “Lessons from Vadi”, which included an overview of Vadi’s movement mechanics, and various ways to set up the basic plays, and a short breakout session on “Boredom and...
4 days ago • 4 min read
well, not quite yet. Hi. Yesterday I sent the final draft of From Medieval Manuscript to Modern Practice: the Dagger Techniques of Fiore dei Liberi off to the editor. Hurrah! There's a lot of admin work to do from here, checking edits, sending to layout, making sure all the links work etc., but let's put it this way: if I became incapacitated, my highly competent assistant could get the book finished and into your hands no problem. Which means that it's ready to preorder, in ebook, paperback,...
13 days ago • 3 min read
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! I was in London a couple of weeks ago for a family reunion, and took the opportunity to wiggle along for another DEXA scan. My last was a year ago. On the positive side, I’ve put on about 2.4kg of ‘lean tissue’ (the scan can identify fat, bone, and ‘lean tissue’, which is everything else), mostly in the upper torso. So all that weight training and eating protein is paying off. And my overall fat percentage has come down from 24.8% in May 2024, to 21.5%...
18 days ago • 4 min read
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! Firstly thanks to everyone who sent me questions to answer in the upcoming dagger book. I’ve answered every email I received, so if you’ve sent a question but haven’t heard back please send it again. This book is part of the From Medieval Manuscript to Modern Practice series, so has my transcription, translation, and interpretation of every one of the dagger plays in the Getty Ms, with a video clip of how I do it in practice, as well as discussion on...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! It was only last Friday when you got an email from me saying I was still completely stuck on From Medieval Manuscript to Modern Practice: the Dagger Techniques of Fiore dei Liberi. When that email arrived in my inbox (yes I'm subscribed to my own newsletter: it's quality control not narcissism, I promise), I thought I'd just open the book file and see how far along it was. Somehow that triggered a rash of productivity, and at about 7.30am this morning...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! I’m back from my holidays, featuring ten days in Spain with the whole family then a six-day post-exams road trip with Daughter 2. This included visiting Manchester, York, and Edinburgh. And we popped in to Rosslyn Chapel on the way down south. You can see why conspiracy theorists go nuts for this place; it’s an astonishing bit of late medieval stonework, complete with weird and wonderful carvings such as this fallen angel: And a Green Man: You’re not...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! Safety in HMA There has been an especially egregious rash of HMA injuries lately: one friend losing a chunk of her bicep through blunt force trauma; an internet-famous stabbing in a rapier tournament; a(nother) re-enactor getting a sword in their skull through an ocular (the eye-hole in a historical closed-face helmet). What do these all have in common? The idea that it’s the equipment that keeps you safe. I have two main takeaways: 1. Do not trust...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
BOOKS PODCAST COURSES COMMUNITY BLOG Hi! I do weights with my wife on Tuesdays and Saturdays. We normally do classic weight training, but last week she thought it might be fun to do a follow-along “posterior chain” workout from Roxanne Russell (an Australian fitness person on the tubes of you). It was so much “fun” she immediately wanted to do a dumbbell shoulder workout from Caroline Girvan. Caroline was using 8kg weights, I used 5, my wife was on 3. I quite like workouts where you just...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Hi! Historical Martial Arts have come a long way. When I started out, there were no maps, no guides—just manuscripts and guesswork. Now? There’s so much material out there, beginners often don’t know where to start. That’s why I’ve created something new: Introduction to the Art of Arms: Get Started in Historical Martial Arts This set of online courses gives you a clear, structured introduction to the Art of Arms. Minimal gear and no prior experience required—just curiosity. We start with: ✅...
3 months ago • 1 min read