Category Archives: Uncategorized

Over the weekend I was recognized by the SCA for my study of period fencing, particularly for my work with the longsword of the Anonimo Bolognese.  On top of that, Facebook reminded me today that it’s my four-year anniversary of studying longsword, so I decided to try something new.  I had picked up a copyContinue reading “Obscure Book Time:  Initial Impressions of the Sword in Two Hands of the Anonimo Riccardiano”

Often times in fencing we focus on how to do something.  This is all well and good, but often times we overlook how to counter those very things, a skill that I for one would say is even more important.  There is a reason that Giganti, the greatest writer in the history of fencing, generallyContinue reading “How To Counter Feints”

            How to marry a sword to a dagger can be quite the daunting task.  You’ve been using a single sword for awhile now and decided to pick up something in your second hand, but you’re not quite sure what to do with it.  You thought you might only have to figure out how toContinue reading “Simplifying the Italian Rapier and Dagger Guards”

I’ve been teaching a lot more longsword at my local practices lately.  Someone asked a bit ago about the general beginner’s curriculum I use.  I looked at the rough outline I sent them and thought about posting it publicly, but then realized that I’d probably need to provide a bit more detail than just myContinue reading “Longsword 101 Curriculum”

I’ve had a few conversations recently how different attributes interact with success in different areas of fencing and I thought it might be helpful for me to explain how they all fit together in some sort of actually thought-out piece instead of trying to remember each of them off the top of my head.   BeforeContinue reading “Pillars & Attributes: The Interplay of Fundamentals and Natural Skill”

You know those times you grapple with a problem for months and then someone just drops the answer in your lap and everything is suddenly illuminated?  Well let me walk you through my past two days of sword research. This weekend I came back from Pennsic with a few things I know I wanted toContinue reading “Giganti’s Feints: A Revelation”

Recently a good friend of mine asked for some advice on how to teach feints.  Thankfully I had just spent a couple of months working on a sequence to help teach just that to one of the folks at my local practice.  Please note that this sequence is set up to teach the fundamentals ofContinue reading “How to Teach Feints”

For my latest project I decided to read the entirety of the Anonimo Bolognese from cover to cover.  This is intended as the first article of many in my explorations.  For those unfamiliar with the text, the Anonimo Bolognese is a compendium of two overlapping, handwritten manuscripts written some time between 1500 and 1550 currentlyContinue reading “The Anonimo Bolognese Part I: Nine Manners”