This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Washing a SPES Jacket
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 15th November 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. How do you wash your SPES jacket? There are some brief washing guidelines on the SPES website, but I feel that more …
The importance of books 27: Mike Edelson
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 3: storage
This is going to be a short article, presenting an ethical consideration. Previous articles in this series discussed the problem of people sparring with antique swords, or using antique swords for cutting; in this article, the focus will be on …
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The importance of books 26: Jacopo Penso
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 2: cutting
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 12th February 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. This is going to be a short article, presenting an ethical consideration. The previous article in this series discussed …
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The importance of books 25: Reinier van Noort
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 1: sparring
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 29th January 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. This is going to be a short article, presenting an ethical consideration. Some HEMA groups who study sabre have …
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The importance of books 24: Guy Windsor
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
A sensible progression for buying longsword equipment
When people begin training at a club, it is only reasonable for them to be able to borrow some equipment from the club. After all, no one can reasonably expect that a complete beginner will run out and buy themselves all the protective gear to …
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The importance of books 23: Marek Helman
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
What is the difference between a “350N” fencing mask and a “1600N” fencing mask?
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 22nd April 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. When looking to buy a fencing mask, there are a huge variety of makes and models, and they all come with some numbers to …
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The importance of books 22: Roberto Gotti
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Argue with me if you like, but please argue well
It occurs almost every time I post a blog article: someone disagrees with me and wants to argue with me. That's fine, I really don't mind when this happens. Disagreement that leads to discussion can be one of the things that drives forward our …
The importance of books 21: Lee Smith
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Diagnosing a problem in sparring
People often ask me for advice about how to diagnose a problem in sparring, and how to fix it once it has been identified. This can be a tricky thing to do at first, but with some practice and with a reasonably structured method, the process becomes …
The importance of books 20: Jim Campbell
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
5 business lessons from studying longsword
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 27th March 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. For the last several years I have been running my own business. For a few more years, I have been learning Liechtenauer’s …
The importance of books 19: Kristine Konsmo
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
“End him rightly” – a translation error
Since 2014, there has been a certain meme on the internet that really annoys me. I know, I’m a grumpy old man, and memes tend to annoy me anyway, but this particular meme stems from an incorrect translation and an incorrect interpretation. In other …