The Sword Guy Podcast

Episode 16 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/dark-ages-episode16/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Dr. Eleanor Janega (whom Dan Snow refers to as “The most awesome medieval historian in the world”) is a Guest Lecturer at the London School of Economics in their International History department, and she has published many articles, including: “Suspect Women: Prostitution, Reputation, and Gossip in Fourteenth-Century Prague” and “Lies, Damn Lies, and Bohemians” in History Today. She has a PhD in History from University College London, writes a fascinating blog called “Going Medieval”, and you can find her on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/GoingMedieval. Her latest work is The Middle Ages: A Graphic History, which is available for pre-order here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-middle-ages/eleanor-janega/neil-max-emmanuel/9781785785917  

Episode 15 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/anyone-can-do-hema-episode15/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Today's guest on the show is Robyn Alman, from the Athena School of Arms, in Boston. She is well known on the US tournament circuit, and believes that "anybody can do this and enjoy it and engage in it in the way that is the most meaningful to them." In this episode we talk about how she got started (hint: there was a Sci Fi and Fantasy Con involved), the challenges of training during a pandemic, and the magic of putting swords in peoples' hands.  

Episode 14 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/videogame-swordfights-episode14/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Kirk Williams, also known as the Knight of Green (to find out why, listen to the interview), is a practising historical martial artist… and also recreates video game sword fights in real life. Let’s be honest- most of us take up the sword because of something we read in a book or saw on a screen. I certainly spent a good chunk of my childhood trying to recreate sword fights from movies. Kirk takes that idea to a whole new level, and he has a youtube channel devoted entirely to his recreations.  

Episode 13 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/indian-weapons-episode13/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Alina Boyden is a pilot, swordswoman, and the author of Stealing Thunder, a fantasy novel that you really should read (no spoilers! but I really enjoyed it, especially the dragons-as-fighter-planes). We talk about birds of prey, fighter pilot training, Indian swords, Kunst des Fechtens, and even pedal powered flight.  

Episode 12 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/mindset-military-service-episode12/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Rigel Ng is the president of the Pan Historical European Martial Arts Society (PHEMAS) in Singapore. In this conversation we cover a lot of ground, from military service to establishing your training goals. The Society was founded in 2005 by Greg Galistan and Chris Blakey, who spent a month training 24/7 in my salle in Helsinki, and I've taught there many times since, so it's especially gratifying to me to see the next generation pick up the torch and run with it.  

Episode 11 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/setting-fire-to-nunneries-episode11/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Kimberleigh Roseblade is a historical martial arts instructor, specialising in Fiore's Art of Arms. She teaches at AEMMA in Toronto, and has taught at many international level events including Swordsquatch, VISS, and Longpoint.   

Episode 10 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/armour-episode10/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy My guest this week is Tomas Suazo, a historical fencer and armourer from Chile. I first met Tomas when he came to train with me in Finland in 2014. He did a Grand Tour of European historical fencing clubs, before returning home to run his own. He's a professional maker of protective equipment for HMA, as well as what I think of as "proper armour". You can find his work at Broken Anvil: https://www.facebook.com/brokenanvilarmourshop/  

Episode 9 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/acting-fighting-training-episode9/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Today’s podcast episode is with Siobhan Richardson. You may recognise her from the cover of my latest book, From Medieval Manuscript to Modern Practice. She's an actress, singer, martial artist, stage combat director, among her many skills. We've been friends for quite a while, as you can probably tell from the tone of the interview. She even gets me to talk a bit about shoes! You can find her online here: Instagram: @fighteractress Youtube.com/actorsr www.SiobhanRichardson.com    

Episode 8 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/hma-viking-sword-episode8/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy I met Roland Warzecha (also known as Dimicator) at the first Swordfish event, in Malmö in 2006, and we have been friends and colleagues ever since. He has built a first-class reputation in the fields of I.33 sword and buckler research and Viking sword and shield combat. He is a graphic designer by profession (he consulted on the card design for Audatia), and produces extraordinarily well presented research on sword design and related topics in his 800+ patreon posts. In our wide-ranging conversation we discuss how he got started in the sword world, his early training influences, Viking sword design, and many other things. Specific links: we mention the Berlin Buckler Bouts, and historical sword hilt manipulations.  

Episode 7 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/mounted-combat-episode7/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Jennifer Landels is the founder and head of Academie Duello’s Mounted Combat Program which operates out of Cornwall Ridge Farm in Langley BC. She has been swordfighting since 2008, and riding since before she could walk. She started the program as an excuse to combine those passions, and has since been invited to Germany, France, and the USA to spread the joy of combining pointy objects with thousand-pound animals with minds of their own.   You can find her mounted combat school Academie Cavallo here, her novel Allaigna's Song here, and Pulp Literature Press here.  

Episode 6 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/running-a-club-nyc-episode6/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy One of the great advantages of starting a podcast has been getting to talk to people I've not yet met, but whom my friends speak highly of. I think you'll see why several other guests suggested I talk to Tan when you listen to what she has to say! You can find our conversation here: Tan runs Rogue Fencing, a historical martial arts school in New York, and is also a successful tournament fencer. You can find her online at Rogue fencing, and on Patreon.  

Episode 5 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/how-to-train-episode5/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy In this episode of The Sword Guy, I talk to Kaja Sadowski, author of the must-read Fear is the Mind-Killer, about training with two swords, training in high-stress situations, and lots more training besides!  Kaja has been a physical instructor since 2004, teaching figure skating, rock climbing, and mountaineering before coming to martial arts in 2010. She joined the coaching team at Valkyrie Western Martial Arts Assembly in 2012, and created their beginner program shortly afterwards. She currently teaches group and private lessons to students of all experience levels, and run the school’s self defense program. Her primary weapon is the rapier, and she also teaches unarmed striking, grappling, and knife combat. Her interests vary from the historical to the modern, and range from recreational martial arts to practical self defense and professional use of force. She has been a civilian auxiliary with the Vancouver Police Department’s Force Options Training Unit since 2015, participating in realistic tactical training scenarios and providing guest instruction to their Special Municipal Constable program.  

Episode 4 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/lightsabers-rapiers-episode4/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Airrion Scott is an Italian Rapier and Sabre Fencer and Instructor out of the Mid-Atlantic Society for Historic Swordsmanship in Annapolis, Maryland. Since joining them in 2016, Airrion has judiciously followed the methodology of the club which encourages the martial study of HMA through historically accurate techniques gleaned from the manuals and treatises, using historically accurate weapons. Airrion's study at MASHS has led him to become a proponent of the philosophy, "if you follow the text, you will prevail"; subsequently, he has reached the podium in tournaments in 2018 and 2019, earning Gold and Sportsman/Technical Prizes for rapier, rapier and dagger, and sabre play along the way. Airrion would not have enjoyed this success, or HMA in general, if it were not for his love of fantasy and the swashbuckling stories of stage and screen; his path to rapier and sabre began with a fascination with lightsabers and his involvement with The Saber Legion, a full-contact LED saber combat organization.  

Episode 3 For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/sam-swords-episode3/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Sam -also called Samantha- Swords has been passionate about swordfighting since he was old enough to hold a stick. Strongly inspired by the stories of western warrior culture as a child, he has grown up to build his life around those same values, specialising in historical swordsmanship as well as being a professional craftsperson for the film and theatre industry, and immersing himself in creative projects on the side. Sam grew up in Australia and New Zealand, where he learned Western Martial Arts with Colin McKinstry through the New Zealand schools of historical swordsmanship. He was also able to learn the basics of mounted Medieval combat through the Upper Hutt Martial Arts Academy’s cavalry reenactment group, the Order of the Boar. Sam went on to travel widely and train with a vast range of instructors across North America and South East Asia, especially fighters who specialised in some form of personal self defence. Samantha became well known as female swordfighting role model in 2013 after successfully winning the Harcourt Park longsword competition in New Zealand. This led to much global attention and enabled him to expose many people to Europe’s historical martial arts legacy, as well as inspire many women (and people of other genders!) to start their journey with the sword. Sam proudly upholds the work and legacy that he was able to create as a female role model before his transition to male in 2018, although his focus is now on using his platform to inspiring people to be true to themselves and courageously live their passions, whatever those might be. He has also spoken on the relationship between martial arts, storytelling and heroism at the Hero Round Table in 2016. Sam enjoys most forms of historical combat but is especially excited about the study and practice of sword and buckler, as well as the potential of sport-based LARPs to enable field combat simulations that are not safely available to weapons practitioners in other ways. Sam is very active on social media through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. He also has a clothing brand on Etsy and is currently building a community on Patreon. Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SamanthaSwords Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/samthesword Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samthesword/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samthesword/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamanthaSwords You can also listen to his Hero Round Table talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBET_-0aRl8 The sword Sam mentions in the podcast is this one:  

Episode 2   For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/women-in-hema-episode2/  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Francesca Lacuata is lead instructor at The School of the Sword’s Godalming chapter, having studied Bolognese swordplay and rapier since 2010. She has a further interest and some experience in renaissance dagger-fighting, Bartitsu and longsword. Fran has instructed at several high-profile events in Britain, Europe and the US; and has placed in and won a number of international tournaments.   As a writer, Fran has demonstrated, panelled and presented on historical fencing and real-world violence at various lectures and writers’ conventions, including Fantasycon and at the Wallace Collection.   She was a main organiser of the International Rapier Seminar 2016; co-founded Waterloo Sparring Group in 2012, which facilitates inter-group sparring from clubs all over the south of England and beyond; is a founder of the Wessex League series of events; is a key organiser of the Albion Cup; runs the Spring Sword Workshops and Swords of Winter events; organises By The Sword – an annual women’s event running since 2017; and was a founding member of Esfinges, a worldwide organisation for women in HEMA.