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The Sword Guy Podcast

Listen in as Guy interviews a wide variety of interesting swordspeople and historians from around the world. Learn more about the practical, the tactical, the theoretical and the just plain awesome from a diverse group of voices.

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Podcast Category: Challenge of the Month

Episode 85

Your Challenge for December

Hello Sword People, and welcome to the final monthly challenge of the year. This one is a little different. Before I introduce it, let me just refresh your memory about what the challenges are. Basically, they are alternatives to New Year’s resolutions because I don’t like New Year’s resolutions very much, and the challenges so far this year have been: breaking a habit, adding a habit, sleeping – in other words, how to sleep […]

Episode 81

Improve your striking in November

Your challenge for November is to improve your striking. Really, what we are looking at more than anything else is your precision and accuracy, which you can apply to any domain. Someone who drives a car might look at the smoothness of their gear changes, or the precision with which they take a corner. There is no domain in life that this cannot be applied to. Of course, as sword people, we will tend […]

Episode 76

Your October Challenge: Improve Your Footwork!

Today’s episode is your October Challenge. This year I have been setting a different challenge every month, as I really don’t like New Year’s resolutions, and it struck me that there was an opportunity for self-development and self-improvement that we were missing by making these nebulous resolutions at pretty much the worst point in the year to make any kind of changes. It’s right after Christmas and if you’re in the northern hemisphere, it’s […]

Episode 72

Monthly Challenge: Get More Flexible in September

Your challenge this month is to engage with your ranges of motion. Much of this post is adapted from my new book The Windsor Method: The Principles of Solo Training. For every action you wish to do, you need the necessary range of motion, and sufficient strength exerted within the allotted time. You must also be able to route the forces created by any impact safely through your skeleton and into the ground. And […]

Episode 66

Your Challenge for August: Get Stronger!

This is adapted from my new book, The Windsor Method: The Principles of Solo Training. “Conditioning” as I use the term is externally-focussed physical training such as push ups, stretching and weight lifting. What the Finns might call “Jumppa”.  In the beginning when you take up a martial art, it’s all new. You have to move your body in unfamiliar ways, and if you’re using weapons, they start out feeling heavy and clumsy. For […]

Episode 60

Monthly Challenge: Breathe Better in July

For more on this subject, please see The Theory and Practice of Historical Martial Arts, also available as an audiobook read by Kelley Costigan. Or the try my online course, Fundamentals: Breathing, which covers much of my breathing practice. It’s included with the monthly subscription package, and with the Solo Training course. The first class is available as part of my free Human Maintenance course. So there are no excuses for not breathing better! […]

Episode 55

Challenge of the Month: Meditate in June

For a free meditation class, see: https://swordschool.teachable.com/p/free-courses-human-maintenance-longsword-rapier Oh no, I hear you cry. I picked up meditation as my skill in May, and as my acquired habit in February! Or not. In any case, this month’s challenge is to work on your ability to choose where to place your attention, and to control your level of arousal. The primary training method for that is meditation, but that does not necessarily mean sitting still for […]

Episode 48

Challenge of the Month: Learn a new skill in May

Last month’s challenge (Eat Well in April) was difficult for many people, mostly because food is such an emotional subject. Personally, I spent the month avoiding starch and sugar, which has helped with energy levels, weight management, and especially my reflux problem. I’ve also been adhering more closely to a 16:8 intermittent fasting routine, which is also better for my reflux.The odd thing is that though the house is full of Nutella, chocolate (I […]
Vegetables

Episode 41

Challenge of the month: eat well in April

Last month’s challenge was very simple: prioritise sleep. While sleep quality varies hugely, it’s still basically the same thing for everyone: there’s good sleep, there’s bad sleep, and there’s enough sleep or not. We all know what we mean by ‘sleep well’. But what do we mean by ‘eat well’? ‘Eat well’ is incredibly varied. Eat well for what? The challenge this month is simply this: pay attention to what you eat and why.   […]

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