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 […]

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 […]

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! […]

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 […]