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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 Tag: tournaments

Episode 132

Podcasting with the Sword Whisperers (Schwertgeflüster)

Michael Sprenger and Alexander Fürgut are the creators of Schwertgeflüster, a (usually) German-speaking podcast about all things HMA. In this episode Michael and Alexander interview Guy, while Guy also interviews Michael and Alexander a bit too. It’s not as confusing as it sounds. We talk about how Alexander can’t get into the correct position for Fabris’s rapier fencing, which Guy diagnoses as possible tight hamstrings. If you also want to work on lengthening your […]

Episode 124

Support Vector Machines are Cool, with Kari Baker

Kari Baker is a data scientist and swordswoman from Arizona who writes appallingly advanced data analysis articles for Sword STEM. In our conversation we discuss how data helped increase women’s participation in events and whether we can predict a double in tournaments. You can find Kari’s Sword STEM articles here: http://swordstem.com/author/kbaker/ If you have any interesting research questions, or datasets you want to ask questions of, send them to Guy or pop over to […]

Episode 105

Rocket Science and Cosmic Washing Machines, with Naziyah Mahmood

Naziyah Mahmood is a Scottish astrophysicist, aerospace engineer, aspiring citizen astronaut, STEM ambassador, model, writer, and artist. And of course, she’s mad about swords. In our conversation we talk about Naziyah’s love for the Eastern sword arts, primarily Haidong Gumdo. But there’s a diversion into Ancient Roman twin-sword-wielding gladiators… We also talk about training with a visual impairment, being underestimated, and the importance of self-expression. Here is a link to Naziyah’s film, A New […]
Sarah Hay

Episode 98

Laser Focus, Thought Control, and Jousting with Sarah Hay

Sarah Hay has been jousting since 2008. Just ten years later she won the Queen’s Jubilee Horn at the Royal Armouries’ Easter jousting tournament in Leeds. In this episode we find out how Sarah’s passion for jousting came about, her background with horses, getting your own armour, and the vital role that mindset plays in her success. Sarah casually dropped into conversation that she “controls her thoughts”, and we dig a little deeper into […]

Episode 77

Hope and Black Powder with Dr. Milo Thurston

Milo Thurston is the founder of the Linacre School of Defence in Oxford, UK. He’s an absolute bastard with a single stick and a leading expert in the work of Sir William Hope. In our conversation we talk about the essence of Hope’s New Method of Fencing and what is so good about it. We also talk about Napoleonic battle reenactment, being late to class, Ken Monschein’s PhD, and why Milo would use Guy’s […]

Episode 70

Classical Fencing and Digital Pedagogy with Dori Coblentz

This week’s episode is with Dr Dori Coblenz, lecturer in Communications at Georgia Tech, specialising in early modern English drama, digital pedagogy and the history of fencing. She’s the author of many papers and the book Fundamentals of Italian Rapier: a modern manual for teachers and students of historical fencing, with David Coblentz. In our conversation we talk about the differences between classical Italian fencing and historical fencing. Dori’s passion is for teaching teachers, […]

Episode 63

Pirates and Batons with Julie Olson

This week’s guest is Julie Olson, senior instructor at the Athena School of Arms in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a director of the Iron Gate Exhibition, the largest New England historical martial arts event. She’s also well-known on the longsword tournament circuit. Julie was placed 7th in the Longsword Triathlon at Longpoint 2019, the highest ranking woman in that event. In our chat we get into the nitty gritty of running a club and competing in […]

Episode 22

Tournament Mindset, with Brittany Reeves

Brittany Reeves is the co-founder of Mordhau Historical Combat in Mesa, Arizona, and has taught internationally. She has medalled at tournaments in longsword, cutting, glima, and ringen. She also has a degree in Ancient and Medieval history. In this conversation we discuss tournament mindset, her advice to beginners wanting to go to tournaments for the first time, and of course, equipment. […]

Episode 19

Founding Longpoint and Fencing in Armour, with Jake Norwood

Jake Norwood is a highly experienced and widely respected historical martial arts instructor. He co-founded the HEMA Alliance (one of the largest historical martial arts associations), and Longpoint (one of the best-known US historical martial arts events). He has taught and competed internationally. We talked about the founding of Longpoint, creating tournament structures that give you the outcomes you want, preparing for armoured combat, and many other things. I met him for the first […]

Episode 15

Anyone can do HEMA! With Robyn Alman

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 […]

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