Swordfighting, for Writers, Game Designers, and Martial Artists

"Useful, helpful, absorbing, entertaining. Whether you are interested in weaponry or, like me, researching details for a novel, this is the book for you." Helen Hollick, Amazon customer.Your search for a book that will feed your passion for and deepen your knowledge of swordsmanship ends here.Guy Windsor’s Swordfighting offers insight into this magnificent historical European martial art: you will find answers to your burning questions about swordsmanship, its theory and practice. This carefully crafted book provides essential information on diverse topics with piercing clarity. "Whether you are a writer or game-maker seeking the kind of information I sought while writing The Baroque Cycle, or just a general reader with an interest in the arts to which Guy Windsor has dedicated his career, you should find much that is rewarding in these pages." From the foreword by Neal Stephenson, New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author.Made up of a selection of Guy’s essays and articles, with a great deal of brand new material, this engaging and revealing book makes this complex subject accessible, enabling you to deep-dive into — Benefits of training Types of weapons Sword fighting principles Historical accuracyIf you are an actor, writer or games designer creating or writing fight scenes, this book provides cutting-edge research on our European martial arts heritage. You will also discover the dos and don’ts of producing a stunningly realistic sword fight. Swordfighting is not a training manual. For technical instruction on specific swordsmanship styles, you should buy The Medieval Longsword and The Duellist's Companion.

From the Foreword by Neal Stephenson: “Whether you are a writer or game-maker seeking the kind of information I sought while writing The Baroque Cycle, or just a general reader with an interest in the arts to which Guy Windsor has dedicated his career, you should find much that is rewarding in these pages.” This book is a collection of essays and articles, about half of which have been adapted from Guy’s successful blog, at guywindsor.com, the rest have never been published before. It is in eight sections: “What is Historical Swordsmanship?” covers some aspects of researching and recreating the Art. “Martial Essentials” covers some of the less-well-understood aspects of what martial arts are and how they work. “Lessons from the Art” covers some of the wider real-world benefits of training, especially dealing with questions of mistakes, risk, and fear. “Swords” describes the main classifications of the weapons we use, and includes discussion of appropriate training tools. “Fighting” includes historical examples of duels, and discussions about the nature of real violence. “Writing Swordfights” is about how swords and swordfights should be represented in fiction, with examples of fights done both well and badly. “Gaming” is a discussion of the ways in which swordsmanship can be adapted for game design purpose. “Training” includes key insights into how we train swordsmanship.