Swordfighting, for Writers, Game Designers, and Martial Artists

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.