Modelling impacts and damage

This article is an attempt at the physical modellisation of weapon impact – blunt, cutting or thrusting. It explores how damage, represented as depth of penetration, depends on various properties of the target and weapon, and how difficult it can be to predict damage.

The Sword – Form & Thought

This post is a review of the exhibition and catalogue ‘The Sword: Form & Thought’. I have contributed a small part to both, working with Peter Johnsson on the computation and display of dynamic properties from his detailed documentation. The exhibition makes a beautiful display of various types of swords, and the catalogue contains a wealth of data and knowledge about the function and design of antique swords. Both highly recommended!

On Silver’s times

George Silver is the famous author of an early printed work on fencing and martial arts in English, Paradoxes of Defence (1599). He is often quoted for having layed out universal principles in the form of his hierarchy of true and false times. Sadly, the most common interpretation of these does not fit the whole text. This post provides the necessary quotes to understand the causes and key properties of true and false times, which are in my opinion more interesting and less open to interpretation than the hierarchy itself.