Dissecting a cut
This post provides an in-depth analysis of a cutting motion, giving details about the trajectory of the sword and the power generation mechanisms involved.
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.
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.
Speed Matters
This post explores the notion of speed in our sources, starting with the explicit admonitions to be quick, the reasons one needs to be quick, and then details the distortions to martial moves that are brought by low-speed work. I believe this information is important to keep in mind when discussing training methodology.