Sordfighting, For Writers, Game Designers, And Martial Artists [Paperback]

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.