with pen and blade
My book, Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience, is now available in both paperback and ebook editions! ORDER NOW! This project began almost exactly two years ago, over a sushi lunch with Guy Windsor. As we were catching up, he casually asked my why I … Continue reading “Fear is the Mind Killer” is now available!
I'm back from my first East Coast swordplay event, and it was awesome! When I got the invitation to teach at the 2019 DC HEMA Open last summer, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew that it was a big part of the local tournament scene and that it would be their first year … Continue reading Trip Report: Capitol Clash DC HEMA Open
I was reading this interview with Samin Nosrat, the host of a wonderful cooking show called Salt Fat Acid Heat, when I felt a switch flip in the back of my head. The "click" was almost audible. It was a shift in how I viewed myself in relationship to food and to cooking, and had … Continue reading The Things We Believe About Ourselves
Last weekend's big event for Valkyrie WMAA, Big Gay Sword Day, was created in a moment of frustration. Someone had posted in one of the biggest online HEMA forums and asked a simple question: were there any HEMA events aimed at members of the LGBTQ community? The resulting conversation thread was a shitshow. People scoffed … Continue reading Big Gay Sword Day and Celebration vs Struggle
I've had a few conversations lately about the corrosiveness of emphasizing talent or "giftedness" in a physical instruction context. Something I've encountered a lot is a weird sort of predestination framework: folks born with "natural talent" will be good at a thing, and folks without it will just struggle and flail forever. It's a really … Continue reading On Talent
