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The Complete Rapier Course

The Complete Rapier Course

Regular price £350.00 GBP
Regular price Sale price £350.00 GBP
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The rapier is a glorious weapon from the most romantic age, and chief among its exponents was the legendary Ridolfo Capoferro, who wrote his "Great Representation of the Art and Use of Fencing" in 1610.

In this course you will learn his style of swordsmanship from the ground up, starting with basic actions of the body and the sword, and gradually progressing through the system until you are proficient with the sword alone, and with the sword and dagger together. We also cover sword and cape!

You are not alone: course participants are encouraged to video their progress in 'challenges' at the end of the classes, and share that video with Guy, and (if you like) with the rest of the students, for helpful feedback.

At the end of the course you will be able to fence well with the sword alone, with the sword and dagger, and have all the necessary tools to become proficient with any off-hand weapon (cape, rotella, etc.) and to create your own interpretation of this rapier source, and any other that may be available in a language you can read.

FAQs

When does the course start and finish?

The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

How long do I have access to the course?

How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.

What if I am unhappy with the course?

We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

Difficulty Level

  • Beginner
  • Intermediate
  • Advanced

Which Weapon?

  • Rapier

How to study

Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility of any kind for injuries you sustain while you are not under my direct personal supervision. During this course you will be taught how to create safe training drills, and I am certain that if you follow the instructions there is a very low likelihood of injury. But if I am not there in person to create and sustain a safe training environment, I cannot be held responsible for any accidents that may occur.

Principles
The basic principles of safe training are:
1. Respect: for the Art, your training partners, the weapons, and yourself.
2. Caution: assume everything is dangerous unless you have reason to believe otherwise.
3. Know your limits. Just because it’s safe for somebody else, does not necessarily mean it’s safe for you. Never train or fence when you are tired, angry, or in any state of mind
or body that makes accidents and injuries more likely.

Safety first: you cannot afford time off training for stupid injuries. Life’s too short.
Whatever training you are doing must must must leave you healthier than you started it.
You will not win Olympic gold medals this way, but you won’t end up a cripple either. The path to sporting glory is littered with the shattered bodies and minds of the unlucky many who broke themselves on the way. Don’t join them.

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How to access your course

When you buy the course, you will receive a PDF by email which contains a link to access the course on the SwordPeople platform. If you can’t find the email, please check your spam folder, and if it isn’t there, let us know at help@swordschool.com

Then just click the link in the PDF (or paste it into a browser), create a free account at SwordPeople (if you haven't already), and enjoy the course!

You will also get access our the community of like-minded sword people, so you can chat with others, ask questions, and talk about lovely swords.

"Learning swordsmanship under the guidance of Guy Windsor is an extraordinary privilege. His holistic approach to the art of combat is a result of lifelong research into historical arms and sources, combined with a profound understanding of the human body, and skills gained in decades of martial arts practice. The human being is at the heart of his teachings, and the sword is his chosen path to bring out the best in his students. When training with Guy, expect no less than improving your inner self and your health while gaining proficiency at arms."

Roland Warzecha, Dimicator.com

When I had the chance to be one of the first to participate in Guy Windsors on-line course on how to recreate historical swordsmanship from historical sources I jumped right in. I had studied with Guy and already knew he had done a great job over two decades in researching original sources on historical swordsmanship and fighting and used his research to reconstruct systems of fighting with different weapons, so I trusted that he knew what he was talking about here. I was interested in sword and buckler fighting and wanted to dig deeper into all the different sources and styles of fighting with sword and buckler. The on-line course met and exceeded my expectations. In addition to learning how to approach and interpret the sources in meaningful manner it also taught me how to actually put together a whole system based on a source and, even more important, how to design drills and a syllabus to teach the system to others.

So far I have used the lessons learned from this course to build a core curriculum for an introduction to sword and buckler fighting and have taught this curriculum to at least five other people. In addition to this the course helped me to approach the sources in systematic and logical manner so my knowledge of the context in which the sources were written and the culture for which they were written has increased dramatically. Whether you are planning to reconstruct a whole system of fighting from sources, building a curriculum and drills to teach an existing system or just want to learn more about how to interpret historical sources and use them to build drills I can recommend the course to you!

Mikko, Suomen Historiallisen Miekkailun Seura Ry

Customer Reviews

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C
Constance Burns
Excellent Content

Guy does amazing work