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:

1. “What is Historical Swordsmanship?” covers some aspects of researching and recreating the Art.
2. “Martial Essentials” covers some of the less-well-understood aspects of what martial arts are and how they work.
3. “Lessons from the Art” covers some of the wider real-world benefits of training, especially dealing with questions of mistakes, risk, and fear.
4. “Swords” describes the main classifications of the weapons we use, and includes discussion of appropriate training tools.
5. “Fighting” includes historical examples of duels, and discussions about the nature of real violence.
6. “Writing Swordfights” is about how swords and swordfights should be represented in fiction, with examples of fights done both well and badly.
7. “Gaming” is a discussion of the ways in which swordsmanship can be adapted for game design purpose.
8. “Training” includes key insights into how we train swordsmanship.