This is an interpretation of George Silver's “Brief instructions” work, incorporating aspects of his “paradoxes” work. 10 general lessons Lesson 1:  be aware of the ground around you. Use the terrain to your advantage. Get the sun behind you and in the opponent's face. Lesson 1: use the environment Lesson 2: consider the guard your opponent is in and make sure you are guarded in whatever way you feel is appropriate. Make sure that no part of you - leg, arm, hand, head, etc. -

This is an interpretation of George Silver's “Brief instructions” work, incorporating aspects of his “paradoxes” work. Silver’s fencing theory The fight is to be conducted according to the 4 governors  and the 4 grounds . The four grounds are: Through judgment  you keep your distance . Through distance you take your time . Through time you win the place . The four governors are judgement , measure , and the twofold mind  - to go forwards always with a mind to go backwards. Th

This is an interpretation of George Silver's “Brief instructions” work, incorporating aspects of his “paradoxes” work. The sword A single or double-edged one-handed sword, with a decent hand guard providing protection from cuts from most angles. This is basically a basket hilt, but not quite as protective as a later Scottish basket hilted broadsword. Perfect length is basically a blade from just above your hip to your outstretched off-hand, somewhere between 33 and 37 inches

Variations of this question pop up on Reddit all the time: can I learn fencing by myself? Can I learn sabre or rapier from a book? There aren't any clubs near me… etc. Let's pick this question apart as it could have several meanings: Someone wants to learn fencing from scratch, by themselves, with no other people, and no one teaching them other than videos and books. Someone already has a base in fencing (perhaps longsword or sabre) but wants to independently learn a new syst