The Sword Guy Podcast

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-217-capoferro-ai-and-the-missing-zero-with-dr-marc-heimann  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Dr Marc Heimann is a Philosopher of Technology in Hamburg whose work formalizes the intersection of continental logic and the operational mechanics of large language models. (It’ll all become clear in the episode.) We discuss the ethical implications of AI in enhancing human capabilities versus diminishing them, particularly for students. We also delve into the relationship between Freudian language theory and modern AI. Despite its current limitations, there’s also a very interesting potential for AI use in historical martial arts research, where we could use it to provide new insights without modern biases. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of swordy stuff mixed in with the AI! Marc is also a practicing historical martial artist, and we connected over Capoferro’s theory of tempo. Books and papers mentioned in the episode: The History of Zero: The Nothing That Is (Kaplan, 1999).

 Kaplan, Robert. 1999. The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero. Oxford University Press. The Impetus Theory: Maier, Anneliese (1940). Die Impetustheorie Der Scholastik. While this isn't in English, it is widely considered by specialists to be the definitive work on the subject.
 Maier, Anneliese. 1940. Die Impetustheorie Der Scholastik. A. Schroll & Co. Engineering Margins & Philosophy: Research on the "problem of margins" (Eckert et al., 2019) and the broader philosophy of engineering (Aslaksen, 2018; Boon, 2021).
 Eckert, Claudia, Ola Isaksson, and Chris Earl. 2019. “Design Margins: A Hidden Issue in Industry.” Design Science https://doi.org/10.1017/dsj.2019.7. Aslaksen, Eric W. 2018. “An Engineer’s Approach to the Philosophy of Engineering.” In Philosophy of Engineering, East and West, edited by Carl Mitcham, Bocong LI, Byron Newberry, and Baichun ZHANG. Springer International Publishing. Boon, Mieke. 2021. “Scientific Methodology in the Engineering Sciences.” In The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering, edited by Diane P. Michelfelder and Neelke Doorn. Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy. Taylor & Francis Group. Freud & AI: Marc’s paper that goes into much greater detail regarding transformer models and what it means for psychoanalysis. 
 Heimann, Marc. 2026. “Freudian AI?: Transformer Models as a Proof of Concept for a Central Hypothesis in Freudian Theory.” Lacunae: APPI International Journal for Lacanian Psychoanalysis, no. 29. The Stillness of the Sword: Tempo as a logic of time: Marc Heimann’s paper explores the concepts of tempo and stillness in the works of 16th- and 17th-century fencing masters Fabris, Capo Ferro, and Agrippa. 

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-216-making-seated-longsword-work-with-ella-rose To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Ella Rose has been practicing historical martial arts since 2017. In 2023 she founded Black Cat Historical Fencing with co-founder Shane Scallin, where she teaches dagger, rapier and beginner longsword classes. She has competed across the US and internationally, and she has won medals in multiple weapon categories. Ella is the lead tournament organizer of Iron Gate Exhibition, Benedict's Big Day, and Long Tail. Ella has worked in many minority-focused spaces, both within historical martial arts and in her career as an illustrator. Having dealt with chronic illness and disability her entire martial arts career, she led the creation of BCHF's seated fencing practice, one of the first of its kind. And in 2025 she organized the first seated longsword tournament, and she aims to continue pushing the HEMA community further towards inclusion for all athletes. In our conversation we talk about dealing with chronic illness, especially within HEMA, and the adaptations that Ella makes to her training and recovery time. This is a useful conversation for anyone involved in running a club, or thinking of starting one, because we talk about what to charge students, and the ethos that will help make your club inclusive and welcoming. We talk about the adaptations salles should make so they become places where people can hang out and still be part of the community, even if they are not actively taking part in a session. Most clubs are not going to be equipped with disability accommodations already in place, so we discuss how coaches can support students with different needs, and what a club can do to actively show that people with disabilities are welcome. We also hear about the fascinating process of adapting historical martial arts to seated fencing: how to adapt the system, how to create suitable seats and where to position people, and how a seated fencer can fence against someone standing up.   Links of Interest BCHF Website: https://www.blackcathistoricalfencing.com/ BCHF Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackcathistoricalfencing/   Ella’s art website: https://www.icecubesanddragonfire.com/ Ella’s art Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/icecubesanddragonfire/?hl=en To see the graphic novel mentioned: https://markosia.com/2025/08/18/emily-corn-vol-2-part-1-finding-the-light-out-now/   IGX 2026 Ruleset, which include the most up to date seated fencing rules Ella has written: https://irongateexhibition.com/tournaments-spring/   Utah Fencing Federation: https://www.utahfencingfoundation.org/   For photos from Long Tail 2026, including photos of their seated longsword tournament see https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-216-making-seated-longsword-work-with-ella-rose 

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-215-the-pen-and-the-sword-of-justice-with-ariel-anderssen To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy This episode sees the return of Ariel Anderssen, who is a model, actor, author, property investor, and is perhaps best known for her career as a BDSM model and performer. Of course, her principal claims to fame are actually appearing on episodes 93 and 102 of this very show. We do talk about swords a bit… what sword would be a worthy reward for finishing a book, and Guy’s smallsword obsession. (Read about his smallsword guards and see pictures here: https://newsletter.swordschool.com/posts/a-joint-a-church-and-six-foil-guards)   Ariel is ostensibly on the show to talk about her new book Dirty. This is her second memoir, and you can read the blurb below. We talk about a lot more than just the book though, including taking part in hijack simulation exercises in Nigeria, the double standards for actors in drama and in porn, chokeholds, coping with change, being recognised by policemen, and more. Pre-order Dirty here: https://ariel-anderssen-author.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-the-ebook-of-dirty Ariel Anderssen lives in a big Georgian house in a little Welsh town and spends her days creating homemade tweed outfits, jam tarts, and niche fetish movies.  Her marriage is a harmonious delight, her sex life thrilling (though not strictly monogamous), and her past, a quagmire of child abuse and religious zealotry.At 47, Ariel is at the peak of her career as a submissive BDSM performer, travelling the world to shoot kinky movies with her friends.  This year, just like any other, she’s busy with bondage and spanking photoshoots, experimenting with unwise cosmetic procedures and having a series of wildly kinky sexual encounters in hotel rooms across Europe with an enigmatic dominant gentleman.Unlike any other year, Ariel is also coming to terms with the realisation that she and her two siblings were abused throughout their childhoods. Traumatic memories from her past threaten her equilibrium as she re-establishes contact with her younger brother and becomes determined to find justice for all three siblings. Her past and present collide, as she addresses the possibility that her experiences of abuse have informed her sexual identity. Will her history make her forever feel DIRTY? Or this year, can she find a way to feel clean again?

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-214-swords-in-your-seventies-with-deborah-fisher  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Deborah Fisher is a member and instructor with the Whidbey Swordplay Association, a historical martial arts club on Whidbey Island, a ferry ride north of Seattle, Washington. She specializes in rapier and small sword. Knighted as Dame Virago, she is a former assistant director and instructor for the Seattle Knights, the Pacific Northwest’s premier sword fighting and jousting theatrical troupe. And as Captain Highjack, she is the former leader of a very scurvy and entertaining band of pirates known as the Pirates of Puget Sound. We talk about how and why Deborah got into swords at the age of 50, and what her current training looks like in her 70s. We discuss how some physical and mental abilities change as you age, but how one’s peak is still an attainable future goal. Deborah is a professional writer, specializing in instructional materials for teachers, health-care practitioners, and community youth advocates. She has written six books on positive youth development and served as a national trainer for the Minneapolis-based Search Institute. She is also a co-author of Stamp of the Century, a nonfiction book about the history of flight and a famous airmail postage stamp called the Inverted Jenny. Two of Guy’s blog posts mentioned in this episode are 100 Days No Booze Results: What Really Changed (and What Didn’t) and You’re probably holding your sword wrong. Here’s why. Find out more about the Whidbey Swordplay Association at: https://whidbeyswordplayassociation.com/

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-213-armoured-martial-arts-with-jenny-habry To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Jenny Häbry is an armoured martial arts competitor who has crowned UK's best female fighter in both 2022 and 2024, and again in 2025. And since 2024 has served as the Women's National captain. She has founded her own team, and her favourite discipline is pro fighting, where she remains undefeated. In 2025 she secured three World Championship gold medals, further cementing her place as one of the sport's leading fighters. Jenny also travels worldwide, sharing her expertise and passion through teaching. She runs Armoured Martial Arts Nottingham with UK men’s team captain Daniel Winter. In our conversation, we find out what the modern sport of Armoured Martial Arts involves; the different elements of competition, the physical risks, how Jenny trains, and what this very small sport needs to grow. We also hear about her titanium armour! Jenny also tells us about her recent trip to America, where the sport is much more popular. Here’s a photo of her winning the crown in the first female five-round championship fight: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-213-armoured-martial-arts-with-jenny-habry Find Armoured Martial Arts Nottingham here: https://www.armouredmartialartsnottingham.com/