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The Windsor Method: Large Print Edition
Everyone wants to add years to their life. But everyone needs ... to add life to their years. One of the world's foremost experts in historical swordfighting and martial arts systems, Dr. Guy Windsor wants to teach you how to maximize your personal development and live up to your true potential - in training, in martial arts, and in life - even when training solo. Using simple, straightforward, and (above all) achievable principles of action, Dr. Windsor can help you establish a solid foundation for mechanics and training in your own martial arts practices, as well as teaching you best practices to achieve excellence in life. Whether you are searching for ways to improve your combat and martial arts training, hope to increase your physical fitness, or simply want to find a better mindset for living life, The Windsor Method is for you. Join Dr. Windsor as he teaches you how to... ... use mental imagery to improve your training effectiveness ... find greater health as you progress ... understand the importance of and best way to set goals ... improve yourself even when dealing with physical or psychological impediments ... and more! With profound insight, unparalleled expertise, and good-old-fashioned common sense, Dr. Windsor is the perfect guide for your journey of self-improvement. Whether you are a master of the martial arts trying to add that last critical iota to your skills, or a beginner who has never thrown a punch or picked up a sword, The Windsor The Principles of Solo Training will help you find - and master - the hidden potential within... Dr. Guy Windsor invites you to harness the power of your mind, body, and soul to create maximum results with minimum fuss. Take action, find satisfaction, and get results with the proven principles of The Windsor Method - tap the link, and get your copy now!
300 pages, Paperback
Published August 5, 2021
8 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Guy Windsor
54 books47 followersDr. Guy Windsor is a world-renowned instructor and a pioneering researcher of medieval and renaissance martial arts. He has been teaching the Art of Arms full-time since founding The School of European Swordsmanship in Helsinki, Finland, in 2001. His day job is finding and analysing historical swordsmanship treatises, figuring out the systems they represent, creating a syllabus from the treatises for his students to train with, and teaching the system to his students all over the world. Guy is the author of numerous classic books about the art of swordsmanship and has consulted on swordfighting game design and stage combat. He developed the card game, Audatia, based on Fiore dei Liberi's Art of Arms, his primary field of study. In 2018 Edinburgh University awarded him a PhD by Research Publications for his work recreating historical combat systems. When not studying medieval and renaissance swordsmanship or writing books Guy can be found in his shed woodworking or spending time with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 4, 2022
I feel like the first half of this book more than deserves the five stars. His thoughts on martial arts and training are worthwhile for anyone and I'll be going back to look at my notes and re examine my own training. At some point there are some chapters that refer the reader via links back to his website. This isn't a huge problem for a martial arts or exercise book, the best work in both fields is now to be found online rather than between pages because the visuals are that important.
But it doesn't just take me to the page, there are hoops to jump through and negotiate, as I was reading the book yesterday it was enough of a hurdle that I gave up. I don't want to give you my info. I bought the book. I would have taken text over this, if given a choice.
Now, I think it's worthwhile enough that I will go back and try again when I'm in a better mood and have time to sit with a video or navigate a site that wants my money. Which is fine. He's professional, he makes a living at this, but I already paid for the book. Make this easier.
Still, I have to reiterate, this is amazing and worthwhile and you should buy it.
Yeah, there's no easy-peasy way to access the stuff I already was paying for when I bought the book. Go to teachable, it's free-ish as long as you give out your info. This should have been in the book, instead the chapters on footwork, meditation and breathwork, conditioning, are little more than placeholders and advertisements for full on paid courses.
But it doesn't just take me to the page, there are hoops to jump through and negotiate, as I was reading the book yesterday it was enough of a hurdle that I gave up. I don't want to give you my info. I bought the book. I would have taken text over this, if given a choice.
Now, I think it's worthwhile enough that I will go back and try again when I'm in a better mood and have time to sit with a video or navigate a site that wants my money. Which is fine. He's professional, he makes a living at this, but I already paid for the book. Make this easier.
Still, I have to reiterate, this is amazing and worthwhile and you should buy it.
Yeah, there's no easy-peasy way to access the stuff I already was paying for when I bought the book. Go to teachable, it's free-ish as long as you give out your info. This should have been in the book, instead the chapters on footwork, meditation and breathwork, conditioning, are little more than placeholders and advertisements for full on paid courses.
October 7, 2021
~About
Set in two parts, Guy Windsor’s book, The Windsor Method, discusses the principles of solo training at length. Throughout the book, the reader is guided toward the development of a dedicated art practice, no matter what kind of art that may be.
The various areas of discussion include:
-Mental health (and how a sense of meaning, agency, and connection are key.)
-Physical health (of balancing our active self with our more reflective and introverted self: Yin & Yang.)
-How to create a daily practice (through creating habits and the role of feedback, to help you improve.)
-The 7 principles of mastery (including mindfulness, flow, distinguishing between knowledge and skill, etc.)
-Fixed vs growth mindsets, and the beliefs we hold, in relation to success.
-How to train through injury or illness, so as to maintain skills and prevent further ailments.
-Fears we may encounter on our journey.
-The benefit of training with others, as well as alone.
-How to optimise the practices of eating and sleeping.
-How meditation can help to guide your attention, alongside mindful breathing exercises.
-Physical conditioning
-Footwork and Mechanics
-Striking Practice
The final three areas discussed relate more to the art of fencing, with specific advice to improve upon that particular skill, however, most other areas can be freely adapted to whatever art you are pursuing in life.
~Positive Aspects
The Windsor Method was a unique book, which introduced me to a multitude of ways of improving my art practice. Some of the positive aspects I identified are listed below.
-The author uses subtle humour and has a friendly tone, which quickly invited me in as I began reading.
-The author writes as though he is instructing you on a one to one basis, lending the book a personal touch.
-The concept of a tree symbolizing the individual training practice, with its many elements branching off was an inspired choice in my eyes. It felt easy to understand and apply to my own life.
-The author had an easy to grasp way of explaining things, which made this book a delightfully informative read.
-The discussion of the seven principles of mastery was fascinating. It helped me to think of my own art practice from a new perspective in which challenges can be overcome by working through them.
-Although I’m no expert (or even novice) in fencing, everything mentioned was relatively easy to understand, and could be applied to other areas of life.
There were no negatives noted during my reading. The book itself was edited meticulously.
~Memorable Quotes
It was difficult to cut down on the amount of quotes I wanted to include with this review. The author poured much wisdom into his book, sharing years of experience and expertise in a single volume. As such, the following list is comprised of seven quotes in total.
1) ‘Reality is mediated by your mind; there is an external reality, and there is your reaction to that reality. Your experience is a combination of both.’
This quote in particular got my thinking. Often, it is our emotions and subjective perspectives which affect how we view reality. This made me wonder whether we can ever know reality in its true state, or if we will forever see it through various emotional lenses.
2) ‘There is no shame in changing your approach when it isn’t working.’
This is something I wish I’d heard when I was younger. It was common for me to keep repeating things the way I always did them and yet I found myself never doing any better. This quote provides great life advice to anyone who’s struggling to make things work with their current approach, be it to life in general, or an approach to a particular career or relationship.
After all, what would be the harm in trying something new if there’s a greater chance of success?
~Since I’m including more quotes than usual, I’ll list the following below without additional commentary.
3) ‘Choose your beliefs wisely.’
4) ‘Acknowledging weakness can help you grow strong, but identifying yourself as weak will keep you so.’
5) ‘You should measure yourself against only yourself.’
6) ‘The key to creating a daily routine is to make it a habit. The easiest way to start a habit is to connect it to an existing habit- start small. Then when the habit is established, gently expand it.’
7) ‘Banish if only statements- It’s perfectly possible to make yourself miserable by grieving for an imagined future that might never have come to pass- If you must project into the future, make it positive.’
~Overview
The Windsor Method was a well thought out book, which taught me much about how to create a more stable and fulfilling training practice. Personally, I adapted the author’s wisdom to my creative writing process, considering at length his advice about sleep, mental and physical health, habits, and more.
I had a lot of fun reading this book and I hope that others will find it just as informative.
My Rating: 5 stars.
Recommended to: those looking for an engaging non-fiction read that will help to improve your training in any art practice, including martial arts.
Set in two parts, Guy Windsor’s book, The Windsor Method, discusses the principles of solo training at length. Throughout the book, the reader is guided toward the development of a dedicated art practice, no matter what kind of art that may be.
The various areas of discussion include:
-Mental health (and how a sense of meaning, agency, and connection are key.)
-Physical health (of balancing our active self with our more reflective and introverted self: Yin & Yang.)
-How to create a daily practice (through creating habits and the role of feedback, to help you improve.)
-The 7 principles of mastery (including mindfulness, flow, distinguishing between knowledge and skill, etc.)
-Fixed vs growth mindsets, and the beliefs we hold, in relation to success.
-How to train through injury or illness, so as to maintain skills and prevent further ailments.
-Fears we may encounter on our journey.
-The benefit of training with others, as well as alone.
-How to optimise the practices of eating and sleeping.
-How meditation can help to guide your attention, alongside mindful breathing exercises.
-Physical conditioning
-Footwork and Mechanics
-Striking Practice
The final three areas discussed relate more to the art of fencing, with specific advice to improve upon that particular skill, however, most other areas can be freely adapted to whatever art you are pursuing in life.
~Positive Aspects
The Windsor Method was a unique book, which introduced me to a multitude of ways of improving my art practice. Some of the positive aspects I identified are listed below.
-The author uses subtle humour and has a friendly tone, which quickly invited me in as I began reading.
-The author writes as though he is instructing you on a one to one basis, lending the book a personal touch.
-The concept of a tree symbolizing the individual training practice, with its many elements branching off was an inspired choice in my eyes. It felt easy to understand and apply to my own life.
-The author had an easy to grasp way of explaining things, which made this book a delightfully informative read.
-The discussion of the seven principles of mastery was fascinating. It helped me to think of my own art practice from a new perspective in which challenges can be overcome by working through them.
-Although I’m no expert (or even novice) in fencing, everything mentioned was relatively easy to understand, and could be applied to other areas of life.
There were no negatives noted during my reading. The book itself was edited meticulously.
~Memorable Quotes
It was difficult to cut down on the amount of quotes I wanted to include with this review. The author poured much wisdom into his book, sharing years of experience and expertise in a single volume. As such, the following list is comprised of seven quotes in total.
1) ‘Reality is mediated by your mind; there is an external reality, and there is your reaction to that reality. Your experience is a combination of both.’
This quote in particular got my thinking. Often, it is our emotions and subjective perspectives which affect how we view reality. This made me wonder whether we can ever know reality in its true state, or if we will forever see it through various emotional lenses.
2) ‘There is no shame in changing your approach when it isn’t working.’
This is something I wish I’d heard when I was younger. It was common for me to keep repeating things the way I always did them and yet I found myself never doing any better. This quote provides great life advice to anyone who’s struggling to make things work with their current approach, be it to life in general, or an approach to a particular career or relationship.
After all, what would be the harm in trying something new if there’s a greater chance of success?
~Since I’m including more quotes than usual, I’ll list the following below without additional commentary.
3) ‘Choose your beliefs wisely.’
4) ‘Acknowledging weakness can help you grow strong, but identifying yourself as weak will keep you so.’
5) ‘You should measure yourself against only yourself.’
6) ‘The key to creating a daily routine is to make it a habit. The easiest way to start a habit is to connect it to an existing habit- start small. Then when the habit is established, gently expand it.’
7) ‘Banish if only statements- It’s perfectly possible to make yourself miserable by grieving for an imagined future that might never have come to pass- If you must project into the future, make it positive.’
~Overview
The Windsor Method was a well thought out book, which taught me much about how to create a more stable and fulfilling training practice. Personally, I adapted the author’s wisdom to my creative writing process, considering at length his advice about sleep, mental and physical health, habits, and more.
I had a lot of fun reading this book and I hope that others will find it just as informative.
My Rating: 5 stars.
Recommended to: those looking for an engaging non-fiction read that will help to improve your training in any art practice, including martial arts.
October 6, 2021
‘Find out what works for you, then do that.’ – Wise instructions from a swordsman!
UK born author Guy Windsor earned his MA in English Literature and his PhD in recreating historical martial arts from Edinburgh University, and is a swordsman who has consulted on swordfighting game design and stage combat, has developed Audatia - a card game based on his craft – and runs Swordschool, an online teaching site for Historical Martial Arts. He has published over forty books on all aspects of swordfighting as well as physical exercise.
Windsor’s purpose in writing this particular book is outlined in his introductory comments: ‘I am a swordsman, but this is not a swordfighting book. To excel in any art, including swordsmanship, we need a solid foundation of mental and physical fitness...What kind of training is possible when all you’re allowed to do is sit around the house? I suggested meditation. If you can’t move at all, you can still build your ability to focus, expand your inner horizons, and improve your state of mind…If you can move your body and have a little bit of space to move in, you can work on strength, range of motion, and cardiovascular fitness….’ And with that degree of lighthearted instruction, this little book becomes a treasure trove of information about fitness, anatomy and physiology, solo training, and partnership training offered in a casual and most accessible manner.
His analogies are creative and helpful: he uses the tree as his mental model to visualize training – the roots control the mind, the trunk controls the body, the branches control the weapons, the leaves control the partners, and the fruit controls opponents. ‘In our tree analogy, the soil is the culture from which you, or your art, have grown… Take an art out of its culture and it will probably wither.’ Examples such as this are peppered throughout this fine book, supplemented with excellent illustrations. Windsor devotes a chapter on mental health (‘Mental health is the foundation of all your training’), physical health, practice goals (‘Our goal in physical training is to find the optimum balance between anabolic and catabolic processes, party time and clean-up: between rest and activity.’), The Seven Principles of Mastery (mindfulness, flow, adopt useful beliefs, no injuries, 80% of outcomes come from 20% of input, run a diagnostic, distinguish between knowledge and skill), training through sickness and injury, common psychological impediments (fear of injury, embarrassment, loss of control, failure/success), and a wise and very important section on Practices!
Summarizing this book does not begin to suggest the rewards contained in Guy Windsor’s book. This is guidance on physical and mental fitness from a professional. Very highly recommended.
UK born author Guy Windsor earned his MA in English Literature and his PhD in recreating historical martial arts from Edinburgh University, and is a swordsman who has consulted on swordfighting game design and stage combat, has developed Audatia - a card game based on his craft – and runs Swordschool, an online teaching site for Historical Martial Arts. He has published over forty books on all aspects of swordfighting as well as physical exercise.
Windsor’s purpose in writing this particular book is outlined in his introductory comments: ‘I am a swordsman, but this is not a swordfighting book. To excel in any art, including swordsmanship, we need a solid foundation of mental and physical fitness...What kind of training is possible when all you’re allowed to do is sit around the house? I suggested meditation. If you can’t move at all, you can still build your ability to focus, expand your inner horizons, and improve your state of mind…If you can move your body and have a little bit of space to move in, you can work on strength, range of motion, and cardiovascular fitness….’ And with that degree of lighthearted instruction, this little book becomes a treasure trove of information about fitness, anatomy and physiology, solo training, and partnership training offered in a casual and most accessible manner.
His analogies are creative and helpful: he uses the tree as his mental model to visualize training – the roots control the mind, the trunk controls the body, the branches control the weapons, the leaves control the partners, and the fruit controls opponents. ‘In our tree analogy, the soil is the culture from which you, or your art, have grown… Take an art out of its culture and it will probably wither.’ Examples such as this are peppered throughout this fine book, supplemented with excellent illustrations. Windsor devotes a chapter on mental health (‘Mental health is the foundation of all your training’), physical health, practice goals (‘Our goal in physical training is to find the optimum balance between anabolic and catabolic processes, party time and clean-up: between rest and activity.’), The Seven Principles of Mastery (mindfulness, flow, adopt useful beliefs, no injuries, 80% of outcomes come from 20% of input, run a diagnostic, distinguish between knowledge and skill), training through sickness and injury, common psychological impediments (fear of injury, embarrassment, loss of control, failure/success), and a wise and very important section on Practices!
Summarizing this book does not begin to suggest the rewards contained in Guy Windsor’s book. This is guidance on physical and mental fitness from a professional. Very highly recommended.
October 28, 2021
The Review
What an insightful and delightfully written book. The author does a fantastic job of balancing teachable and educational passages with personal experiences that help the reader connect with the author on a more personal level. The lessons are thought-provoking and highly engaging, allowing for room for the reader to grow and expand on their personal journey as they dive further and further into the book.
I think for books that deal with personal growth, the most important aspect of finding a book that is different and stands out from others in this genre is the author themselves and the perspective they bring. The author’s experiences as a historical swordsman and teacher offer a truly unique perspective on discipline, skill, and dedication. The way the author speaks about balancing the physical with the mental aspect of personal growth was inspiring to read, as the focus in society for so long has been on more of the physical and less on the mental, making for a truly refreshing change of pace.
The Verdict
A thoughtful, sometimes humorous, and always relatable reading experience, author Guy Windsor’s “The Windsor Method” is a must-read book. The author has a way with words that put the reader at ease and allow them to feel connected to the author’s own experiences, while also providing the guidance and lessons that will help improve our own foundations as we strive for our own personal growth.
What an insightful and delightfully written book. The author does a fantastic job of balancing teachable and educational passages with personal experiences that help the reader connect with the author on a more personal level. The lessons are thought-provoking and highly engaging, allowing for room for the reader to grow and expand on their personal journey as they dive further and further into the book.
I think for books that deal with personal growth, the most important aspect of finding a book that is different and stands out from others in this genre is the author themselves and the perspective they bring. The author’s experiences as a historical swordsman and teacher offer a truly unique perspective on discipline, skill, and dedication. The way the author speaks about balancing the physical with the mental aspect of personal growth was inspiring to read, as the focus in society for so long has been on more of the physical and less on the mental, making for a truly refreshing change of pace.
The Verdict
A thoughtful, sometimes humorous, and always relatable reading experience, author Guy Windsor’s “The Windsor Method” is a must-read book. The author has a way with words that put the reader at ease and allow them to feel connected to the author’s own experiences, while also providing the guidance and lessons that will help improve our own foundations as we strive for our own personal growth.
October 16, 2023
In the introduction to this book, the author writes: "I am a swordsman, but this is not a sword fighting book. To excel in any art, including swordsmanship, we need a solid foundation of mental and physical fitness. Swords are cool. They are the shiny hook that pulled me off the sofa and into an active life. But they can also be a distraction that pulls us away from building our foundation." Written by someone who has been in martial arts for more than 40 years, this book offers readers what they need to create solid foundations for martial arts training. But it is more than that. The book is about personal development and as readers study and learn the techniques in this book, they also learn to build healthy habits that enhance other areas of their life and their overall health. Readers will understand the place of mental imagery, the different elements that come into play to enhance their overall health, and what it takes to stay fit. The prose is confident and the author comes across as an authority in the field, providing step-by-step instructions that will take readers from where they are to where they want to be. What I enjoyed the most about Guy Windsor's book is the author's uncanny ability to weave the "why" and "how" readers need to do what he is asking them to do into the descriptions and the steps he invites them to take. Simply brilliant!
February 17, 2022
Some very interesting ideas here that I found rather intriguing. This is definitely more focused on the lifestyle aspect of solo training rather than specific drills and exercises to work on by yourself. There is a stress on meditations and mindfulness as well as healthy living and self awareness. It wasn't really a revelatory read, but it was more a reframing of what training should be. Often times we got amped up by a movie, or a story and want to have your own transformative training montage, complete with a rousing soundtrack. That's all well and good, but isn't fully sustainable, which is what this book is about. Interesting approach and Mr Windsor is a good enough writer that I never lost interest as I read. I will be implementing several ideas from this into my own training.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews