Just a short note to point out that I will be working on quite a few things for the future, and I might even get time to post them on here!
I will post some pictures of my Soviet Naval Brigade infantry who are actually nearly finished, painting that is. I still have to do a few 81mm mortar teams though that is going to be a little tricky.
I have an After Action Report of a Napoleonic battle using Piquet Field of Battle rules, a refight of the Battle of the river Coa, though not very historical I am afraid.
I have a great WW2 battle After Action Report using our own rules. This features a great charge of a squadron of Cossacks round the flank of a Rumanian company that seems to be unstoppable. A really tense battle that is settled in the last turn.
The is more to come but that will do for a start.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Friday, July 1, 2011
New Book Annoucnced by Arts of Mars Books
Viking Sword and Shield Fighting
New Book announcement from Arts of Mars Books!
Announcing a new book by Arts of Mars Books; Viking Sword and Shield Fighting: Beginners Guide Level 1. This step by step guide uses the unique Timeline system, an acknowledged improved design for martial arts books. Follow the action in an intuitive way, each picture follows the next in a row so you do not have to look where the next position is on the page. After explaining the historical background of sword and shield
fighting, the book details which equipment to use and where to get it. Safety is of prime concern and this is emphasised in the book. We explain the technique of how to strike safely and how to train it, using the Natural Resting Position.
Then the book guides the student through the Basics; Stance, Stepping, Guard Position, Parries with the Sword, Parries with the Shield, how and where to strike. Once these have been mastered the student hones his skills with 25 drills, 10 single person drills and 15 partner drills. We give 9 commonly seen errors to keep the student on the straight path to skill mastery. Finally there is a Brief Exchange of Blows, to show how a fight should look, tactics and all. This short fight is packed with details and technical tips on how to fight better, what to look for and how to exploit bad positions.
This book addresses people interested in historical martial arts, re-enactment fighting and stage combat, as it can be used stand alone or as a basis for further research into these exciting areas of endeavour.
What you find inside this book:
• 230 Full colour photographs throughout. 108 pages.
• Step by step guide using the unique Time Line system.
• How to strike safely, using the Natural Resting Position.
• How to use the sword to parry and strike.
• How to use the shield to parry.
• Stance and stepping.
• Common Errors.
• A system for relatively safe fighting techniques with Viking sword and shield, known internationally.
• Notes on safety methods and equipment
• Hit zones and Rules of Engagement.
• Where to obtain Swords and equipment.
ISBN: 978-3-9811627-2-1
Come and look at some pages on our website:
Don't miss the Special Pre Order offer:
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Hi Folks,
Finally the Second World War war game rules we have been working on are coming along nicely. There is still a lot to do and many areas of the rules are not yet covered though the main points have been addressed. These rules are innovative and therefore require some rearrangement of viewpoint as they do not follow a classical rules format.
I hope to publish shortly some pictures of two games that I have under way with an ARR (After Action Report) though time is short at the moment.
Our rules, it is a collaboration between Chris Halewood and I are designed to accommodate large armies down to platoon level on reasonably small tables with a high degree of playability and give a good feel.
On a 6 foot by 4 table we can easily play with a Regiment against a Regiment and on two such tables we can fit a Division on the board!
The games play quickly and produce results which have the right feel and flow. I will post further info about them as time goes on, though I will probably start another blog to more easily handle this diverse subject.
Best regards
Col
Finally the Second World War war game rules we have been working on are coming along nicely. There is still a lot to do and many areas of the rules are not yet covered though the main points have been addressed. These rules are innovative and therefore require some rearrangement of viewpoint as they do not follow a classical rules format.
I hope to publish shortly some pictures of two games that I have under way with an ARR (After Action Report) though time is short at the moment.
Our rules, it is a collaboration between Chris Halewood and I are designed to accommodate large armies down to platoon level on reasonably small tables with a high degree of playability and give a good feel.
On a 6 foot by 4 table we can easily play with a Regiment against a Regiment and on two such tables we can fit a Division on the board!
The games play quickly and produce results which have the right feel and flow. I will post further info about them as time goes on, though I will probably start another blog to more easily handle this diverse subject.
Best regards
Col
Fiore dei Liberi Video
We have nearly finished our first commercial DVD for public sale! This video is called "Medieval Combat Italian Longsword" From the Treatises of Fiore dei Liberi Student Guide level - 1. This has been a long project and has been very time consuming though enjoyable. We learnt a lot about making a video and that can only mean we will do better videos in the future and in a quicker time.
When you have a newborn time also so seems to slip away further delaying what you are doing, but in the end the baby must sleep and then work can go forward.
See our website
www.artsofmarsbooks.com
This video is basically a learn as you go, step by step video with a modular design so that students can learn singularly or in groups.
I must say it is quite exciting to design, shoot and edit your own video and I would recommend anyone to have a go, there are a lot of very good programs out there and they are not that expensive nowadays.
Best Regards
Col
When you have a newborn time also so seems to slip away further delaying what you are doing, but in the end the baby must sleep and then work can go forward.
See our website
www.artsofmarsbooks.com
This video is basically a learn as you go, step by step video with a modular design so that students can learn singularly or in groups.
I must say it is quite exciting to design, shoot and edit your own video and I would recommend anyone to have a go, there are a lot of very good programs out there and they are not that expensive nowadays.
Best Regards
Col
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Me Myself - A Fleeting Introduction
I was given the name Colin Richards, partly through accident and partly because that was our family name. I am 51 years old and live in a small village about 25 miles west of Hannover, Germany. I live with my darling wonderful wife, Sandra, and our new born son Jason Alexander (15/0 3/ 2009 if you want to send presents or congratulations Jason is always open for them!).
I am a professional martial arts instructor and teach various Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA). My main interest being Italian School martial arts from the treatises of Fiore die Liberi, though also including German school from the Glossaries on the master Liechtenaur, The Tower Fechtbuch 1.33 (about sword and buckler fighting and the earliest known european fighting treatise), Viking Era weapons with shield, smatterings of Quarter staff from various authors and Back sword of George Silver among other things. I will be adding to these subjects shortly.
These treatises include the use of the following weapons or fighting styles:
I find War facinating and always have, and I am sort of an amature military historian, and through my researches I have come to the conclusion that I never want to be in a war or support one because far from being glorious, they create only pain, suffering and devastation and keep a lot of people in the background very very rich. My interest in war though mainly lies in the facinating hobby of wargaming, which is about as removed from actual war as you can get while still having the word War in the title.
I am writing several sets of rules with a friend called Chris Halewood and we hope to publish them some time. The rules set we have at the moment is very inovative and seems to be very flexible and we might even be able use the same mechanics in many different periods and for many different troops scales. We are currently involved in a project to recreate the battles of the Eastern Front between 1941 - 1943 inclusive.
Well that is all for now and I hope someone other than American security agencies find it interesting.
Best Regards
Colin Richards
I am a professional martial arts instructor and teach various Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA). My main interest being Italian School martial arts from the treatises of Fiore die Liberi, though also including German school from the Glossaries on the master Liechtenaur, The Tower Fechtbuch 1.33 (about sword and buckler fighting and the earliest known european fighting treatise), Viking Era weapons with shield, smatterings of Quarter staff from various authors and Back sword of George Silver among other things. I will be adding to these subjects shortly.
These treatises include the use of the following weapons or fighting styles:
- Wrestling
- Dagger
- Longsword used in two hands
- Longsword used in one hand
- Single handed sword
- Sword and buckler (small shield)
- weapons and Shield (large shield)
- Spear
- Quarterstaff
- Sax (large knife), Langesmesser
- Pole axe
- Fighting on horse back (though I must admit not my cup of tea)
- And a host of others which would get boring to list!
I find War facinating and always have, and I am sort of an amature military historian, and through my researches I have come to the conclusion that I never want to be in a war or support one because far from being glorious, they create only pain, suffering and devastation and keep a lot of people in the background very very rich. My interest in war though mainly lies in the facinating hobby of wargaming, which is about as removed from actual war as you can get while still having the word War in the title.
I am writing several sets of rules with a friend called Chris Halewood and we hope to publish them some time. The rules set we have at the moment is very inovative and seems to be very flexible and we might even be able use the same mechanics in many different periods and for many different troops scales. We are currently involved in a project to recreate the battles of the Eastern Front between 1941 - 1943 inclusive.
Well that is all for now and I hope someone other than American security agencies find it interesting.
Best Regards
Colin Richards
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