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Viking Axe & Round Shield Training

Bearded axe and lime-wood round shield. The axe hooks shields aside, the rim of your own shield is a weapon. Viking combat is aggressive, mobile, and brutal. Tip: The axe does not need a sharp edge to break bones. Weight and leverage do the work. Fight with the shield, kill with the axe.

Dane Axe (Two-Handed, 5-Foot Haft)

The great Dane axe -- a 5-foot hafted weapon that could split a man from shoulder to hip. No shield when you carry this. Your reach is your defense. The Varangian Guard used these in Constantinople. Weighted training replica, hickory haft.

Viking Shield Wall Drill -- Group Combat

Group training (8-16). The Viking shield wall: overlapping shields, spears over the top, axes hooking from the sides. When the wall holds, nothing breaks through. When it breaks, everyone dies. Tip: The man who steps back first kills the man beside him. Hold the wall.

Tizona & Colada (Replica Swords of El Cid)

Replicas of my two legendary swords. Tizona -- the firebrand, taken from King Bucar of Morocco. Colada -- won in single combat. Both are straight double-edged blades, 36 inches, designed for mounted and foot combat. A knight carries two swords because battles are long and edges dull.

Reconquista Cavalry Training -- Lance & Sword

Mounted combat in the Iberian style. Lance charge, transition to sword, fighting in mixed Christian-Muslim forces. The Reconquista lasted 700 years -- we learned from the Moors as much as we fought them. Tip: Your enemy is also your teacher. Study what defeats you.

Spanish Jinete Light Cavalry Kit

Jinete riding gear: light leather armor, round adarga shield, short javelin set, and Moorish-style light saddle. The jinete style -- adopted from the Moors -- used speed and javelins instead of heavy charge. Perfect for skirmishing and pursuit.

Naginata Training -- The Warrior Woman's Weapon

The naginata -- a curved blade on a long pole, the traditional weapon of the onna-bugeisha (female warrior). Sweeping cuts, thrusts, and the devastating ankle strikes that unhorse mounted samurai. I will teach you the kata and free sparring. Tip: Reach defeats strength. Keep them at naginata distance and they cannot touch you with a sword.

Yumi Longbow (Japanese, Asymmetric, 7-foot)

Traditional Japanese yumi, 7 feet tall, bamboo and wood laminate. The asymmetric grip (held at the lower third) allows shooting from horseback. My mounted archery was accurate at 100 yards at full gallop. The yumi requires years to master -- start with standing shots.

Samurai Mounted Archery (Yabusame) Training

Yabusame: mounted archery at gallop, hitting targets on a narrow lane. Sacred Shinto practice and deadly combat skill. Draw, release, recover -- all while controlling the horse with your knees. I will start you at a walk. The gallop comes when the horse says you are ready.

O-Yoroi Samurai Armor Set (Display & Training)

Full o-yoroi great armor -- lamellar plates, silk lacing, iron kabuto helmet with menpo face guard. Designed for mounted archery. The wide shoulder guards deflect arrows from above. Heavy but magnificent. I wore armor like this when I took heads at Awazu.

Arabian Cavalry Tactics -- Speed & Initiative

Light cavalry on Arabian horses -- the fastest, most enduring mounts in the world. Flanking attacks, pursuit, feigned retreat, desert crossing at forced march. At Yarmouk, my cavalry reserves struck the Byzantine flank at the decisive moment. Tip: Reserves are not idle men. They are the hammer you hold behind your back.

Arabian Saif Sword (Curved, Early Islamic Period)

Early Islamic saif -- gently curved, 34-inch blade, ideal for mounted combat. Lighter than the European longsword, faster in the draw. I broke nine swords at Uhud in a single battle. A warrior needs a blade that matches his speed.