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Mandinka cavalry saber and leather-covered wicker shield. My sofa (warrior) cavalry was the backbone of the Wassoulou Empire. Light, fast, armed with sabers and locally-made muskets. The shield stops arrows and deflects glancing sword cuts -- it is not meant to take a direct hit.

Samori Ture

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Small group (max 4). I'll teach you how to write a patent application: claims, specifications, drawings. The patent is the inventor's sword and shield. Without it, your idea belongs to whoever copies it first. I learned this the hard way with the movie camera.

Thomas Alva Edison

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My rage nearly lost the war for the Greeks. When I withdrew, the Trojans almost burned the ships. When I returned, I was unstoppable but reckless. This workshop teaches how to use anger as fuel without letting it drive. Tip: The warrior who fights in cold blood wins. The warrior who fights in hot blood fights well but makes mistakes that cost lives.

Achilles

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Beaten bronze cuirass (breastplate and backplate), bronze greaves, and boar's tusk helmet. Mycenaean warrior gear from the age of heroes. The bronze is functional -- it stops a blade. The boar's tusk helmet took hundreds of tusks to make. Wear it and feel what my warriors wore on the plains of Troy.

Achilles

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In 1462, I attacked the Ottoman camp at night with 7,000 men against 90,000. We rode through the camp killing anyone we could reach, aiming for Mehmed's tent. We did not get Mehmed, but the terror was devastating. Night raids require total discipline and intimate knowledge of the terrain. Tip: In darkness, confusion is your weapon. The enemy fights his own shadows.

Vlad III Dracula

🇷🇴 🇹🇷 🌐

The Pelian ash spear -- cut from a tree on Mount Pelion by the centaur Chiron. No other Greek at Troy could wield it. This replica is 9 feet of ash with a bronze head. Heavy, meant for a warrior who fights from the front. I killed Hector with a spear like this, through the gap in his throat armor.

Achilles

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Training as the Myrmidons trained. Spear, sword, shield, and body conditioning that would make Olympians weep. The Myrmidons were the most feared unit at Troy -- not because of numbers but because every single warrior was exceptional. Tip: An elite unit is not fifty good fighters. It is fifty fighters who trust each other with their lives.

Achilles

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One-on-one combat with spear, sword, and shield. The Homeric duel: trash talk, javelin throw, close with swords, finish the job. I fought the greatest warriors of Troy in single combat and never lost. Tip: Study your opponent before you fight him. Watch how he moves, which foot he leads with, where his shield drops.

Achilles

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Curved kilij saber -- Ottoman-influenced, adopted by Wallachian cavalry. Combined with a small steel buckler for parrying. The curve is deeper than a scimitar, designed for devastating draw cuts. My cavalry carried these on raids behind Ottoman lines.

Vlad III Dracula

🇷🇴 🇹🇷 🌐

Concentric baileys, stone walls, murder holes, and the famous curved walls that prevent climbing and deflect cannonballs. Edo Castle was my masterwork. This seminar covers Japanese castle design from the Sengoku period through the Edo period. Tip: A castle should make the attacker solve ten problems to reach you. Each problem costs him men.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

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Long tachi sword (blade-down mounting, cavalry style) and tanto short blade. The tachi predates the katana -- designed for mounted combat with a longer, more curved blade. The tanto is the samurai's constant companion, used for everything from combat to seppuku. Proper handling instruction included.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

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Japanese matchlock musket, based on Portuguese originals that arrived in 1543 -- the year I was born. Within 50 years, Japan had more firearms than any country in Europe. At Sekigahara, guns decided the battle. This replica fires black powder blanks for demonstration.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

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