From before the invention of editors.

Swetnam needs an editor- someone to highlight inconsistencies and then send the manuscript back to him to explain things. Also maybe a few footnotes, possibly forcing him to write a brief précis of the idea when he first introduces it. Nothing big (Rule of the backesword could just have carrying the blow over your left shoulder or something that could give a clue to a reader... Just in case he didn't write a second book)

One of my complaints about Swetnam is that he is all over the place. There is actually quite a lot of information, but you have to keep on reading to make sure you've not missed any important pieces. He also presents some things as being guard specific when they're not. A clearer transition from True Guard to a bit of a discussion on principles would have been nice. I can't quite remember where it is, but I think it's a line hidden in a paragraph that just says "True Guard is not a perfect ward, but it is a good way for the novice to learn these principles of defence" and then he goes on to explain things which are universal.

Reading around the book (instead of jumping to the description of the guards and plays from those guards) Swetnam shows himself to be a principles based fighter. Something I can assume comes from being in London. I know that can sound arrogant, but at the time London was thriving, it was full of immigrants and foreign traders. This variation of cultures still remains and it is something I love about the city. Some vagueness is needed because everyone was there, claiming that their methods were the best- you would have absolutely no idea what style you would face. In a less diverse culture you could probably take a good guess.

This principles based approach falls apart a little with the layout of the book. Arguably the rapier and dagger section should proceed the sword and dagger section- since they're both the same kinds of weapons (more or less. One is a thrust and cut weapon, the other a cut and thrust weapon) and there is a lot of cross-pollination. The layout he's chosen is to put single rapier and quarterstaff in between the two chapters. I can see why he's done that, a kind of "these are your basic weapons, learn them and I'll build from there" but all the cross referencing and "I'll explain later" bits means that you're constantly flicking between pages and he forgets to put things down.

Index cards have helped a little, being able to juggle the ideas like that means that I've seen patterns forming. So it looks like I may have to recompile the PDF and put it into sections based on his classifications (basic principles, sword and dagger, big stick, single sword) and see if that gives me a more complete foundation for instruction.