Martin J Dougherty is a military historian and weapons expert who has published books on titles as diverse as ancient warfare, handguns and modern unarmed combat. He has worked as a consultant for TV documentaries and appeared as a weapons expert in the show Triggers: Weapons that Changed the World. He holds four black belts and is in his thirtieth year in the martial arts. He began fencing in 1987 and qualified as a coach in 1989, shifting emphasis from sport to historical fencing after a long competitive career. He currently specialises in smallsword and military sabre, but studies several other forms of armed and unarmed combat. He is currently a Regional Assessor for the British Federation for Historical Swordplay and teaches at international events such as SWASH and Smallsword Symposium. He is also responsible for training marshals and developing the tournament formats used by the BFHS.