German Medieval Longsword
For those of you who participated, thank you very much. I'm very
pleased with the interest shown, and I hope that more will participate.
Below, I'm including a short review of the topics that we covered.
Parts of the sword:
-The strong and the weak: The basic concept is that you don't meet
strength with brute strength. Instead use strength against weakness
and weakness against strength.
-Holding the sword: The dominant hand always is the one next to the
quillions. Your non-dominant hand goes on the pommel end of the hilts.
NO SWITCHING!!
-The short edge and the long edge: Both edges of the blade are of the
same length, but for the purpose of defining hand position, the
"forehand" edge is the long edge and the "backhand" edge is the short
edge. As we get into more of the blows, some of these will be made
with the long edge and some with the short.
Basic Footwork:
-Basic stance: The traditional stance is not unlike the karate
three-point stance but with much less distance between feet. The foot
in front is the one on the opposite side of your guard with the toe
pointed at the opponent. Example, if you are in a right-hand guard,
your left foot is forward. The rear foot is angled off slightly.
Weight distribution is 60/40 and either leg can be weighted with the
60% giving both a forward and back version of the stance. Knees are
slightly bent.
-Steps: There are four basic steps in the system: Pass forward, Slope
pace, Gather steps, and Compass step.
-Pass Forward: You take a step directly at the opponent. The step is
made such that the toes of the foot brought forward point at the
opponent, and the now-rearward foot angles out slightly. This step is
used to close with the opponent for grappling.
-Slope Pace: This is another step forward, again used for an attack.
The step is made a little wider and with a slight twist of the body to
bring you off-line to an incoming attack. Strikes with the sword are
made using this step.
-Gather steps: This is a shuffle step either forward or back. The
front foot stays forward and the back foot stays backward. Move the
front foot first when moving forward and the back foot first when
moving backward. Gather steps are used to adjust the range to your
opponent.
-Compass Step: This is essentially a step backwards pivoting on the
back foot. The purpose is to take your body offline from an incoming
strike. The foot that moves travels an arc of approximately ninety
degrees.
Timing and Distance
There are two phases to the engagement: "Zufechten" and "Krieg" and
these are defined by the distance between opponents.
-Zufechten is the first phase, and it's where either opponent cannot
strike the other without taking a step. Initial attacks are generated
from the Zufechten.
-Krieg is the phase after an initial attack where opponents can hit
each other without taking a step.
Another important basic concept is that the "Sword is your Shield".
Essentially, this means that you move the sword first to clear a path
before you prior to taking a step. This is in contrast with the
standard SCA fighting style where opponents will first step into range
and then strike, typically with a pause between the two actions. In
the GML tradition, the hands move first and then the step is taken
without pause so that the entire action is seen as one swift, fluid
movement.
One thing that I neglected to mention was the concept of "Fencing
Times". A fencing time is not a specific number of seconds, but
instead indicates the time taken to make one action such as an attack
or parry. A counter typically takes two or more fencing times
(parry-strike), but the most elegant counters occur in a single
fencing time (ie where the parry is a simultaneous attack).
Guards:
There are four basic guards that are the starting points for an attack
from the Zufechten:
-Vom Tag (From the roof)
-Ochs (Ox)
-Pflug (Plow)
-Alber (Fool)
Note that in the wrists will cross in right Pflug, right Ochs, left
Schranckhut, and left Nebenhut.
There are several other transitory guards which can be held:
-Nebenhut (Near)
-Schranckhut (Barrier)
-Longenort (Long point)
-Kron (Crown)
It's useful to think of attacks and parries as transitions from one
guard position to another. For example, a right-hand diagonal cut
(Richts Oberhau) starts in right Vom Tag, passes through the
Longenort, and can end in either left Pflug or left Nebenhut.
Basic Attacks:
There are seven basic strikes:
-Oberhau: This is a either a diagonal cut down from above or a cut
straight down. Usually initiated from Vom Tag or Ochs
-Mittlehau: A cut traversing from right to left or left to right in a
horizontal plane
-Unterhau: A diagonal cut from up from right to left or left to right.
Can be started from Nebenhut.
Obviously, apart from the strike straight down, each has a left or
right version making a total of seven attack directions.
Another of the basic concepts is that the preference for attacking
should be from the swordsman's dominant-hand side. You take your best
shot first. This is not to say that you should never attack from the
non-dominant side. Circumstances may dictate that the best thing to do
is attack from the off hand, but preference should be made for the
stronger attack side.
Target Areas:
Lastly, the body is divided up into four quarters for the purposes of
targeting. These are the "Vier Blossen" or the Four Openings. There
are the two openings above the belt, one left and one right, and two
below the belt, again one on the left and one on the right.
The legs are rarely targeted because of the geometric disadvantage of
doing so. This is the "Uberlaufen" principle which I will get into in
more detail when we cover the five "Meisterhau" or Master strokes.
Next time we'll do a review of what we covered and some practice. All
mastery is the mastery of the basics. Given time, we can cover the
concepts of Initiative and The Three Wounders.
Some examples of the Speigelfechten (Mirror fencing) aka Floryshyn
(Flourishing) which is the GML equivalent of kata can be found on
http://www.thearma.org. Look for the "videos" link.
The reference that I'm using for this phase is Tobler's _Fighting with
the German Medieval Longsword_ from the Chivalry Bookshelf. The book
can be ordered from the Chronique.com website. I ordered mine through
The Different Drummer Bookstore in Burlington who provide excellent
service...much better than Indigo/Chapters when it comes to ordering
books.
YIS
Franz
pleased with the interest shown, and I hope that more will participate.
Below, I'm including a short review of the topics that we covered.
Parts of the sword:
-The strong and the weak: The basic concept is that you don't meet
strength with brute strength. Instead use strength against weakness
and weakness against strength.
-Holding the sword: The dominant hand always is the one next to the
quillions. Your non-dominant hand goes on the pommel end of the hilts.
NO SWITCHING!!
-The short edge and the long edge: Both edges of the blade are of the
same length, but for the purpose of defining hand position, the
"forehand" edge is the long edge and the "backhand" edge is the short
edge. As we get into more of the blows, some of these will be made
with the long edge and some with the short.
Basic Footwork:
-Basic stance: The traditional stance is not unlike the karate
three-point stance but with much less distance between feet. The foot
in front is the one on the opposite side of your guard with the toe
pointed at the opponent. Example, if you are in a right-hand guard,
your left foot is forward. The rear foot is angled off slightly.
Weight distribution is 60/40 and either leg can be weighted with the
60% giving both a forward and back version of the stance. Knees are
slightly bent.
-Steps: There are four basic steps in the system: Pass forward, Slope
pace, Gather steps, and Compass step.
-Pass Forward: You take a step directly at the opponent. The step is
made such that the toes of the foot brought forward point at the
opponent, and the now-rearward foot angles out slightly. This step is
used to close with the opponent for grappling.
-Slope Pace: This is another step forward, again used for an attack.
The step is made a little wider and with a slight twist of the body to
bring you off-line to an incoming attack. Strikes with the sword are
made using this step.
-Gather steps: This is a shuffle step either forward or back. The
front foot stays forward and the back foot stays backward. Move the
front foot first when moving forward and the back foot first when
moving backward. Gather steps are used to adjust the range to your
opponent.
-Compass Step: This is essentially a step backwards pivoting on the
back foot. The purpose is to take your body offline from an incoming
strike. The foot that moves travels an arc of approximately ninety
degrees.
Timing and Distance
There are two phases to the engagement: "Zufechten" and "Krieg" and
these are defined by the distance between opponents.
-Zufechten is the first phase, and it's where either opponent cannot
strike the other without taking a step. Initial attacks are generated
from the Zufechten.
-Krieg is the phase after an initial attack where opponents can hit
each other without taking a step.
Another important basic concept is that the "Sword is your Shield".
Essentially, this means that you move the sword first to clear a path
before you prior to taking a step. This is in contrast with the
standard SCA fighting style where opponents will first step into range
and then strike, typically with a pause between the two actions. In
the GML tradition, the hands move first and then the step is taken
without pause so that the entire action is seen as one swift, fluid
movement.
One thing that I neglected to mention was the concept of "Fencing
Times". A fencing time is not a specific number of seconds, but
instead indicates the time taken to make one action such as an attack
or parry. A counter typically takes two or more fencing times
(parry-strike), but the most elegant counters occur in a single
fencing time (ie where the parry is a simultaneous attack).
Guards:
There are four basic guards that are the starting points for an attack
from the Zufechten:
-Vom Tag (From the roof)
-Ochs (Ox)
-Pflug (Plow)
-Alber (Fool)
Note that in the wrists will cross in right Pflug, right Ochs, left
Schranckhut, and left Nebenhut.
There are several other transitory guards which can be held:
-Nebenhut (Near)
-Schranckhut (Barrier)
-Longenort (Long point)
-Kron (Crown)
It's useful to think of attacks and parries as transitions from one
guard position to another. For example, a right-hand diagonal cut
(Richts Oberhau) starts in right Vom Tag, passes through the
Longenort, and can end in either left Pflug or left Nebenhut.
Basic Attacks:
There are seven basic strikes:
-Oberhau: This is a either a diagonal cut down from above or a cut
straight down. Usually initiated from Vom Tag or Ochs
-Mittlehau: A cut traversing from right to left or left to right in a
horizontal plane
-Unterhau: A diagonal cut from up from right to left or left to right.
Can be started from Nebenhut.
Obviously, apart from the strike straight down, each has a left or
right version making a total of seven attack directions.
Another of the basic concepts is that the preference for attacking
should be from the swordsman's dominant-hand side. You take your best
shot first. This is not to say that you should never attack from the
non-dominant side. Circumstances may dictate that the best thing to do
is attack from the off hand, but preference should be made for the
stronger attack side.
Target Areas:
Lastly, the body is divided up into four quarters for the purposes of
targeting. These are the "Vier Blossen" or the Four Openings. There
are the two openings above the belt, one left and one right, and two
below the belt, again one on the left and one on the right.
The legs are rarely targeted because of the geometric disadvantage of
doing so. This is the "Uberlaufen" principle which I will get into in
more detail when we cover the five "Meisterhau" or Master strokes.
Next time we'll do a review of what we covered and some practice. All
mastery is the mastery of the basics. Given time, we can cover the
concepts of Initiative and The Three Wounders.
Some examples of the Speigelfechten (Mirror fencing) aka Floryshyn
(Flourishing) which is the GML equivalent of kata can be found on
http://www.thearma.org. Look for the "videos" link.
The reference that I'm using for this phase is Tobler's _Fighting with
the German Medieval Longsword_ from the Chivalry Bookshelf. The book
can be ordered from the Chronique.com website. I ordered mine through
The Different Drummer Bookstore in Burlington who provide excellent
service...much better than Indigo/Chapters when it comes to ordering
books.
YIS
Franz