Research and Discussion Forums

My advice to you is buy John Clements's Medieval Swordmanship and read these articles and apply the information contain therein: Stances Meisterhauen In addition, only strike for a reason, maintain initiative, don't try to devise your own system - use Liechtenauer's or another fechtmeister's whose l...

So its purpose, tactically anyways, is very similar to using langenort against a buffel who's in Vom Tag in hopes that he'll try to beat away the point and thus be hit with his own momentum as you snap it around, however in this case you're drawing out a attack so that you can wrestle at the sword. ...

"I am going to have to try this at practice tomorrow."

If you have a chance, can you fill me in on how it went?

I started when I was 15 also. My advice is for the basic stances and principles buy Clement's Medieval Swordmanship (or Renaissance). If you're going focus on the german disciplines of 14th and 15th century, concentrate on the then termed High, side, close, low, tail and inside guards, and look at t...

What is the guy on the right doing in this plate (I think it's number 79 recto) from the Codex Wallerstein?

The reason I ask is purely out of curiousity, as I am trying to learn as many techniques as I can and this one has me stumped.

Dude, stop depressing me! Your scenerio isn't all that different from the present, although LARPs and SCA far outnumber Gaukler and Leichmeisters schools.
ARMA would simply continue to train with integrity, in spite of the outside world and isolated from its influence.

I've seen a few words (well a bit more than a few, but I won't bother with them now ) on the main page and on the forum, which I either don't know the meaning of or don't understand. Here they are: Flugelhau Streithau Kurtzhau Krawthacke Vater Streich Noterczunge If somebody could enlighten me as to...

If by wrong you mean wrong in regard to european arms and armor and their application, then the answer is pretty often. Armor will often be described as laborously heavy and clumsy, with every now and then, the inevitable being mentioned: were a knight to stumble in plate armor, he would be unable t...

I fully apologize if something along these lines has already been posted, but my horribly defective attention span (isn't ADHD fun?) has prevented me from perusing the titles of all 1300 something posts. My question is this, what brought you to historical fencing? For me it was somewhat serendipitou...

I fully understand that to be true, however I was under the impression that the tools referred to were not made of metal (live steel or blunt) and my point was that shinai, being round, made from bamboo and using a string to represent the back of the blade, are not as accurate a represention of a sw...

I agree fully with Gene. In addition, while you defend Qi by mentioning the use of electrical stimulation - the effectiveness of which is still in doubt - in medicine you forget that the amount of electricity used for such therapy is far greater than the amount concentrated at any point in the human...

Fighting against a shinai will give you a distorted impression of the actual speed (faster than normal) and pressure (too light) you will be facing, as they can weigh as little as 510 grams (just over a pound). Bokken (basically a waster) are a better substitute for the katana.

Thanks, I'm going to have to try that next time I get some sparring in.

During my first two years of WMA, I practiced the somewhat generic brand of longsword fighting detailed in Mr. Clement's Medieval Swordsmanship, but in the last year choose a decidedly German direction. I understand much of it, but some of it baffles me (as it rightly should), such as shrankhut. Wha...

I have to agree with you. In fact, you are quite right in doubting the sword's authenticity - experts have dated the sword as being some two or more centuries after his death! However, in my opinion (although I'm not an expert on doppelhanders) it was purely a ceremonial sword, as 6 lbs seem a bit h...