Advise on training with a two-hander

[Andrey Vlasov]

Hello to you all!
I'd like some advise on training with a two-hander of a German or Swiss origin (XV-XVI century), in the form of reading material or video instructions.
Could you provide one (the material, I mean)?

[Shane Smith]

Depending on what you mean by "Two- hander", try;

http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/Goliath/Goliath.htm


If you mean the highly specialized "zweihander", that's a bit out of my field of interest. Good luck.

[Andrey Vlasov]

Well, the truth is, I did mean it. But first things first: thank you for answering:).
Still, may be you could tell me, whom I can get the info about the dopplehander from?

[Brian Hunt]

The zweihander is used alot like a longsword, but you can't twitch with one the way you can with a longsword. Same basic strikes and displacements, but due to it's size and length it is a bit slower. I don't know of any manual that will teach you specifically about the zweihander, but if you combine longsword techniques and a lot of the quarterstaff techniques, you would have a fairly valid fighting system. IMO, when you bring your hand in front of the cross on a zweihander you are essentially using a sharpened quarter staff as far as application goes. Also in this position some of your longsword half-sword techniques work as well. In fact, if I remember correctly, I think it was George Silver that said that a two-hander sword is used like a quarter staff.

good luck in your research and your studies.

Brian Hunt
GFS

[Jon Pellett]

For 16th c. sources there are the Italians who cover the spadone - Marozzo, Manciolino, DiGrassi.

[LafayetteCCurtis]

Or, if yo ucan read German, you can browse Paulus Hector Mair's stuff in the ARMA collection of historical manuals.

[Andrey Vlasov]

Thank you all very much for the suggestions. At least now I've got SOME work to do!:)

[Brian Hunt]

Hey Lafayette,

Paulus Hector Mairs discusses the longsword, not the zweihander. In fact, the text introduction before you get to the pretty pictures is a rewrite of the Goliath manual.

all the best.

Brian Hunt
GFS

http://www.paulushectormair.com

[Neil Bockus]

I just completed my independant study on the Two-Hander; some of the manuals I came across during research included His True Art of Defence by DiGrassi, Goliath, Paradoxes of Defence/Brief Instructions by George Silver, and the Harleian Manuscript. Some of these can be found right on this site in the research and reading section.

I've been trying to get a grasp on this sword on my own time, but it's kind of hard to do with a sub-par steel; I have a Cold-Steel two-hander that's way on the heavy side (6lb 13.5oz @56in), and doesn't seem to be very well made; the cross got loose quite a while back and the sword does not feel very solid when swung; I'm thinking of going for a Lutel and canning the CS. Maybe I just got a bad sword?

I've also done a bit of sparring with wasters against long- and bastard-swords, and I've learned that the extra length can work either in or against your favor.

Good luck with your own study/training with the Two-Hander!

[LafayetteCCurtis]

Paulus Hector Mairs discusses the longsword, not the zweihander. In fact, the text introduction before you get to the pretty pictures is a rewrite of the Goliath manual.

Argh.

Then I hadn't phrased my post clearly enough--I was pointing at Mair because he's got one of the most comprehensive collection of European polearm techniques that we know, which might work great for extrapolating the use of the zweihander.

And now that you're here, maybe it's worth making an explicit mention that you're going to have Mair's stuff in your upcoming book...or is it up already?

[Brian Hunt]

Hi Lafayette,

Sorry for misunderstanding the intent of your post. David Knight's and my translation of the polearms section of Mair's book is currently in the hand's of the publisher. We are waiting to hear from them on a release date. It is a translation of both the Latin and the German verses and contains his plates that he wrote on various polearms. As soon as we have a date from the publisher (they said there were some books in front of ours that needed to be printed first), we will let everyone know. It will be coming out from Paladin Publishing.

Thanks for asking

Brian Hunt
GFS

http://www.paulushectormair.com

[LafayetteCCurtis]

Sorry for misunderstanding the intent of your post.

No problem. My post was too ambiguous in the first place. And good to hear that your book is edging even closer to publication!