German 2 handed sword

[Todd Eriksen]

I have a 'German' 2 handed sword and through my brief training I've only had lessons and reading in the hand and a half swords. Are the gaurds still the same with the 2 handed? I must be honest, though the blade may be more flexible than desired, but once I went through a few hand and a half sword type drills, the flexibility was a non-issue as the weight was more so. I've been limited in my two handed reading, so the question is: Is there different drills for the two handed as opposed to the hand and a half?

[SzabolcsWaldmann]

Yeh, try DiGrassi and other later Italian masters. As for the twohander, the Goliath is a good source as well.
Yet weight will be an issue if the sword is overweighted. If it is heavyer than 4 kgs (I dont know the pund to that) it is not necesserily a battle-worthy sword any more. Yes, there are heavy specimens around which were actually used in battle, like in Budapest there is one with 5 kgs+ , but the average would still be 3.6 kgs.
My personal thoughts on that weapon are:
You have to use the weight of the blade. Once in motion, you 'simply' direct with your right hand and move it around with your left. The hands have much greater motion than by the longsword. It almost looks like rafting, you see?
Then, go ahead and cheat with the weapons mass, just like Dave Rawlings always sais. Do not start the cut with your arms, that will only make you exhausted. Instead, start the cut or any motion with your whole body, espetially the feet. Like said, once it is in motion, you have to 'play along' and only direct the blade.
Then, do not try to stop the sword. Use any momentum to bring it up again with minimal strenght. If you stop such a force, your arms and wrists will hurt in just a few minutes.
You have to look at your footwork as well. And if you meet any smaller weapon, just remember the superior reach. You actually can use the moment you bring up the sword to lure him nearer, where you want him to be.

I do some free fight with padded twohanders (3.2 kgs), with lots and lots of control of course. If we do a training battle, one twohander can take on up to 3-4 longswords (provided, the twohander is moving and "going in" in the fight) and at least 2 lances (provided the action is fast enough). In about 20 minutes it gets too exhausting, but you know, that is becouse of the controll and all the blade stopping we do. If one could simply cut along without second thought, one could double that time.
What's really fun is changing to longsword after 15 minutes. You think you have a smallsword in your hands <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />


Szab

[Allen Johnson]

just out of curiosity, what sword is it? Is it a common production one? Custom? Any pictures or specs?

[SzabolcsWaldmann]

On kardrendje.hu we have all the info, yet only in hungarian. Here's a direct link to the page describing the padded weapons we have.
http://www.sword.sg18.net/hu/ruestkammer/hu_rk_padded.htm
Our group has an 8-man strong team with twohanders.

Szab

[SzabolcsWaldmann]

Oh yes, and it's custom, in production in small numbers in the group. We have one guy who is making all padded weapons we have. They are cheap (15 dollar for a longsword, 30 for a twohander or so), professional, and meet ARMA standards.

Szab

[JeanryChandler]

In this picture...



..what guard is the guy on the right in? Or is that a guard?

JR

[Byron Doyle]

About the zweihander: try using halfswording, it turns the thing into a very sharp staff/edged spear/whatever you want to call it.

About the picture: that seems to be some sort of crazy schrankhut, but I can't say that I've seen it anywhere. By the looks of the 'pflug' the guy on the right is, I'm inclined to say that perhaps they're just doing something really wrong.

[SzabolcsWaldmann]

No sir, they are right in a middle of a Scholler Grade 2 Prizeplaying. <img src="/forum/images/icons/mad.gif" alt="" />

It is not a hut. It's the middle of a movement. Probably some crazy stuff to lure the one on the left nearer. The left is walking towards him, with the sword in his hands, so that's no hut either.
The one on the left is the one who is giving all his free time to the craft by creating all our padded weapons (he has done more than one hundred pieces already), and the right is one of my best, and by best i mean somebody who cannot be underestimated just because you cannot recognize his hut.
And besides please be gentle we are all just beginners, you see <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

Szab

[Byron Doyle]

Heh I couldn't tell they were moving, maybe I should have looked closer. <img src="/forum/images/icons/blush.gif" alt="" /> I meant no offense. I still don't really see what the guy on the right is doing though, but of course as a still it could be lost in translation...

[JeanryChandler]

Hi

I certainly did not mean to disparage anyone. It looks like the guy on the left is in motion. I'm just always curious any time I see something like a guard I don't know. I thought maybe it was something from the Italian tradition I wasn't aware of, or from one of the later or more obscure masters outside of the direct Lichtenauer tradition. I gather 'hut' is an Hungarian term for Guard?

JR

[Brian Hunt]

hut is the german word for guard.

Brian Hunt
GFS

[JeanryChandler]

@Doh!

[SzabolcsWaldmann]

Nope, it's german. Can be derivated directly from the term Hüten, wich means to protect. Hüte dich = Protect yourself!
In manuals, it says like "Schick dich also ind das Hut des Ochßen", meaning "Place yourself in the guard of the Ox"

Szab