Help with Meyer?

[Grant Hall]

Hey guys, I'm studying Meyer and have come to a question I never thought to ask before.

Is there always a left and right version of the Guards? I've noticed that for several of the guards he names both a Right and Left version or Mode, but for some he doesn't.

This came up when I tried to play out this passage:

[quote=Meyer]Firstly if you will execute the high or Vertex Strike, you will find yourself in three Stances, first in the start you will stand in the Roof, in the Middle in the Long Point, and end up in the Fool, so you have moved directly from above through the Line from A to E via three Guards or Stances. If you then drive farther on upward from below to displace with crossed hands, you will find yourself in three more Stances, at the start in the Iron Door, in the Middle the Hanging Point, and in the end full above you in the Unicorn, then grip your Sword with the haft before your chest, so that the half edge lies on your left arm. Now you stand in the Key, and thus you come have onward and drove on along Line A and E from one stance into the other.[/quote]

Now first you start in Vom Tach (Roof), with your Left foot forward, you then execute Scheitelhauw (Vertex Strike) or Oberhau (Over Strike) which transistions through Langort (Long Port) which also has the Left foot forward, the strike then ends in Alber (Fool) which like the above two guards is described as Left foot forward.

The text then refers to displacing a blow, so from Alber (Fool) you change into Eisenport (Iron Door) which is described as standing with your Right foot forward, so I imagine you step either back or forward whilst chaging from Alber (Fool) to Eisenport (Iron Door), in the Middle you are in Hangetort (Hangin Point) which remains Right foot forward, then you end in Einhorn (Unicorn) which is Left foot forward (implying either a step forward or backwards?). Finally you drop down into Schlüssel (Key) which remains Left foot Forward.

Is all this right? Is the Scheitelhauw (Vertex Strike) or Oberhau (Over Strike) made without stepping? What about when the guards change to those describe with opposite feet forward, does this imply stepping? If so, do you advance (as suggested by the text) or retreat?

Thanks in advance for any and all hepl!

Cheers & God Bless!

[Mike Cartier]

yes some guards have both sides , some do not.
always seek to step, meyer tells us that, but of course there are times to step and times not to step dependingon the situation.

this is the drill from the front part of the book isnt it, i find it mmakes my head hurt. his Dusack drills are more easily used i think.

anyways i htink the point of this drill is moving your sword thru the positions with control and always being ready to strike again from any angle.

For drills i would go with his four openeings drill which has enough variables to last a lifetime.
his four openeings variables are "Guard used, blade edge used and cutting method used.

[Grant Hall]

Hey Mike, thanks for the reply, yeah its the first drill (I guess you can say) in the book, I guess I'll just have to delve deeper.

Thanks for the help,

Cheers & God Bless!

[Vance Osterhout]

That part about moving from line A to E shed some light. I was going to ask, what are those big asterisk shaped targets with corresponding letters in Meyer's plates, but I think this answered my question.

[Vance Osterhout]

Has anyone read this book; "The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570"? The only review said it was somewhat flawed and I don't want to buy anything that is wrong.

[Stacy Clifford]

Nearly everybody on here has a copy. Even if it's not perfect, it's still very useful and nicely done. I think it's still the only published translation of Meyer, although others are working on their own. Worth having, but it's always good to compare multiple translations when you get the chance.

[Jaron Bernstein]

Has anyone read this book; "The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570"? The only review said it was somewhat flawed and I don't want to buy anything that is wrong.

I recommend it. It is to my knowledge currently the best and most complete Meyer translation available.

[Vance Osterhout]

Thanks. The only reason I mention it is because i didnt see it listed on our site.