KSSGTR 15 May 2008

Began with a footwork exercise showing how basic footwork (double, compass and cross steps) can be used to void a vertical oberhau. The oberhau provides a small amount of pressure on the ’stepper’ to get out of the way quickly enough, whilst trying to perform a certain type of footwork. This will often show up flaws in footwork such as superfluous shuffles and changes in weight distribution, which the ‘oberhauer’ can easily spot. These observations, on what are essentially telegraphing motions, can be fed back to the ’stepper’ to improve their footwork, and also allow the ‘oberhauer’ to recognise movements that may give away their opponent’s intentions.

Second was the dagger plays from Jay Vail’s medieval dagger book. We revised the two dagger plays from last week and then went over next two.

Before the Longsword session, I decided to rant on about the OODA loop and how it relates to fencing. There is lots of information on the OODA loop online (I’ll post links at the end), but wikipedia gives an ok overview of it. The OODA loop is a decision cycle that a fencer goes through when fencing. The four phases are observe, orient, decide and act.

(Taken from www.oodacycle.com)

Here is an example of an OODA loop a liechtenauer fencer (LF) may go through.

Observe- The LF observes the attacker launching a diagonal oberhau at their left shoulder with a passing step.

Orient- The LF now orients his head around this. They use their prior knowledge and experience of fencing (e.g. Is it in range? Is it a threat?) and any knowledge of opponent (e.g. are they known to throw oberhau feints?)

Decide- The LF decides that the zornhau is the best course of action. (NB. if LF is well trained, this decide phase is bypassed by LF’s implicit or ‘automatic reaction’)

Act- The LF carries out the zornhau

The loop then goes around again- observing the success of the zornhau and so on. The loop theory is simple a way to understand the underlying processes of a fight. Ideally you want a shorter OODA loop so as to get inside your opponent’s loop, allowing you to control the fight. Through understanding the process of how you and an opponent makes fencing decisions, you can develop ways to get inside your opponent’s loop. This can be long term, such as regular training to sharpen your observe phase, speed up your orient phase, improve (or even eliminate the need for) your decision phase and hone your act phase (allowing you to act in true ‘indes’); or it can be short term, such as seizing the vor in a fight and overwhelming your opponent with attacks- drawing out their OODA loop and allowing you to defeat them.

I also talked a little about PISSR - Penetrate, isolate, subdue, subvert, re-harmonise (another of Boyd’s theories). It seems to have relevance to fencing- e.g Penetrate into distance, isolate an opening, subdue/subvert it, then reharmonise to move onto the next move.

The longsword session consisted of zornhau plays. During my HEMA journey, my interpretation of zornhau has jumped around like a kookaburra with its pants on fire. But I am now happy with what have. It is essentially the same as espoused by C. Tobler, B. Grandy and T. Stoeppler in these threads- Thread1 Thread2.

The attacker comes in with an oberhau to your left side (could also be vertical). (From Right Vom Tag) You step around with your right foot but keep some weight on the back leg (a kind of compass/slope step hybrid). This aligns your body to allow your cut to close off the line safely, whilst maintaining a good distance to counter-attack. The cut is thrown out, passing into langen-ort, where it will clash with the attackers sword. From here you immediatley thrust with zornhau-ort. (Unless you have hit them in single time). I find this works really well, and you end up like the fencer on the left of this picture of a zornhau-ort play (Paulas Kal manuscript).

So the longsword session had-

• Zornhau vs. an oberhau:
  • Zornhau and zornhau-ort thrust when the opponent is weak in the bind.
    • Opponent deflects zornhau-ort and their tip is not threatening - Abnehmen.
      • Counter to abnehmen by cutting/pressing with the long edge to the ‘abnehmener’s’ head.

I was very pleased with how this went- although people did modify their initial attacks at times, tending to cut over my head, rather than at it.

Messer session-

• Quick review of the Wecker (krumphau), Entruesthau (zwerchau), and the Lemstuck (snipe to the hands).
• Zornhau vs. an oberhau
  • Zornhau-ort.
    • Zornhau-ort deflected thus going into auswinden.
      • Deflection travels further back, stopping the auswinden, thus changing through underneath.
        • The counter for this changing through.

The zornhau plays were a revision of what we did last week. They went well and it was pleasing for all to see that we had retained something.

• Bogen- revision.

This system of repetition of a certain principle/technique is working well.

Boyd links for future Boyd fanboys/girls.

http://d-n-i.net/boyd/2007_conference/report.htm

http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2006/05/30/variations-of-the-ooda-loop-1-introduction.html

http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2006/02/13/ooda-pisrr-part-i-the-social-cognition-loop.html

http://homepage.mac.com/ace354/Boyd/iMovieTheater39.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbb48uUOkqQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5c3yMy-llA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5TTeMCoRhM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbbh9bYOOok

Medieval Warhorses and Horsemanship.

Gunter and Rutger stopped fighting and gazed in astonishment as the sun grew tentacles and a face

I recently read an article* on medieval warhorses and seems they were not the behemoths many people believe them to have been. Using pictorial (contemporary artwork) and archaeological (horse shoes, etc.) evidence, it is suggested they would of been 15 hands high at most (at the shoulders I believe). This reminded me of a couple of videos of a horse used in bull fighting. If a knight’s horse had this type of skill, they would be very formidable against unformed infantry.

*Bennett, M 1994, ‘The Medieval Warhorse Recondsidered’ in Medieval Knighthood V., eds S Church & R Harvey, The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, pp. 19-40.

K.S.S.G. T.R. 8 May 2008

The format of these training sessions has often changed. Sometimes it is subtle, like a sea’s gentle waves on a beach, other times it is hammer smashed with the fury of a moody renaissance sculptor and re-made radically different. This is sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, I am, however, happy with its latest incarnation (although a few nuances remain to be worked through).

Rather than stick to a set timetable, we have decided to obtain an acceptable level of competency in a certain principle/technique, before moving on to something different. I believe this will better prevent ‘data dumping’ when moving onto something.

Started off with some dagger plays from Jay Vail’s book for a warm-up.

I went through the draft level 1 syllabus with a new member. They had had previous experience with Liechtenauer Longsword, so I was happy to move them into training with the others.

Since I’ve been translating Hammaborg’s modern German translation of Cod. 44 A 8 (Von Danzig) into English the past couple of days, I decided to use it to focus on Zornhau.

• Zornhau: vs. an oberhau.
  • Opponent is weak - thrust to the face.
    • Opponent deflects this - abnehmen.

Doing these plays, two major problems occurred. The first is that people were not attacking correctly- There is no point defending an attack with a zornhau (or anything) if that attack has insufficient range to hit you. Attacks must be made with correct distance. Secondly is pre-empting the drill, i.e. doing part of the play out of its proper timing AND/OR blocking the opponents counter (which is easy since you know what they are going to do). Making one or both of these mistakes when drilling not only screws the play up, it teaches the attacker to launch crap attacks and the defender to force defences against the wrong type of attack. Once an understanding of the technique and theory behind the drill is established, alive drilling and finally freeplay can take place. This I must be vigilant on.

Messer took up the second half the session. Again- Zornhau. Moving on from what we built on last week-

• Zornhau: vs. an oberhau
  • Thrust, which is displaced slighty and their tip is no threat -> Auswinden (wind around and thrust in from the outside)
    • Thrust (displaced) -> Auswinden (further displaced) -> Durchwechseln (disengage under and attack other side)
      • The initial attackers counter (winding into Stier) against the above durchwechseln.

I really enjoyed that last play, flowed very nicely. With partners who had done this before, I moved straight into alive drilling (e.g. As the defender I wouldn’t displace, to see if their initial thrust was a real one and they weren’t preempting the drill OR As attacker I would redirect my attack if they rushed into the technique and parried thin air).

So a few points from tonight’s session-

• Launch good attacks. This means -
  • Controlled aggression - you are simulating a threat on someone life. Of course speed, power and aggression used should be relative to equipment and skill, but still carry yourself as a swordsman of skill and prowess no matter what setting you are at.
  • Correct distance - so as to hit the opponent and provide a threat for them to deal with.
  • Correct timing - True times! Provide that threat!
  • Correct form - things like footwork, blade alignment, targeting and power generation.
• Drill correctly-
  • Timing- don’t preempt the moves in the drill. Many of these plays build technique upon technique. Doing a technique out of place throws the sequence out.
  • Don’t force a technique - if your partner does the wrong move or is out of time, there is no point trying to continue the exact drill. In a situation like this I prefer the participants to not stop, but adapt to the situation and flow to a conclusion. However after that, they must recognise the error and continue with the drill.

Doing these will make for good drilling, which are designed to instil certain reactions and principles in your body and mind.

Hans stuffed up the drill one too many times.

New Video

Here is a video I made of some sparring footage. Some of it is quite old, but the single hand sword stuff is from the beginning of this year. It was my first attempt at using messer techniques after watching the Ochs video. I found messer translated across from longsword easily.

Knight School Study Group 6-Mar-08

We warmed up with some ‘Last Man Standing’ melee dagger games. Good to test out your situational awareness skills.

The first half of the class focussed on the Longsword.

• Krumphau.
  • Using the Krumphau to deflect an Oberhau and then using a Schielhau type cut to counter-attack.
    • If the bind is hard then the Krumpher winds the point online and thrusts.

• Nachreisen.
  • Used against an Oberhau whilst in Alber. The forward foot is moved to the rear foot, the sword is swung around to the rear and the elbows are pulled back, flattening the body. Once the Oberhau is passed, pass forward and cut, preferably in the same direction as the opponents Oberhau.

We then combined these two principles and the Zwerchau in a drill from Stefan Dieke, which is put online by another group (see below). Unfortuneatley, I got the Zwerchau and Schielhau mixed up, but it is still technically valid.

The second half of the class focussed on Messer.

• Messer Basics.
  • Transitioning between guards and learning the names.
    • Luginsland- Equivalent of Vom Tag over the head.
    • Sword resting on the shoulder - Vom Tag on the shoulder. Has no official name.
    • Stier- Equivalent of Ochs.
    • Eber- Equivalent of Pflug.
    • Pastey- Equivalent of Alber.
    • Langort.
    • Schrankhut.
  • Basic dynamic targetting drill for attacks from the 8 direction cutting drill.
• Zornhau
  • Zornhau to initiate an attack to the head, with the intention of covering a likely line of attack.
  • Zornhau against an Oberhau.

• Wecker (Krumphau Equivalent)
  • Used the Wecker as a defence against an Oberhau whilst in a high guard.
  • Used the Wecker as a defence against an Oberhau whilst in a low guard.

New Video!

New Movie: Arn- The Knight Templar

A new swedish movie based on the ‘Knight Templar‘ trilogy of novels has recently been released.

The official website for the first Arn movie - Arn The Knight Templar - is now online at www.arnmovie.com (and at www.arnthemovie.com). On the website you can watch the first trailer and find information about the actors, story line etc.

Albion has made more than 200 swords and daggers (with scabbards) for the movie(s) and three new swords were designed exclusively for this project - among these Arns sword (which has plenty of screen time in the trailer). All in an extremely short span of time - and made possible only because the talented craftsmen at Albion worked more than overtime on this.

This is the most expensive film production ever made in Sweden and we are thrilled to be a part of it. Two movies will be made. The first one - Arn The Knight Templar will premiere in Sweden December 25th, 2007. The second movie will premiere late 2008. After that the movies will be made into a six hours (six episodes) TV-series and a single film for international release.

More information can be found here.

Übershinai

Shinai. Seems to be one of those things HEMA people either hate or love.

I love them. I think they are a fantastic tool for the great triangulation, especially when I want to bout and the heat is too great for gambesons. A shinai is not, however, born a good HEMA tool. It has a round guard; it is too light and possesses no discernible edge; and people tend to treat it as a flicky stick, not a sword. To be similar to a longsword, it must be nurtured and moulded into a fine specimen.

This usually involves slapping on a wooden or plastic crossguard and taping some lead on it. One man, Paul Bennett, has gone above and beyond the call of duty and made shinai modification into a science. Not only that, he has shared the love and even made 2 videos! I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, Paul Bennett’s Übershinai Mk. 6!

Design is based on a compromise between accuracy of training tool and fuss/expertise required. I dont suggest that this is better/worse than any other training tool when used with its limitations in mind, but it is better than any other shinai mod I have tried.

This should take about 10 minutes.

get some 3mm roofing lead
a hammer
scissors
string
electrical tape
A shinai (oval grip - this is what the measurements are based on)
http://www.ninecircles.co.uk/product…D=245&CatID=16

1) cut one 15×12cm sheet of lead, and one 15X11cm sheet.
fold these into the centre twice, so you get two strips, both just over an inch wide, one 12 cm long, one 11cm long. Hammer flat. (Avariation is shown below, this tapers out the “Pommel” into a pear-shape)

2) Use the hammer to bend the strips around the shinai hilt, the longer one above the cross, the shorter one about 3/4 of an inch from the base of the hilt as a pommel. Secure with electrical tape.

3) jam some wedges into the shinai, so you can get some string in to bind the flats of the blade together (1/3rd of the way from the tip, 1/2 way down, and another as far down as you can get it.). Cover with tape (optional).

Congratulations, you have now made a Mk6 Ubershinai!

If you dont want an oval grip shinai, measure round the shinai at the same points and add 1.5cm. Trim to fit.

Rotational nodes:

1-2″ from cross = 1-2″ from tip

1-2″ from base of pommel = 4-6″ from cross

Click on the image below for the plans.

Paul has also made two videos on the Übershinai. The first explains why you need to weight the shinai. The second shows the process of making one.

I highly recommend these modifications to your shinai. It makes it feel much more sword like. Of course, when using it, you must remember that you are trying to replicate a sword, so treat the fight accordingly.

The Messer of Johannes Lecküchner DVD Review

That’s not a knife!

This is a knife!

Those blokes from Ochs have done it again. In the vein of their first DVD, ‘The Longsword of Johannes Liechtenauer‘, they have released ‘The Messer of Johannes Lecküchner‘. This DVD is awesome.

Buy it.

Review over.

Or is it really over?

For those that are not familiar with the messer (German for knife), it is a falchion like blade popular in Germany during the 14th to 16th centuries. As opposed to the knightly ‘arming sword‘, the Messer is often considered the common man’s weapon- a medieval machete of sorts. Do not, however, believe this detracts from its effectiveness as a weapon. Some messer techniques can be seen on the videos in this post.

Johannes Lecküchner was a priest in the late 15th century and wrote two Fechtbüche, each on the messer. The first manual, somewhat of a draft for the second, is available through the Heidelberg University Library. His latter work, Cgm. 582, can be found online at the Bavarian State Library. It is an impressive ~432 pages long, with over 400 of them including pictures. What sets this manual apart from others, such as Talhoffer’s, is that a decent text explanation accompanies the picture. Another interesting feature, is the inclusion of ’show techniques’, meant to amuse an audience (this is not, however, show fighting). A transcription can be found here, along with a translation into modern German.

As with their longsword DVD, the Ochs team have put together a very well presented DVD. The footage is shot in a proper film set, using multiple camera angles and easy to understand commentary. I have been unable to find any ‘play all’ selection in the dvd menu, but this is of little concern, as it is easy to navigate. The intro is not as exciting as the longsword DVD, but again, this is of little concern. At 150 minutes long, it is the longest HEMA instruction DVD I am aware of.

The DVD consists of-

• Historical background.
• Fencing terminology and theory.
• General basics such as footwork, master strokes and guards.
• Several expansions on advanced techniques.
• Disarms and grappling with the messer.
• Application examples.
• Show techniques.
• Drills and exercises.

I highly recommend this DVD if you are interested in medieval single sword. I see no reason why the principles and many of the techniques presented can not be used with other medieval single handed swords. The DVD can be ordered off the Agilitas’ Ebay website. A trailer to the DVD showing a Mordschlag with a sharp messer can be found here (German version).

For those wishing to delve deeper into Lecküchner’s text, but can’t read Mittelhochdeutch script, there is a transcription available.

Ringschule DVD Review

Ringschule Wrocław is a HEMA group in Poland that has put out two excellent DVDs on ‘The Wrestling of Master Ott the Jew‘. Jud Ott (Ott the Jew) was a German Kampfringen (combat wrestling) master in the early 15th century, who’s teachings are featured in many Fechtbuchs from the ‘society of Liechtenauer‘.

The first DVD covers basic principles, basic stances, 11 basic throws, warm-ups, and 21 wrestling games. The DVD menu is easy to navigate and nicely presented. The DVD has only Polish speech with English subtitles. However, this is no problem as the instruction is very easy to follow. Due to the excellent manner in which the techniques are shown, one could learn much without the need of the subtitles. Techniques are first shown at speed by combatants in historical clothing, then explained in a gym environment with combatants in modern clothes.

The second DVD covers 4 off balancing techniques, 4 breaks, counter-techniques to the basic throws, and strength building exercises. Again all techniques are clearly demonstrated and explained well. The strength building exercises are partner based, and cover all the muscle groups. This DVD improves on the first, by having both English and Polish speech, and having a dedicated film set.

I highly recommend both DVDs for anyone interested in medieval wrestling. Email “ringschule ‘at’ o2 ‘dot’ pl” to order.

A trailer to the first DVD can be found here.

Here is the trailer to the second DVD.