Posted on 09/16/2008 10:08:51 PM PDT by Ramius
Sword Post 2:
Woohoo! It’s time for Tuesday night Sword Pron!
Today’s topic: Guards.
“Guards” are essentially stances. They’re places to start and places to end. They are ways to hold the sword to begin fighting, and curiously enough, most of the strikes that one will take with a sword are merely a progression from one “guard” or “hut” to another.
To wit:
There are 4 basic guards. Since the vast majority of the surviving source material is in German, they are named in German. The picture is from a 14th century Fechtbuch (fight book). They are (in the order of the picture: “Alber” (fool), “Vom Tag” (from the roof), “Ochs” (Ox), and “Pflug” (plow). These were the four taught by master Leichtenauer in the 14th century. Leichtenauer is pretty much the reference standard for European Longsword. Later masters almost always referenced him as the first original source.
The guards are symmetric… that is… there are left foot forward and right foot forward, left or right hand analogues of each guard, with the sword on either the right or left side.
Alber
The fool. Called this, most think, because it baits the unknowing opponent into thinking that with the sword low they are open to an easy attack. Don’t get stuck on stupid. Alber is possibly one of the best defensive postures to take. And an awesome offensive posture too. One of my favorites. It’s a killer.
Vom Tag
From the Roof. This guard actually includes many variations of the “high” guard. It can be up over one shoulder, as well as being up high over the head. The essence of it is that the sword is cocked back overhead, usually over a shoulder. This is the most powerful place to start a downward strike. Of course.
Ochs
The Ox. A wonderfully versatile guard. I’ve found in practice and sparring that I end up in Ochs much of the time, and both left-hand and right-hand. There’s lots of good strikes that end up in Ochs, and lots of good strikes that start in Ochs. So… it’s a very useful place to be.
Pflug
The Plow. A middle guard with the sword pointed at the opponent. Hands near the hips and sword pointed up toward the opponent’s face. A natural starting place, but not a strong place to strike from, other than the lunge forward.
A fifth guard, not in Leichtenauer: Nebenhut.
The tail guard. An additional guard, found in later studies than Leichtenauer, but well preserved. This is a wonderfully useful guard. Many strikes end up in Nebenhut. It gives the illusion of vulnerability, like Alber, since the blade is back and pointed away from the adversary and yet it is a very powerful place to strike from, especially with the short-edge of the blade. There is a powerful Unterhau (under strike) and of course a powerful Oberhau (over strike) from this position.
Next, we’ll do a short class on Unterhau, Oberhau, and Meisterhau. (Under strikes, Over strikes, and Master strikes).
Preview: A “Meisterhau” is a “master stroke” and it is defined as being at once offensive and defensive at the same time. It is a strike that defends first.
Burton (whose wife famously said “If I were a man, I would want to be Richard Burton, but not being a man, I will be his wife”) described the same “Fire and Stones” cut that Musashi advocated for disarming your opponent. In his match to attain the rank of “swordmaster” Burton used the stroke three times to disarm his opponent, until the opponents wrist was so hurt he couldn't continue the match.
I've never been one you would call competent with sharp objects, in fact if a person wanted to kill me with a knife all he would have to do is hand it to me.
Fascinating however.
No, I’m not a member of SCA. I understand that lots of people are into the whole ren-faire reenactment sort of thing, and that’s fine, but it’s just not my sort of thing. “It’s not my bag, baby...”. :-)
I do believe, however, that there was a powerful European martial art that was (and can be again) just as elegant, spiritual, and lethal as any of the more well-preserved asian martial arts.
After the Renaissance, as the age of the firearm dawned, fighting with swords of course largely became obsolete, and the old masters (like Lichtenauer, George Silver, Sigmund Ringeck and others) died off and the teaching of the Art died with them. But there are a number of organizations ernestly researching the documentation that does exist and there is a growing interest in giving this true martial art a re-birth.
It’s a true martial art. Of that there’s just no doubt. I got interested because of my interest in history, and because it is part of my own cultural heritage. I bought a Viking sword and started wondering one day “how was this thing actually used...”. As is turned out, that was an expensive day. What started as one has become several, but it’s only the beginning... :-)
LOL. As the old saying goes:
“Those who live by the sword, get shot by those that don’t”.
Point taken. :-)
Please add me to your ping list as well
I would like to be added to your ping list if there is one.
In all seriousness, if a good blade man is within 7-10 yards of me, I’d rather have my gun in my hand than in a holster.
Re: Quillons (also called quillions). This refers to the cross part of the hilt. In the later forms of complex hilts on rapiers and such, the other bits had their own names.
Yah. That’s no joke. With even only one step a swordsman can cover a lot of ground and control an astonishingly large area.
Regards,
TS
Nice. Thanks!
Yes, quillions, of course. Typo on my part.
Actually, I’ve seen it spelled both ways. Don’t know is one is more “right” than the other.
Add me to your ping list, please.
“I do believe, however, that there was a powerful European martial art that was (and can be again) just as elegant, spiritual, and lethal as any of the more well-preserved asian martial arts.”
I had heard about that. The draw being people looking for a form of martial arts that wasn’t based on Eastern Spirituality.
I’ve seen those before. While that guy has it mostly right, I’d add a little bit:
Der Waage. The Balance. The stance should be from a Der Waage, that is, a slightly wider (wider than the shoulders) spread of the feet with the knees bent more, almost but not quite to a 90 degree angle. This lowers the center of gravity and creates a more powerful base to strike from. IMHO.
My perception of the SCA members is that they are into the history and re-enactment of the medieval time period and less about re-enacting Renaissance Fairs. Many make their own period clothes, either make or buy armor made by modern day armorers, eat period foods, and generally study the martial arts as well as, brewing, herbal medicines, etc.
The last SCA event I went to had little to none resemblance to a Renaissance Fair but had some medieval period martial art experts offer live demonstrations and explanations of various tactics and weaponry.
My son is majoring in History and Archeology he will be completing his Bachelors degrees this next year and intends on going the whole way to Phd.
Because of his interest, I have become interested in this subject as well. Last year, I purchased a 16th century book which has incredible color drawings of royal family crests, military insignias, etc. that my son says was used to determine the authenticity of a stranger coming into town making those kinds of claims. They evidently would be asked to show their credentials including crests or what have you and then would be cross checked with this book.
I have been looking for a sword but have been concerned about buying one that is authentic. I did get a bronze age ax and bracelet that was determined to be authentic and that is a real joy. I can relate to your wondering about the living history of your Viking sword...who used it, why and how, etc.
Of course European Medieval martial arts are real...what strikes me is the current mistaken belief that Europe was backwards compared to other cultures. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, all one needs do is listen to the music of that era to know otherwise. Besides the incredible science and art capabilities. I am enjoying your informative posts on this subject and hope you will continue.
Thanks again, John
When you say "authentic", do you mean an actual historical antique, or an accurate reproduction? There is a lot of pseudo-fantasy dreck on the market, but if you are looking for what they actually used, the authority on the subject is Ewart Oakeshott, who was referenced above by Ramius.
He was a scholar who devised a typeology method for classifying swords. Nowadays, when a sword is found in an archeological dig or an old collection, it is generally described by one of Oakeshott's classifications.
The sword dealers who are supplying the Western Martial Arts enthusiasts are selling reproductions which have been adapted for sparring (flexable "blunts" or "rebated") as well as totally accurate recreations ("sharps").
A couple of dealers with a good reputation:
Darkwood Armory
Angus Trim
A little lower end/ mass produced:
Hanwei/ CAS Iberia
If you are looking to drop a lot of $ on a beautiful hand-forged repro piece, I can point you at some people who do that as well. As for antique pieces, those are available out there, but I have no recommendations as to dealers.
Your comments are right on point. Thanks!
For someone wanting an accurate reproduction I’d also recommend my current favorite: Albion. It took me a while to decide to pull the trigger but I’ve finally ordered a couple of theirs. Don’t have them yet. They’re still several weeks out. One is the blunt Lichtenauer, for sparring and the other is the sharp Baron, with a period scabbard. I can hardly wait.
They’re here: http://www.albion-swords.com
I’ve handled their Lichtenauer that a friend owns, and... wow. The difference between it and my Hanwei blunt is clear. The Hanwei works OK, nothing is really wrong with it other than it’s a little whippy in the blade, but the Albion instantly just “feels right”. Huge difference. Gotta have one. :-)
I’ve heard of the Albions from WMA folk in Britain, but haven’t seen any. They do have a good rep, from what I hear. It’s amazing the difference a quality blade makes in what you can do with it.
I’m more into the later Italian rapier forms than the German longsword work, although I’ve done an I33 sword and buckler workshop that was a hoot.
(ps: I read your earlier thread. Don’t take Silver as too much gospel; he had an axe to grind. He was basically saying “Take yer furrin’ rapier thingies and get off my lawn. If English sword and buckler was good enough for Dad, it’s good enough for me! My Kung Fu is better than your decadent Karate!”)
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