Miscellaneous > The Sallyport
Gotta get this off my chest.
Sir Edward:
--- Quote from: Allan Senefelder on 2012-02-10, 22:06:39 ---
--- Quote --- Right now all I see in the American HEMA is a bunch of people arguing over how to do a simulated unarmoured duel with matched longsword simulators and no Hand-to-Hand moves.
--- End quote ---
I can't attest to any other WMA events as the only one I attended was the various Chivalric Weekend events held northeast of me and this certainly wasn't the case at that particular series of events. The last year it was held there were something like 15-20 armoured challange bouts, one instructor got his ankle broken practicing Ott's wrestling and there were classes on both armoured and un armoured combat and a variety of weapons and people bouting all over the place when not taking classes as well as an archery tournament. Things must be very different at other WMA gatherings.
--- End quote ---
WMAW is a lot like that as well. Classes cover a wide range of disciplines, even ranging into knife throwing, pugilism, and bartitsu. This past WMAW, there was a harnessfechten (armored fighting) class, and an armored deed of arms based around the manuscripts. It involved grappling, half-swording, thrusting to the gaps, and other things you'd expect from historical armored combat. But I think most importantly, the event was full of camaraderie and mutual respect.
In our classes at VAF, we frequently use unmatched weapons, except when we're drilling or bouting with specific techniques that we're focusing on.
It's easy to make generalizations about the groups you're not hanging out with. :)
Sir Brian:
--- Quote from: Sir Edward on 2012-02-11, 13:38:43 ---WMAW is a lot like that as well. Classes cover a wide range of disciplines, even ranging into knife throwing, pugilism, and bartitsu. This past WMAW, there was a harnessfechten (armored fighting) class, and an armored deed of arms based around the manuscripts. It involved grappling, half-swording, thrusting to the gaps, and other things you'd expect from historical armored combat. But I think most importantly, the event was full of camaraderie and mutual respect.
In our classes at VAF, we frequently use unmatched weapons, except when we're drilling or bouting with specific techniques that we're focusing on.
It's easy to make generalizations about the groups you're not hanging out with. :)
--- End quote ---
Much like at my WMA group MASHS when we have our ‘Free Play’ Sundays, we’ll try all kinds of different variations of weapon matchups with our duels. Even during our regular classes if we don’t have any novice students the intermediate and advanced students will just have an extended session of duels, or maybe a bear pit. At any of our duels grappling is definitely on the table and with some of the MASHS members it is a foregone conclusion they will try to grapple with you. Although we learn and drill IAW the Lichtenauer traditions we are not overly into the academics but learn it to be better and more effective swordsmen/swordswomen. :)
Sir William:
That sounds like my kind of group, Sir Brian. Nothing wrong with academics, but the applied sciences were always more my thing. ;)
Sir Brian:
I really think you would enjoy our group Sir William and our Sunday session in Annapolis is reasonably close to your area.
Google maps shows its approximately 30 minutes away.
This past Sunday one of our advanced students Michael Fuchs told me and another intermediate student about a drill he watched on youtube from a WMA group in Spain where they were dueling solely from the bind and making various attempts to wind against their opponent. It turned out to be a really interesting drill and a good warm up. We then explored with some alternative plays against your opponent after you initially come to the bind and whether they were hard or soft in the bind, sort of a Fühlen drill, then we eventually worked that into doing an Ausreissen which was really cool. 8)
Ausreissen = The closest translation I could find is 'SHOVE'; (Das Bill could probably tell us what plate from the historical texts it is from. ;) )
Essentially it is when both combatants are in vom tag and each cuts with a zornhau and comes to the bind,
You lift your hilt up while dropping the point and simultaneously take another slope pace while forcefully ‘shoving’ your opponent’s blade away from you and out of harm’s way. You will end up well within grappling range since your lead leg will be directly behind the knee of their lead leg and your pommel will already be in line for a pommel strike. There is also the high probability that you will be able to clip your opponent with your left elbow as you ‘shove’ their blade away. Michael Fuchs performed it flawlessly several times against me and the other student. I often shove too hard to have a clean pommel strike but I would have my blade free for a one handed hack to the back of my opponent’s head (simulated hack of course! ;) )
Sir William:
Sir Brian, no worries...you'll be seeing me at MASHS sometime this year. My introductory course starts in March; I want to get that under my belt before I start learning anything else. :)
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