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On the Krumphau
Jessica Finley:
The thing that is great about "striking to the flat of the masters", that is, striking the blade of an incoming oberhau (though this works with an unterhau or even Ochs and Alber) is that you are adding a surprising amount of power into the blow the man is delivering. It is virtually impossible for him to effectively fight this because he has to IMMEDIATELY change direction of his own blow *and* fight the power you've added to him. The suppression really does work well.
Against an unterhau, it's easy to "fall upon his blade" in such a way that you have literally stopped his blow before he can really bring it to bear. That's really nice, especially if he's coming from his right side because he's all short with his blow from below. That, naturally, leads to much more of a bind from the suppression, because he's already set up in opposition to your blow.
As far as attacking a man ready in Ochs, I think it's important to remember that a swordfight isn't a gunfight. That is, it is never advised to wait, just in Zufechten, in your guard, prepared to attack... I jokingly call this "high noon swordsmanship". That is, to stand like gunmen in a vacated street... twitching fingers... tumbleweeds blowing through the space between them. :) We aren't advised to attack a man *prepared to thrust us in the face* with Krumphau. We are advised to *break* Ochs with Krumphau.
So what does breaking mean? It can mean a hit (which is what most people want it to be), it can be something that stuffs his attack, or something that gets him to twitch and forget what his plan was. In all three cases it moves him from being on the offensive (in the Vor) to being on the defensive (in the Nach).
Attacking a man who is set in a good stance with his finger on the trigger is foolish. Waiting for his attention to drift, looking for him to blink, waiting for him to try to change his stance, looking for him to start to back up... THIS is when you attack a man. You look for that invitation (fencing language).
What invitations in Och look like:
* He takes the stance already with a forward weight and hands exposed - You can attack the hands because his hand motion is already spent and he must attack with his feet which is slower than your strike.
* He attempts to switch guards, most often to Vom Tag - You can attack the hands because his sword is moving backwards. This is the principal of nachreisen.
* He drifts into range without realizing it - You can attack the hands in the Vor because he is not prepared to step.
* He starts to thrust from Ochs, committing himself to that thrust - You can attack the blade with Krumphau with the "2-tempo" action we have referenced.
* And the best of all, if He is moving *into* Ochs from another guard in the Zufechten but isn't yet prepared in it - blast the hands.
And these are just a few examples I can think of off the top of my head.
Attacking the prepared man? Foolish. Because it doesn't work doesn't mean that Krumphau doesn't work. It means that is NOT how swordfighting works. There is a reason duels we have records of lasted hours. Two men not wanting to get hit are wary, prepared, and actually care about getting hit.
Jess
Sir Brian:
Those are all excellent points Jessica! :)
In the one example you provided:
--- Quote --- He starts to thrust from Ochs, committing himself to that thrust - You can attack the blade with Krumphau with the "2-tempo" action we have referenced.
--- End quote ---
As a small caveat, one should be wary if the thrust from Ochs or Plug is only a feint and is changed (Wechseln / Durchwechseln?) into a vertical cut. – The deception is an invitation to have your blade attacked via the Krumphau but is pulled away (deliberately collapsed) before the blades make contact and the Oberhau is delivered to the newly opened centerline. ;)
Jessica Finley:
Why, Sir Brian, you bring up one of my favorite things to do! :) And yet, it takes skill to read the difference between a committed thrust and a feint. :) As my old judo instructor used to say of fakes: "you gotta make him believe it." Or as Master Leichtenauer says "No one defends himself without danger."
Sir Edward:
Aye, the ideal feint is one that can still hit if they don't react to it at all. :)
This trips us up the most in drills. We try to mix in some non-reactions... and man, it throws you off.
Sir Brian:
I was tutoring one of our quickly developing novice students with some subtle tactics and he kept falling for my thrust from Phlug feint. I made it especially difficult for him when he wouldn’t react and take the thrust from his inaction. He tried several times to Krumphau the thrust but never successfully until I finally asked him why he kept trying to use the Krumphau against a thrust to the face from Phlug when there were other master cuts better suited for the situation. I slowed down my attacks and we stepped through his attempts to Krumphau the thrust and it became clear to him that since I was in the Vor his attempts for a two tempo (Krumphau + Attack) counter would always be behind in the tempo and would therefore almost always fail. He then wanted to try a Schielhau against the thrust and when we slowed it down it became very clear to him that the Schielhau not only displaces the initial thrust (feint or not), it furthermore keeps the active agent’s blade on the outside line the entire time he is attempting to clear his blade for the follow up Oberhau since the passive agent’s Schielhau is dominating the centerline and taking the shoulder of the active agent. ;)
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