Joachim Meyer’s Art Of Sword Combat (1568)

Question 1

What are Meyer’s three stages of combat?
(Hint: These are different from others’ three stages)

Answer 1

Attack — followup — withdrawal

First, every attack combination in combat is divided into three stages which you should particularly observe in the sword, namely the attack, the followup, and the withdrawal or ending. Thus first, in the approach, the attack happens through the guards and cuts as they will follow hereafter; then in the second part and middle-work one follows up with the handwork and combinations of suitable cuts; and lastly comes the ending or withdrawal.

Question 2

What does Meyer call the “strong” of the sword?

Answer 2

Forte

Question 3

What does Meyer call the “weak” of the sword?

Answer 3

Foible

Question 4

What is the haft?

Answer 4

The pommel, grip, and crossbar.
(Basically, the non-sharpened bits.)

Question 5

In a binding, you should be able to feel whether your opponent is binding hard (really pushing) or soft (barely touching). Which one do you need to be more wary of?

Answer 5

Soft binding. Basically, they’re getting ready to move away and probably attack from somewhere else.

(Seems like a great time to take the Vor by pushing through their weak bind to thrust at them. If they hard bind you, they have committed to trying to push through your guard, and you should think about winden above or durchwechslen below.)

Question 6

What are your four chief guards?

Answer 6

‘From the Day’ [Von Dach], Ox [Ochs], Plow [Pflug], Fool [Olber]

Question 7

What are The Eight Secondary Guards?

Answer 7

• Crossed Guard [Schranckhut]
• Hanging Point [Hengetort]
• Irongate [Eysenport]
• Key [Schlüssel]
• Longpoint [Langort] (Einhorn/Unicorn?)
• Side Guard [Nebenhuot]
• Speaking-Window [Sprechfenster]
• Wrath Guard [Zornleger/Zornhut]

Question 8

What are the The Five Master Cuts?

Answer 8

• Crooked Cut [Krumphaw]
• Scalper [Scheideler]
• Squinter Cut [Schylerhaw]
• Thwart/Crosswind Cut [Zwerchhaw]
• Wrath Cut [Zornhaw]

Question 9

What are the The Six Secret Cuts?

Answer 9

• Blind Cut [Blindthaw]
• Clashing Cut [Glützhaw]
• Rebound Cut [Brellhaw]
• Short Cut [Kurtzhaw]
• Winding Cut [Windthaw]
• Wrist Cut [Knuchellhaw]

Question 10

What are the four openings on your opponent?
Bonus: Which guards for which?

Answer 10

Top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right.
Ochs for the top, Pflug for the bottom

Question 11

What is Meyer’s first, most basic advice for finding/creating an opening in your opponent’s defenses?

Answer 11

Look to see whether they are high or low, left or right. Attack the opposite not looking to hit (feint), but rather to draw them to their opposite quadrant. As soon as your swords touch, hit them hard in their original quadrant.
For example, if they are high and left, you feint low and right with no real intention of hitting them there, then truly attack high and left while they are parrying your feint.

Question 12

What is Meyer’s most basic advice for where you should attack?

Answer 12

“Every fighter should be promptly heedful in all hits, from whichever opening the cut has come, instantly to pursue there.”

Question 13

What is Meyer’s (very) general stance on defense?

Answer 13

Basically, he repeatedly argues that the best defense is a good offense. Take the Vor, or initiative. Parrying will exhaust you.

It is written in the old epitomes, ‘Who often parries is often hit.’ Liechtenauer says in his secret words, ‘Guard yourself against parrying, if need befalls you it will tire you.’

Question 14

Who wins most, according to Meyer?

Answer 14

Whoever strikes first.

if a fighter watches and waits for his opponent, he rarely comes away without shame

See that you are the first on the field;
before your opponent adopts a guard, lay on against him.

Question 15

“When two good fighters come together,” who wins?

Answer 15

“Whoever thinks quicker triumphs quicker.”

Question 16

Pay heed to Instantly, understand me rightly,
hit him before he adopts his guard.
What is instantly? What is the point of this verse?

Answer 16

Instantly, or indes, is the “abstract term for instantaneous responses intended to gain the initiative in the fight.” So think of how in the thick of a fight, if you strike at them, whether you hit or not they must respond to defend. (Contrast this with the Vor/Before.)

The big point is that you should strike before your opponent can fully settle into a position or get comfortable. (Also, you need to be one step ahead of them and turn your own defensive moves into an offensive attack whenever possible.)

Question 17

No guard comes to you that is so good;
in the After you will hit him with free mettle.
What does this mean?

Answer 17

Guards are good, but no guard is perfect. You can still die, so end it quickly.

Also, and this is Meyer’s bigger point, you staying in a guard is telegraphing your thoughts and strategies. He is encouraging fighters to keep moving and changing guards.

Question 18

Send your cuts powerfully from your body,
carry out your work to the four openings.
What’s this mean?

Answer 18

Cut using the full strength of your body (and momentum), not just your weakling little arms. Really punch those cuts with arms extended.

The second bit is just a reminder to always think of your opponent in quadrants. Cut to their body, not their sword. As always, Meyer loves a feint to the opposite quadrant that your opponent is guarding, and once they move to defend, you attack where they started.

Question 19

When you deliver a Crooked Cut, go up quickly,
cast the point crosswise on his hands.
What’s does this mean?

Answer 19

???
I don’t know what this means yet, but “all cuts that are delivered with crossed hands are called Crooked Cuts.” The geometry of your hands crossed somehow seems awkward and weaker, so moving quickly generally makes sense.

Why would you aim for an opponent’s hands here? No idea.

Question 20

When someone takes a swing at you from your left, which way should you step offline? (So, from your view, their sword is moving from your left to your right.)

Answer 20

Right. Basically, you take a step away sort of in the direction their swing is moving. If their sword is coming at you left to right, you move right.

(Short people’s instinct is to step into the swing, but don’t do that.)

Question 21

Let the Circle connect,
hold your hands high, if you wish to deceive him.
What does this mean?

Answer 21

???

The Circle also comes from the Crooked Cuts, and is a particularly good technique for deceiving compared to others, since it does not run off without connecting (as do other deceiving techniques, like running off and such); but if you do it rightly, the Circle hits very hard with the half edge as it runs by.

Question 22

Step well with the Crooked if you wish to parry;
the crossing over will do him harm.

Answer 22

???

I think it has to do with absetzen? Making sure you step offline in such a way that even as you defend, your point can still thrust at them?

Question 23

When you cut crooked to the forte,
be sure to wind through and overrun with it.

What’s this mean?

Answer 23

Your hands are crossed in a crooked cut, so you can’t leverage your arm strength against their strong. Meyer’s talking in this section about grabbing your own foible/weak with that awkward crossed hand and “wrenching” down on them with all your might???

Winding through or durchwinden: To wind the pommel underneath the opponent’s blade to the opposite side to catch over the opponent’s arm or weapon.

Overruning or überlauffen: To attack the opponent aggressively from above.

Question 24

Handwork in the Sword. Binding

Answer 24

Anbinden

Your swords are touching or are engaged. Typically one attacked and the other parried.

Question 25

Handwork in the Sword. **Remaining**

Answer 25

*Bleiben* To remain in contact with the opponent’s blade to judge his intent.

Question 26

Handwork in the Sword. **Slicing**

Answer 26

*Schneiden* “With the longsword, this appears to mean setting the long-edge forte on the opponent’s arm or weapon to hinder his action.”

Question 27

Handwork in the Sword. **Striking around**

Answer 27

*Umbschlagen* To pull away from the bind to attack to another opening.

Question 28

Handwork in the Sword. **Chasing**

Answer 28

*Nachreisen* “This typically means an attack into the opponent’s preparation, but it can also be used somewhat less precisely for an attack that crowds into an opening that the opponent has created.”

Question 29

Handwork in the Sword. **Snapping around**

Answer 29

*Umbschnappen* To execute a snapping attack as a followup technique from the bind. (What’s **snapping?** To execute a flicking attack with the weapon, probably by rotating it around the hilt.)

Question 30

Handwork in the Sword. **Running off**

Answer 30

*Ablauffen* To withdraw from or evade the opponent’s weapon by rotating the blade around the hilt.

Question 31

Handwork in the Sword. **Doubling**

Answer 31

*Doplieren* To execute a secondary attack following up from an initial one; with the longsword this typically means cutting behind the opponent’s blade from the bind.

Question 32

Handwork in the Sword. **Deceiving**

Answer 32

Verfurenn Be a tricksy little fighter. Feint.

Question 33

Handwork in the Sword. **Flitting**

Answer 33

Verfligen To pull back from an attack prior to weapon contact in order to deliver an attack elsewhere. (Meyer really likes this.)

Question 34

Handwork in the Sword. **Failing**

Answer 34

Verfelen An attack that deliberately avoids making contact with the opponent’s body or weapon. Fun fact: felen literally means “missing”

Question 35

Handwork in the Sword. **Circle**

Answer 35

Zyrckel A handwork technique in which the weapon loops around to deliver a second attack from the same side. Some uses of the term may be non-technical. Also, Circle Cut and *Zurckelhaw* are talked about, but it’s NOT one of the master or secret cuts.

Question 36

Handwork in the Sword. **Loop**

Answer 36

*Rinde* “An action in which the combatant arcs his sword around its hilt(?). The technique may be comparable to a modern moulinet.” (Basically, no one quite knows what the masters meant by this.)

Question 37

Handwork in the Sword. **Winding**

Answer 37

*Winden* From the bind, to remain in contact while winding one’s blade around the opponent’s weapon for a followup attack. The same term can be used of a similar manoeuvre that leads with the pommel. In practice, your sword goes up over your opponent’s. (Going under is instead a *Durchwechslen*.)

Question 38

Handwork in the Sword. **Winding through**

Answer 38

*Durchwinden* To wind the pommel underneath the opponent’s blade to the opposite side to catch over the opponent’s arm or weapon.

Question 39

Handwork in the Sword. **Reversing**

Answer 39

*Verkeren* Refers to rotating the hand(s) and/or weapon so that the hand is inverted relative to its relaxed position.

Question 40

Handwork in the Sword. **Changing through**

Answer 40

*Durchwechslen* (pronounced Dirk Vexin) The action of moving one’s weapon from one side to the other by going underneath the opponent’s weapon. Don’t get it confused with **going through** or *durchgehen* which is to bring one’s weapon from one side of the opponent’s weapon to the other by going underneath.

Question 41

Handwork in the Sword. **Setting off**

Answer 41

*Absetzen* To parry an incoming attack by extending one’s own weapon into *Longpoint* and turning the *long edge* against the incoming weapon. *Longpoint* = A guard in which the arm(s) and weapon are extended towards the opponent. Also called the Long Slice. *Long edge* = The long edge of a bladed weapon is on the knuckle side of the hand, the *short edge* opposite to it.

Question 42

Handwork in the Sword. **Slicing off**

Answer 42

*Abschneiden* To parry the opponent’s attack by cutting against it with a slicing action(?). Perhaps compared to the modern fencer’s froissement. In short, nobody really knows.

Question 43

Handwork in the Sword. **Pulling**

Answer 43

*Zucken* Withdrawing from the opponent’s weapon before or after contact by pulling away with the hilt. *Zucken* is the act of pulling the pommel.

Question 44

Handwork in the Sword. **Pressing hands**

Answer 44

*Hendttrucken* A form of slice executed against the opponent’s wrists.

Question 45

Handwork in the Sword. **Sliding**

Answer 45

*Verscheiben* To slip one’s sword under the opponent’s weapon for a **hanging** parry. (Hanging = To extend the sword with the point hanging down, often in order to intercept the opponent’s attack.)

Question 46

Handwork in the Sword. **Hanging**

Answer 46

*Verhengen* To extend the sword with the point hanging down, often in order to intercept the opponent’s attack.

Question 47

Handwork in the Sword. **Blocking**

Answer 47

*Verstillen* A version of the **slice** in which the combatant maintains contact with the opponent’s arm or weapon. (Slice = “With the longsword, this appears to mean setting the long-edge forte on the opponent’s arm or weapon to hinder his action.”)

Question 48

Handwork in the Sword. **Barring**

Answer 48

*Sperren* Refers to an action that interposes the combatant’s weapon between the opponent’s weapon and its line of attack.

Question 49

Handwork in the Sword. **Wrenching**

Answer 49

*Aussreissen* To forcibly move the opponent’s weapon; see Image 3 (right figure). Note that the German does not carry any particular connotation of circular motion, but may imply the use of the short edge and/or a **pulling** motion, since *reissen* can also mean **slashing**. This doubtless reflects the mechanical advantage of pulling with the short edge of a weapon for a forcing technique. (Slashing = cutting with the short edge)

Question 50

Handwork in the Sword. **Gripping over**

Answer 50

*Übergreiffen* A technique with the longsword in which the combatant sends his hand or some of his fingers over his quillon; see Image 15.

Question 51

Handwork in the Sword. **Seizing the foible**

Answer 51

*Schwech fassen* To grasp the opponent’s foible in order to control his blade, or to control his foible with one’s forte(?).

Question 52

What’s the difference between long edge and short edge?

Answer 52

The *long/true/full edge* of a bladed weapon is on the knuckle side of the hand, the *short/false/half edge* opposite to it. They are so called because the long edge has a greater attack range than the short.

Question 53

Does Meyer recommend settling into your guard?

Answer 53

No. “Yet these verses teach that it is always better not to settle fully into a guard, since from the guards someone can easily see what you mean to execute against him, something that cannot be seen so well from the cuts.”

Question 54

What’s the **After**?

Answer 54

*Nach:* A situation in which one’s opponent has the initiative. Contrast with **Before, Instantly.** Note: This card is about After/Nach, capitalized. If after/nach is not capitalized, then it just means the regular (time) definition of after, but can also mean a follow-up movement or a stop-attack that halts your opponent’s action.

Question 55

What’s the difference between **changing**, **changing off**, and **changing through**? Bonus: what about **Change**, capitalized?

Answer 55

Changing/*wechseln* = techniques that change the line of attack from one to another (basically, what normal people think of the term change generically) Changing off/*abwechslen* = The action of changing from one technique to another, e.g. changing from one guard to another, or from one attack to another. (What normal people think of the term change BUT focus on changing TECHNIQUE) Changing through/*durchwechslen* = The action of moving one’s weapon from one side to the other by going underneath the opponent’s weapon. Change (capitalized)/*Wechsel* = a guard (not for longsword)

Question 56

What is the Blind Cut?

Answer 56

SECRET CUT. *Blindthaw*. This “appears” to be a flicking cut delivered from a state of contact with your opponent’s weapon.

Question 57

What is the Clashing Cut?

Answer 57

SECRET CUT. *Glützhaw*: similar to the **Thwart**, delivered along a diagonal or horizontal line with the hands high, but using the normal grip, so that from both sides the blade hits with the short edge or flat.

Question 58

What is the Circle Cut?

Answer 58

*Zurckelhaw* A handwork technique in which the weapon loops around to deliver a second attack from the same side. Some uses of the term may be non-technical; cf. 55r–v. FYI, it isn’t a secret cut or a master cut

Question 59

What is a crooked cut?

Answer 59

MASTER CUT. *Krumphaw*: cut that angles across the space between the combatants; see Image 8. FYI In the longsword, **CROOKED** refers to having the blade angling across the space between the combatants; it can also refer to having the hands crossed.

Question 60

What’s a cross cut?

Answer 60

*Kreutzhaw*: pair of **Wrath Cuts** delivered in combination from each side. FYI, cross/*Kreutz* is the pair of crossed **Stroke Lines** used to teach and describe diagonal cuts. (Think Meyer’s Square)

Question 61

What is the **crossed guard**?

Answer 61

SECONDARY GUARD. *Schranckhuot*: hands forward, pointed forward and towards the ground. It is traditionally the final position of a **Crooked Cut**.

Question 62

What’s meant by crossing or crossing over?

Answer 62

*überschrenken, verschrencken*. In the longsword, crossing one hand over the other to trap the opponent’s weapon or arms. Cf. **barring; reversing**.

Question 63

What is the **Crown**?

Answer 63

*Kron*: In the longsword, a high parry in which the quillons are horizontal to protect the head.

Question 64

What is cutting after?

Answer 64

* nachhawen:* To deliver a countercut after parrying an opponent’s attack; to riposte.

Question 65

What is cutting away (from)?

Answer 65

* hawen sich von; hawen sich weg*. To step away from an encounter while delivering a cut to cover one’s withdrawal. Cf. striking away from, withdrawal.

Question 66

What does “deep” normally mean in Meyer’s work?

Answer 66

In some cases, this may refer to the distance that a technique reaches, but it normally appears to refer to the angulation of the blade well behind the opponent’s weapon.

Question 67

What’s it mean to take a double step?

Answer 67

*zwifach Tritt* Two steps in the same direction using the same foot, facilitated by a gathering step with the trailing foot after the first step.

Question 68

What are **Driving Cuts**?

Answer 68

*treiben; Threibhew* Refers to a pair of cuts delivered opposite each other along the same line. It can also refer to a pair of **Wrath Cuts** delivered from opposite sides (63v, 64r).

Question 69

What’s a **Failer Cut**?

Answer 69

*Felerhaw* An attack that deliberately avoids making contact with the opponent’s body or weapon. If you want to be pedantic, technically all Failer “Cuts” are just Failers (*Fehlers*) since they don’t cut. They miss, or fail (*felen*) on purpose.

Question 70

What is the **Father Stroke**?

Answer 70

*Vatterstreich* An alternative name for the Wrath Cut.

Question 71

What’s flicking, and what is a Flicking Cut?

Answer 71

*schnellen, Schnal, Schnelhaw*: a flicking attack, delivered with the tip of the weapon using the short edge or flat.

Question 72

What is **going through**?

Answer 72

*durchgehen* To bring one’s weapon from one side of the opponent’s weapon to the other by going underneath. Cf. changing through; through. I think this is the more generic term… durchwechslen is more specific from the bind.

Question 73

What is a Flying Thrust?

Answer 73

No one quite knows but the general thought is that *fliegende Stich* is a thrust delivered at maximum range.

Question 74

What is a general definition of **handwork**?

Answer 74

*Handtarbeit*: Close work in an encounter, the stage at which the combatants are at binding distance, roughly synonymous with **middle**.

Question 75

Are Speaking-Window [*Sprechfenster*] and Breaking-Window [*Brechfenster*] the same thing?

Answer 75

Apparently not.

Question 76

What is **Hanging Point**?

Answer 76

SECONDARY GUARD. *Hengetort*: A longsword guard with the hilt at head level and forward, the point extending down and forward