German Longsword Fencing

Some of our teenage Long-sword students in practice, 2003.

We at the Sword Club believe in crossover in learning. Fencing left-handed helps your right-handed fencing, and fencing two-handed helps your one-handed, and so on. German longsword is one more variation on the broad theme of sword play that prevails at the Sword Club.

This particular variation started in the 1970s when we bought a pair of steel wall-hanger “bastard swords” and began to play with them. Our fantasy combat was based on Egerton Castle’s rough description* of medieval/renaissance German “sword jugglers” who fought as entertainment at fairs. We knew they were supposed to be convincing but not supposed to get hurt – much – doing it. We got in the habit of making sparks fly –literally– at the Ann Arbor Medieval Festival during the 1980s. Our system of attacks and parries made it pretty safe for us, but we were completely unaware of how little it resembled German swordplay of any period.

In the 1990s, various scholars began translating and interpreting combat manuals found in medieval manuscript. Jeffrey Singman (now Forgeng) was in Ann Arbor during his work on what he called the “Tower of London Fechtbuch” (now known as I.33 -that’s ONE-point-thirty-three– or the Walpurgis manuscript), and helped revive the Sword Club specifically to work on di Grassi’s methods.

AASC instructor David Hoornstra was exposed to Christian Tobler’s impressive interpretation of Liechtenauer’s (14c.) German Longsword school at an SCA event in 1998 and then again at the Kalamazoo Medieval Congress in 2002. Before that year was out, members were fashioning wasters out of ash-wood and learning moves out of Tobler’s handsomely-published book.

In 2003, an organized class for teens enabled us to get more systematic, and we worked our way through most of the longsword techniques to the point of “wrestling at the sword.”

These days, we do individual instruction and free sparring at longsword.

Equipment

Our ash wasters have given way to hickory weapons from Purpleheart Armoury. We find that frequent oiling (linseed) and careful technique in use keeps them in pretty good shape.

Aside from clean footwear and legwear of whatever style, our typical uniform for German Longsword is a t-shirt and a pair of leather gloves. The lack of protective equipment keeps us careful.

Manner of play

We encourage play using techniques from Liechtenauer, Fiori dei Liberi, Meyer and Talhoffer. No blows are allowed to actually strike the target (the entire person). Instead, we play for the “checkmate” – when the weapon gets through the defense and demonstrates a real threat to open target, the opponent acknowledges. The techniques include firmly grasping the opposing blade or hilt to the point of a disarm, wrestling moves from Fiori, like “pushing the elbow,” and simulating nasty unarmed combat techniques (just mimed; no contact with fists or knees). Painful experience, however, keeps us from going too far in this direction. We play on a hardwood floor; any trips or throws must be done carefully to the point of merely demonstrating that the throw would probably succeed.

At the Higgins Armoury Museum, Jeffrey Forgeng, formerly an AASC member, teaches longsword from the Meyer school.

More info: phone (734) 996-4290 or info@annarborsword.com