#bloßfechten

[claimhteoir]

Double leg takedown from the Bauman Fechtbuch or Codex Wallerstein, Author unknown

They seem like good friends.

[mindhost]

Heinrich von Gunterrodt

"But, though many examples of fighters with excellent self‐control can be mentioned here, still many people see their opposite, and these fighters regard it as glorious when they can drink endlessly and when they can roll themselves in every filthy pleasure. In the fighting school there are many Chironomi and Acrochirstae, this means, who make a presentation of movements and gestures. They do their best to show off their art and their body with a certain school‐like appearance of wrestling. They are only willing to boast, while they take care not to use any methodology during their performances. Even more, they themselves are neither instructed in certain rules nor bound by them, but when the hands must be brought together, then they want this to be a clear example of their art: that when they bring forth blows they do so without any notion of technique and sanity, with closed eyes in the way of fools, in the same way as is mentioned about the Andabatae. And because they mostly fight in public spectacles with weapons which are not sharp, but use blunt weapons, they only try to hit the heads of their opponents. They themselves only protect this part of their body, neglecting the other parts. And with their arms, though sometimes not without any danger, as it were a wall, they protect themselves. Meanwhile they don’t care whether their opponent hits with thrusts or with cuts to the other parts of their body. Because of this it seems that this kind of art is of minimal use in a real fight, and so it happens that many spectators are persuaded that knowledge of this art can’t bring any practical utility. And this is true about fighters who fight like this; they cannot be considered artful. They judge it deprived of a foundations and have the opinion that only agility of the body and strength are the most important matters. In this matter they make no small mistake. For this art has not less than another very certain and very perfect fundamentals (though very few people know about this). I have decided to bring something about these foundations in our midst, indeed in brief and in this order that I don’t entirely omit the Greek and Roman antiquities, the inventors of the art of wrestling." Interesting excerpt recently posted on Facebook concerning 16th century sport fencing according to historical Franco-Belgian rules.

The text is from Bert Gevaert’s Gunterrodt translation, available here: https://www.freelanceacademypress.com/GunterrodtTreatise.aspx

[claimhteoir]

"If you want to be happy in your fighting, be lively, do not maintain the plays for long. In addition, laugh in a pretty way! And be serious [about serious things]. Trust in the sword, Which Talhoffer teaches."

Excerpt from the Opening of Hans Talhoffer's Personal Manuscript (1459)

[claimhteoir]

Han's Talhoffer's Württemberg Treatise (1467)

[mindhost]

Minimal gear longsword fencing session at Zwaard & Steen

Photos (c) by John VM

[mindhost]

No steel gauntlets in bloßfechten

In response to a question to Michael Chidester on the Alliance facebook group about whether the treatises portray unarmored fencing in steel gauntlets.

"Now behold, that thine hope be not in vain and that all might know that I am the Wiktenauer, I will speak unto thee as one man speaketh unto another, yeah, even as it were face to face, and I will explain unto thee this mystery. ¶ For behold, it is not correct, as some men have said, that the Manuscripts containing the words which masters taught in elder days, which were written by men like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust, sought to teach or portray that naked fencing included the wearing of gauntlets. ¶ Nay, it was rather Jörg Breu the Younger who, seeing a certain Manuscript containing drawings of fencers with the sword and also with the buckler, even one like unto the Ms. I.33, though it were not the selfsame Ms. I.33, sought to create unto himself paintings in the semblance of that Manuscript. And these he did deliver unto my servant Paulus Hector Mair, who loved Manuscripts even as much as I myself do love them, and Paulus Hector did fashion an Interpretation of the paintings, and did cause that they should be made again and included in his Manuscripts, which were greatest of all the works of elder days. ¶ But thou shouldest not believe that these paintings remained unchanged in the semblance of the said Manuscript that was like unto the I.33, for that same Jörg Breu the Younger did embellish and change the figures with each recopying, such that the simple gloves of the first Manuscript did become gauntlets of Maile in his paintings, and thereafter gauntlets of Steel Plates in the Manuscripts of my servant Paulus Hector. ¶ Therefore, notwithstanding the paintings of Jörg Breu the Younger or even the Manuscripts of my servant Paulus Hector, thou shouldest know that naked fencing means not fencing without helmet or breastplate only, but also without gauntlets or any armor of metal. ¶ Even so, Amen."

Source: Wiktenauer

[mindhost]

I’ve sparred with minimal safety gear before, but only with trusted members of my fencing club. This last weekend in Bruges I fenced longsword with Bert Geveart in between tournament bouts, just to have a go.

Bert is a member of De Hallebardiers, and a strong proponent of what they call “naked fencing”, or the practice of historical fencing with very little or no protection.

I still personally believe adequate gear is a minimum requirement to practice bloßfechten safely and with proper intent, but it is interesting to try out different approaches and try to understand different perspectives.

Here is an article they wrote about the practice of fencing without safety equipment.