The Art of Longsword Fighting: Teaching the Foundations of Sigmund Ringeck's Style

by Benjamin J. Smith

Overview

The teaching of Historical European Martial Arts has widespread appeal with numerous clubs in many countries. However, comparatively few people who run their own club have qualifications that would make them an instructor in traditional martial arts organizations. Even those with such qualifications lack in-depth cohesive resources for teaching a given style – often because they can only work from incomplete sources. Thus, the need for a book which is grounded in exhaustive research into historical teaching methods and in particular focusing on the specific style of Sigmund Ringeck, who was himself a teacher of fighting arts in the late 14th century or the early or mid-15th century. In The Art of Longsword Fighting, Benjamin J. Smith therefore offers the broader information necessary for teachers of historical swordsmanship to deliver courses based on original, authentic techniques. This includes the various cutting methods, the role of competition in learning these arts, the mechanics of the interpretive process, and insights into how to use a wide range of activities to enhance students’ experience. All of this is achieved through a panoply of photographs showing each move along with explanatory diagrams as well as detailing how and when to introduce each next step in a manner that is faithful to Ringeck’s style. There is no current literature available which demonstrates how each move should be undertaken and, most importantly, why each step should be taken in the sequences described. There is no doubt that a book of this nature has been long awaited and will be welcomed by instructors and students alike as well as those general readers interested in fencing and the longsword of the Renaissance period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526768995
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	07/08/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

BENJAMIN J. SMITH began training in historical European martial arts in 2000 at the age of 17. He joined the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA) and spent most of the next eight years applying that organization’s method. Benjamin left the ARMA in 2008 to pursue his own approach. He joined the Historical European Martial Arts Alliance in 2009 and began working seriously on his interpretations of Sigmund Ringeck’s longsword teachings. In 2014 he moved to Boise, Idaho, and founded his current group, The Hilt and Cross, and has been teaching there ever since.

Table of Contents

About the Author viii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction x

Part I Core Concepts 1

Chapter 1 Sigmund Ringeck 3

Chapter 2 Ringeck's Fighting Style 6

Chapter 3 Interpretation 15

Chapter 4 Safety 19

Chapter 5 Sparring 27

Chapter 6 Martial Arts and Martial Sports 30

Chapter 7 Defining Ringeck's Weapon 35

Chapter 8 Important Terms 40

Chapter 9 Training Equipment 44

Chapter 10 Cutting with a Longsword 48

Chapter 11 Learning New Techniques 59

Part II Ringeck's Fechtbuch 61

Lesson 1 Ringeck's Introduction 63

Lesson 2 The General Lessons 71

Lesson 3 Fighting with a Longsword 93

Lesson 4 Fighting from the Left and Right 98

Lesson 5 Vor and Nach 99

Lesson 6 Nach 106

Lesson 7 Strong and Weak 109

Lesson 8 Courage 110

Lesson 9 Liechtenauer's Techniques 111

Lesson 10 The Zornort 126

Lesson 11 Abnemen 133

Lesson 12 Winden 138

Lesson 13 Thrust over the Abnemen 143

Lesson 14 Breaking the Abnemen 147

Lesson 15 Krieg 151

Lesson 16 Finding Cuts, Thrusts, and Slices 161

Lesson 17 The Four Openings 167

Lesson 18 Duplieren and Mutieren 171

Lesson 19 Duplieren 173

Lesson 20 Mutieren 179

Conclusion 182

Appendix: Suggested School Rules 183

Notes 185

Bibliography 195

Index 199