01-18-2007, 08:03 AM
Quote:Or he switched his grip during the fight. Now, while that may not be so difficult to do, if you are doing it in close combat you are taking time to perform a move which neither protects you nor threatens the opponent. Generally, I have the impression that if you are in touching range (with your hand, not the outstretched tip of a sword) of an enemy in combat, it is not a good thing to waste time doing anything which doesn't directly threaten him, or guard you. (George Silver wrote about this in discussing the Time of the Hand, and conventional wisdom among martial artists regarding knife fighting is similar: "the winner is the guy who makes it to the hospital" - it is very quick and very easy to hit and get hit). So, why spend time switching the grip before striking?
For those who have sparred with a sword in a reverse grip: aside from novelty/surprise value, what advantage does it give in combat?
I think that we must think of a few aspects here!
Where in the relief does it show that they where in touching range all the fight. One of the main issues in hand to hand combat in a duel situation is distance and the ability to control the distance. The german medieval manuals gives three ranges or zones in a duel.
* 1. Zu fechten, "lit. To the fighting".
* 2. Krieg, "lit. War or Struggle"
* 3. Ringen am Swerde/Degen/Messer, "lit. Wrestling with
Sword/Dagger/Knife or other weapon of the fight.
What do they mean here then? Well, one of the interpretation we have chosen to use is as follow. The first zone is Zu Fechten and this is when you are one step from striking range. You can choose to stay in this range for a longer or shorter time. It´s your superior skill as a fighter that gives you the control here, if you are able to make the opponent to follow you. How far is this then between the combatants? It depends of course on the combined length of the weapons used added to the length of your personal reach. With a gladius against a falx of the size shown in the depicting discussed here I would say around 3 - 3,5 meters.
As soon as you step into attack range you are in Krieg, the second zone. Here you can go for a lethal attack at any given moment and so can your opponent. Here the defence is your point of your sword and your defensive weapon if you have any. (The shield explaines itself in some ways and I will not take it up right now). If you go for a defincive action in this zone you need to stay with a possition where every move of your opponent puts him in danger of geting hit. He will do the same so you could call it a kind of terrorbalance. The thing that often happens in this zone is what the Manuals refer to as binden (bind, catch or hold). This is the contact between the blades, where you feel (fhülen) what your opponent wants to do.
The third zone is Ringen (wrestling) where you are in the range to grab, throw or trip your opponent. suprisingly many bouts in our sparring ends here. This is the range I think you are refering to.
So! I can agree with you that in the second and third zone it can be hard to change grip but in the first it is easy. Out in the first you control the fight with your positioning so your hands are quite free to do much. It is also possible to change grip during the progression between the zones when your opponent is reacting to what you do. It is also possible to change your grip when you have a lock of some sort on your opponent after you have taken control of the third zone.
The advantage of the changed grip is not so much the novelty of it as much as the added force you can put into a stab. in a "reversed" grip the force of the circular motion, the swing is placed in the point of your weapon. Thats the advantage. It is the choise of grip for the more agile fighter who is cofindent enough to get into grapling range fast and "safe".
This is my groups interpretation of this based on the research done by ARMA and other WMA groups we have had contact with. I know the terms and concepts have german names and is from the medieval times but the basic principals of duel fighting is the same in any period. Any of you millitarys here will (hopefully) agree that one could describe a bayonette or knife combat situation in this concepts too.
In a multifighter situation the range of Zu Fechten is much greater and most of the control there is lost due to confusion and the relative chaos in the nature of a warsituation. And the more advanced grappling is also to dangerous in a battle.
Hope this helps!
