The debate on edge or flat blocking; is it important? (In German swordsmanship.)
One question which remains unresolved, despite regular, sometimes heated debates and re-arisings of its ugly head is ‘what do we block with?’ Is it the flat of the blade, allowing the flexibility of the blade to dissipate the shock of the blow? Or is it the edge, allowing the strength of the blade and the alignment of the hands to absorb the blow?*
I feel personally we may have missed the point!
First, let me explain one principle set forward by S Ringeck. Our first intention when dealing with an opponent is DO NOT BLOCK. As Mr R says, ‘fence strongly, do not wait for what he may use against you’. This could be seen in several ways, we interprate it as:
- Fence strongly, try and hit them, you never know it could work. If not it should force
him to move or at the very least to displace. - Do not seek to follow what he does, the best way I can explain this is if you start to
strike at his head and he strikes at your lower opening, don’t change direction and try and
block, press your attack and hit him first.
Now it may seem strange that the first thing I say in relation to blocking is STRIKE, but therein lies the crux of the matter.
WHEN YOU DEFEND, ATTACK!
This means if you can strike him with your defense, do so. If you can’t, again use it to force him to move or displace. Then you can react accordingly.
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO FLAT OR EDGE BLOCKING?
This intent to strike with all displacements and at all times can effect blocking quite a lot. The importance, as I see it, is not what you use to block, but rather what you use to attack, which is the edge.**
To illustrate my point I would like to use a couple of examples:
- Opponent strikes from their right shoulder with an oberhau, you counter with the same technique. Your first intention is to cut him on the head or through the face, in the process however you cover yourself . This should mean that you strike his blade with your true edge, whether it hits his flat or edge in the process depends on the angle of his attack.
- Opponent strikes an ober or unterhau from his right, you step off and strike with a krump (true or false edge). If you have the distance (or lack of) then you should first strike at the hands, if you are too far away, then strike the sword. But again STRIKE with your edge, whether or not you hit his flat or edge depends on the angle of his attack.
So what can we surmise from this? If, as above, it is a ‘he attacks/ you counter’ situation there will already be scope for a lot of variation in blade on blade positioning. If we can safely assume you are both moving, that as you try to counter, he will also try to counter that counter and so on. The possible permutations of blade on blade become ludicrous.
I would suggest in closing, that the argument of flat or edge is not a valid one, and that we’d all do better learning to cut with intent.
SO THERE!
*I do understand that this is very much a simplification of the different views expressed by many notables on the subject, but we don’t want to be here all night do we?
**Yes, I realise there is also a point, pommel, and cross guard to attack with.
