Solo Messer Drills 11 - Feints (Fehler, Wincker, Ablauffen, Zucken)

The theme for this batch of messer solo drills is techniques that can be classified as feints - Fehler, Wincker, Ablauffen and Zucken. Unfortunately solo drills miss the most important aspects of feints - reading the opponent and selling the feint. However, practicing the mechanics with solo training is still useful as it can enable you to do the transition between feint and real attack faster. 0:30 Fehler, Cgm582 27r Fehler with Entrüsthau. Pretend to make a right Entrüstau, but shorten the footwork to a gathering step with your right foot. If your opponent moves to parry, don’t complete the cut and instead make a left Entrüsthau and step forward with your left foot. One advantage of combining the feint with the gathering step is that it gives you more options, when the opponent isn’t falling for the feint. For example, from the gathering step you can choose to complete the cut from the right, or step back again with a defensive cut. Just don’t remain with your feet together, as that is an unstable position. 1:16 Wincker 1 30r Wincker is Lecküchner’s extra master strike that does not correspond to one of the master strikes from longsword. Much like feints in general, Wincker works best against opponents that rely too much on parries. First variant, 30r. Start a long edge Oberhau from your right. If the opponent moves to parry, avoid blade contact by turning the palm out, so that you hit with the short edge instead. This can also finish as a thrust instead, but that isn’t what is described in the text. 1:57 Second variant, 31r. Start a long edge Oberhau from your right. If the opponent moves to parry, avoid blade contact by turning the short edge forward. Instead of trying to hit them on the left side of their head, switch side and hit them with the short edge on their right side. It is described as a cut to the right side of the head, however the parry tends to expose the right arm, so that might be an easier target. Finish with a long edge cut from your left. Making one more cut after the short edge cut isn’t just a matter of hitting more. Using the Wincker to avoid blade contact means you don’t have control over the other messer. Adding the long edge cut will cross the opponent’s most likely line of attack, which makes for a safer withdrawal. 2:56 Ablauffen, 117v Start a low thrust. If the opponent moves to parry, avoid blade contact by rotating the messer up and out, almost like a moulinette, and hit them on the other side. Very often the arm gets exposed by the defense, so that is often the easiest target. This can be done on both sides. 3:21 Zucken 1st variant, 68r. Start an Oberhau from your right. Turn and extend, but don’t step yet. If the opponent moves to parry, pull your messer toward yourself to clear the other blade. Step and thrust as soon as you have cleared the other blade. Nothing is mentioned about the orientation of the thrust. Orienting the long edge toward the other blade is often good while thrusting, but for this thrust this also changes the angle of the thrust in a way that makes it easier to parry. Therefore I would suggest not changing the orientation of the messer at all. If there is blade contact then that would be on your outside flat. Should the other blade come sliding down toward your hand, the outside flat is where you have the Nagel. 4:20 Zucken 2nd variant, 67r. Make an Entrüsthau on one side. Immediately follow up with a second Entrüsthau on the other side. If the opponent moves to parry, pull the messer toward yourself to clear the other blade and thrust on the other side of the blade. I rather like feints that are not performed as the first move. It is often safer as it gives you a better idea if you have the opponent on the back foot or not. Images from Cgm 582 are courtesy of Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. More solo messer drills: