The Book of Five Words. An Introduction

Kunst Des Fechtens or the intellectual and martial tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer is an intellectual tradition founded in the 14th century and developed until 1600 where it lay dormant for the next 400 years. It was initially revived as a avenue to engage in the HEMA project. At this point in my martial study I no longer engage in hema as such, and instead regard myself as a student or devotee of the school. I study the texts of the tradition including the work of the founding members of the fellowship, as well as those written decades and centuries after its founding.

Hema as a project is a distinct mode of inquiry from the development and expression of KdF as such. It's aims are fundamentally at odds with the development of KdF as a martial and intellectual tradition. The difference between hema and what I do is that in hema, the primary question is 'what did they mean'.

In what I do, the primary question is 'what does *it* mean'.

That being said, I regard efforts in the HEMA project to be seminal to my understanding and application of KdF, and recommend to all students of KdF to stay engaged with efforts in the Hema community to better understand KdF and martial arts/fencing/culture as it was practiced historically.

The particulars of KdF are oriented towards the activity of fencing, which can be described as a game played between training partners that carries a number of assumptions. Chief among them are that it be played with two training partners, like weapon  simulators in a defined and symmetrical, flat and empty space. The goal is generally to touch the opponent in some defined way with the weapon simulator or in some cases to demonstrate physical dominance over the training partner in some defined way.

Because kdf is generally oriented towards this particular endeavor, it has a number of technical aspects that are unique to this particular simulation of armed combat. The tradition itself however, is much broader and has implications across a variety of contexts beyond the game of fencing.

The following are the theoretical, technical and philosophical tenants of the school and their application in a fencing context:

Uberlauffen is the idea that the structure of your sword/body opposes the direction of force outward from the center (an imaginary line the connects the centers of each training partner's chest). This is also known as being strong. It does not require motion to maintain, so you can oppose the direction of force and still have fuhlen to respond to their actions. It can be regarded as having advantage.

Fuhlen is a shared flow state, in which you have single-minded focus on the perception of your opponents motion. With fuhlen, you work indes, such that you connect your body's motion to that of the opponent so that your actions happen at the same rate across time as your opponents, beginning near simultaneously, and responding to changes in direction near instantaneously. A more commonly used term for a similar concept in modern day submission grappling is stickiness or being alive.

Remaining sticky and maintaining inside position might be considered an instance of motion of the one hand. Local motion specifically. Motion across space. But qualitatively, in an Aristotlean sense, there is no motion. No actualization of potential. You are strong and you remain qualitatively strong regardless of how they move as long as you use fuhlen to follow them. Frequens motis, always moving, spacially; however, while remaining qualitatively strong absolutely, not moving at all.

You might regard using fuhlen to work indes as tethered motion. Being sticky. Maintaining a quality of strength, indes.

Untethered motion might be described as strengthening without fuhlen.

You can't have fuhlen during instances of untethered strengthening/weakening.

The 5 words or sprechfenster principle is that from a position of strength (inside position, advantage, etc...) , it is possible to hau setzt (hit with the three wonders depending on the change in direction of force from the opponent) without weakening (even with the assumption your opponent is working indes, and ith fuhlen). The offensive action comes to completion before any counter offensive action. Conversely, from a position of weakness one can only strengthen/weaken to a position of strength (taker) and not to a hitter without leaving themselves weak and therefore vulnerable during the instance of motion that takes place. Any offensive actions can be defended and countered simultaneously.

The person who attacks first is not the person with the vor. The person who is ahead in intention is not the person who has the vor.

It is the person who by an instance of action and motion initiates a qualitative change in the strong/weak relationship in the bind at a relevant distance that has the vor.

It should be an action that threatens either a hitter or advantage. The nach is a mitigation of a vor action. If a vor action happens in more time than a corresponding nach action achieves advantage, then the vor can be seized indes by the nach actor.

The 5 words are a metaphysical framework for understanding all blade configurations and actions. From them, a tactical paradigm of provoker, taker and hitter can be deduced.

This tactical paradigm can be summed up as such: From the zufechten distance, one should seek to take or provoke with a threat of taking in the krieg. From a subsequent strong position, one should move directly to a hitter and begin a chase, maintaining their strong position as they gradually increase advantage. If the initial threat creates an instance of motion, then the chase can begin before a position of strength has been established as long as it happens indes.

Long actions are actions whereby the point, hilt and body structure are all oriented in line with the actor's center.

Shortened actions are actions where only the hilt and actor's center are in line with the opponents blade, the point is oriented towards to man.

Broken structure is where the hilt and actor's center are in line but not towards the opponents blade

High binds are when the hilt and body are in line towards the opponents blade, but the point is high out of reach.

The liechtenauer system is a series of proportional relationships between actions in terms of their ability to achieve advantage or a hit relative to each other.

Nachreissen is any time you move into a new opening with an offensive action during an instance of the opponents  motion by which it is being created.

The core nachreissen actions are a set of strong/weak actions you perform during instances of your opponents motion. They come to completion in a proportionately smaller time than the action that compels them, presuming both actions move at the same rate across space.

The 5 zufechten actions are methods of moving from a distance in which the completion of your offensive action is longer than the opponents defensive action (zufechten), to a distance which the completion of your offensive action is shorter than the completion of their defensive action (kreig, or meaningful bind). Offensive action does not necessarily mean hitter. It can mean obtaining a strong position such that your next offensive action comes to completion faster, etc.... They are pedagogical tool to teach the principle of entering to obtain advantage. They are not the only way to enter distance safely.

These zufechten actions force the opponent into either instances of motion or into weak positions.

The game is defined as controlling the opponents blade with advantage. As a rule, if the opponent refuses to bring their blade forward enough so that they may use their cross as a means of protection, they leave their hands vulnerable. If they tend to bind with the strong of the blade and a withdrawn point, they leave their hands vulnerable or their belly vulnerable.

As you close distance, you gradually increase the advantage until your hitter becomes faster (happens in a shorter space of time) than their taker, presuming the are performing the action, with fuhlen (perceiving and responding to the opponents changes in direction of force near instantaneously/simultaneously) , indes (performing the correct proportionately smaller action, so that it comes to completion faster than the opponents corresponding action). If at any moment you find yourself in a weak position, you have entered a defensive cycle. It is imperative that you immediately withdraw and take the fastest path to a strong position.

General heuristic rules:

Do not be weak in the krieg. Ever.

If you are weak in the krieg, strengthen and withdraw

Only enter krieg during an instance of motion, or threatening to take advantage.

Never allow an opponent to enter krieg before you have obtained an advantageous position (or during an instance of your motion)

Sword always moves first

In the zufechten, weight should be on the front foot, movement should be initiated by lifting the rear foot.

In the krieg, weight should be on the back foot, distance should be closed by lifting the forward foot.

Actions should always follow occams physics. They should begin with the smallest fastest movement, and pull larger slower movements into motion.

Strengthening against someone with advantage is being a Buffalo.

Weakening when you have advantage is being a Buffalo.

Strong structure is where the hands are centered, and where the bind happens along the same line.

The direction of force of offensive actions should endeavor to take the strong on the offending sword through the weak of the defending sword. As a rule, the moment it becomes clear the defending strong/hilt will intercept the force of the action, the direction of force should be changed.

Both the point and the strong of the defending should endeavor to be in line with the direction of force of the opponents offensive actions to channel the action into the strong of the defending sword.

Posture is such: elbows bent at 135°. Hands no lower then the line of the lower chest/upper abdomen.

Point no higher than the opponents mask unless in a withdrawn posture in the zufechten or during a withdrawal.

Opponent should fall inside the angle of your hips at all times.

Shoulders should be parallel with the ground at all times.

Core nachreissen, to be executed from a position of advanatage:

Weak actions (done from a position of strength during instances of the opponent strengthening):

Durchwechseln: withdrawing the point to take or hit on the other side of the opponents blade. Done when your point is on your side of the opponents cross.

Zucken: withdrawing the point and hilt to take or hit on the other side of the opponents blade. Done when your point is on your side of the opponents cross.

Duplieren: rotating the hilt and moving it in the same direction as the opponents direction of force.

Strong actions (done from a position of strength, during instances of the opponents weakening or attempting to strengthen in a weak way):

An setzen: thrusting from a position of strength.

Winden: strengthening further against an opponent who attempts to fight for strength from a weak position. Strong taker that moves the hilt towards the opponents weak with strong structure, resulting in strong on weak and inside position. Can happen above their blade, with hilt low/point high or below their blade with hilt high, point low as long as the strong of your blade is in between the opponents weak and you. From this strengthened position it is possible to continue chasing with a hitter depending on the opponents pressure. Mutieren: lifting the hilt and lowering the point to continue the thrust in the direction of the opponents weak, even as they position their sword in between your sword and their body.

Hand drucken: maintaining a position of strength on the arms as the opponent raises their hilt.

The core actions from the zufechten:

Zorn: shortest path to a position of strength.

Schiel shortest path to positioning the strong in front of the opponents weak. Creates an instance of motion in the strong of the opponents blade.

Krump: creating an instance of motion in the point of the opponents blade by laterally targeting shallow target and/or the structure of the opponents sword.

Scheital: creating the largest instance of motion against a person in a low posture by attacking the highest target.

Zwerch: creating the largest instance of motion by attacking the furthest target horizontally.

The fundamental principles of the KdF approach is this:

You always want to be in a situation where you can work indes to sieze the vor or defend yourself and withdraw with actions that come to completion faster than the actions available to the opponent. The fastest most effective ways to do that are with the book ends of the system, either taking the center directly in response to an opponents action as they enter krieg with Zorn, or taking the center before entering the krieg with sprechfenster.

With an opponent who is savey enough to deny your taking the center correctly, you have to create a predictable instance of motion (either versetzen, or inviting with a weak position out of measure to then sieze the center as they enter) on your opponents part that you can work within, to result in the requisite strong bind (uberlauffen) so that you can move directly to a hitter (Uber eilen, hau setzt) or chase the openings as the work to defend (nachresissen). Finally, one may deceive the distance, luring their opponent into the krieg in a weak way, thereby giving themselves an opportunity to move directly to a hitter without controlling their opponents extended blade. This is however the least desirable tactical mode, and should be eschewed until all other requisite skills for the other tactical modes have been developed to the highest level.

All of this is predicated on control of the opponents extended blade (the extension being what is possible to dominate). If they refuse to extend, proceed with harassing strikes to hands in order to draw their blades into presence.

On any given freeze frame of an exchange, there are two alternatives of what could be happening depending on who is in the vor and nach. According to the system, there is always a particular correct action for both training partners in each of the two possible scenarios.

The map of the system embeds the fundamental theoretical paradigm of the system and the training method by which to develop and embed the system into one's practice. Namely, to train sensitivity to the opponents behavior, and develop fluency in the corresponding action. First in sequence, with out fuhlen. Then in rhythm with fuhlen and indes (according to rate rate of movement across space you and your training partner are embodying). Starting with a small set of pressure signals and corresponding actions, and then later through the introduction of alternative problem sets, with the aim of developing a fully integrated network of bind relationships, pressure signals and corresponding actions. Finally the ultimate aim is to transcend the heuristics and arrive at a deep and fluent understanding of the system in a profound way, where there is total clarity for any given bind relationship, vor/nach relationship, and pressure relationship vis a vis what each player should do. This is the development of execution, and knowledge.

Finally, when this has been internalized, you have essentially learned the way the pieces move along the chess board. It is then time to focus on interaction rather than execution or knowledge. This is the skill of not only predicting what action your opponent will likely do, but learning how you can influence their behavior and set up more elaborate and sophisticated methods for manipulating their understanding of the tactics and strategy contained within the system.