Weapons of the Guild
Within the Liechtenauer tradition, the various masters handle a range of weapons. The longsword functioned as a starting point for the other weapons.
As a guild we also opt for this typical holistic approach. We want to train our students to become generalists and not specialists. We strive for our students to gain insight into the principles of the martial art and thus be able to apply them with multiple weapons and even unarmed.
The disciplines we practice are in line with the historical fencing guild, with attention paid to one- and two-handed weapons, pole weapons and dagger and wrestling.​
Longsword
The two-handed sword
The longsword, wielded with two hands, is the main weapon of our guild.
An average sword weighs around 1.5 kg and is perfectly balanced making it an effective and fast weapon.
Within our guild, just like in the historical guild, we use a specific school sword, also known today as "Feder". This is a blunt and fairly flexible training weapon that has been used since the 15th century to learn how to fight with the sword.
The style of fencing we practice is "Blossfechten", or unarmored fencing. This is a style used by many historical masters in the German fencing tradition.
Sideword [Rapier]
Weapon of the 16th century
You can say that this is a slimmer version of the original one-handed sword. Because it is longer and narrower, it is easy to handle with one hand and stabbing plays an important role.
The rapier became very popular from the 16th century onwards. Over time the weapon became longer and more stab oriented.
Within our guild we delve into the early style of this weapon as described by Joachim Meyer . In this style, stabbing and slashing have an important balance, as does taking control of the weapon in the binding.
Polearms [Staff]
Sign of mastership
The staff was considered the weapon of a master fencer. A 'simple' stick with which one could knock out an opponent without bleeding wounds.
For a simple weapon, it has a wide variety of styles. As a school we follow the style of Joachim Meyer and this weapon serves as a stepping stone to further pole weapons such as spear and halberd.
The latter weapons are especially prominent on the battlefield, but were also used by (city) guards. As "Haertsiers der Croone" it is only logical that the Guild of Saint Michael returns to its origins.
Dagger & Ringen
An integral art
The rondel or disc dagger is a type of dagger that was used from about the 14th century. It was worn as a weapon by many people, although the nobility had very richly decorated copies as a status symbol. This is characterized by a very specific pointed shape. This made it possible to penetrate thick fabric or openings in armor.
Wielding the dagger goes hand in hand with Ringen [wrestling]. Wrestling is a discipline in itself but is also related to all previous disciplines, where wrestling was done with, for example, the long sword.
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For instruction in daggers and rings we use Joachim Meyer, Ott Jud and the Italian fencing master Fiore de'i Liberi, among others.
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