The Oprishki

[Ken Pfrenger]

Here is a little website I have been working on in my vast amount of
free time:
http://oprishki.wordpress.com/

I have been gathering quotes and images of Carpathian mountain axe
lore for a few years now and though I might as well put them up
somewhere with a bit of my own reconstructed axe play from some of the
dance sources I have been researching. There are a few of the things
learned from Russ Mitchell on there as well. So we have a mishmash of
various cultures and techniques represented. I am not going for
anything particular...more of a generic Carpathian brigand sort of
thing.

Mountain axe my new favorite past time

 

[Ahriman]

Nice info there, seems like you know more about these than some of the self-claimed Hungarian martial arts instructors. (who in most cases are extreme-right f***heads)
...
Just adding if you're interested - the buzogány is the Hungarian word for mace, so it came in a million forms, just like fokos and csákány. Csákány means pick or pickaxe, and differentiating between a fokos and a csákány is quite hard at times.
Oh, and some Hungarians still use the fokos as a walking cane. I use this fact to convince police officers that my poleaxe (or warhammer if you wish) is at least as legal as those.

 

[Ken Pfrenger]

Thanks for the comments and info Ahriman. It is always good to hear feedback from some living in the region. So hard to research stuff an ocean away.

Plenty more updates on the site if anyone is interested.

 

[David Weatherly]

I always enjoy your site Ken. Thanks for sharing your findings with others.
I've been working with the Mountain Axe myself and it is quite enjoyable.

David