"And this very art is earnest and true as it is about moving straight and simple, to the nearest target, taking the most direct way." - Johannes Lichtenauer, 14th Century German Longsword Treatise.
I've gained a lot of insight into my practice of Wing Chun from studying Historical European Martial Arts -- particularly, from Johannes Liechtenauer's school (or lineage, if you will) of Longsword fencing. The principles, concepts, and methods found within are utterly identical to Wing Chun, and the methods presented in the early treatises are very sophisticated and pragmatic in their approach. So, my purpose here is to write a comparison and analysis introducing the subject, the similarities between the arts, and the insight we can (or at least I have) gaine(ed) from the medieval fight masters. It also serves, curiously, to as an interesting validation of the universal relevance of the principles and concepts that we seek to apply in the Wing Chun system.
So, to begin with, what is Longsword fencing, according to the Liechtenauer tradition? I will present many quotes and plays from the primary sources (the Dobringer text, and the treatises of Danzig and Ringeck), but I think a video showing a bit of the art is a good place to start, and provide a general impression. I recommend watching this at 480p at least, as it may be hard to see the blade work in the lower quality options. As you watch the video, I'd like you to take note of the direct, linear nature of the attacks, the use of centerline theory, the qualities of sticking, feeling, and working in the bind against strong and weak, the principles of simultaneous attack and defense, or countering "Indes" (simultaneously), the nature of deflections and how the point is generally kept on line, and when and how they leave the bind, or remain therein. The execution and interpretation of the practitioners may be critiqued in some places (I feel that some of the movements are needlessly wide), but I'd like you to focus on the general nature thereof, and also be aware that one of the two practitioners is sometimes intentionally exemplifying the "wrong" way, such that the other learns to counter:
Now, I'd like to introduce the actual texts, and pick out a number of passages and plays to examine. For reference, here are my sources, and the ones I recommend you look at if you'd like to take a look at the treatises themselves:
The Dobringer Text: This presents the system in the form of a poem, and is the earliest reference to Liechtenauer's system.
Ringeck's Treatise: This is a fight-book, containing a gloss of the poem, and indepth instruction and plays.
Danzig's Treatise: The same as Ringeck, and very similar in content.
I'm going to do a bit of cherry-picking now, and present from the Dobringer Text a gloss of a few the lines which I think Wing Chun practitioners can relate to. The reason I'm not presenting the whole thing, besides its length, is because a lot of it is specific advice that applies to actually learning to fence with the sword, and would require a lot of explaining:
Let's take a look at the second section of the poem:
[9] If you want to show art,
move left and strike with right,
[10] And strike left with right,
if you intend to fence strongly.
[11] He who moves after strikes
may not enjoy any art
[12] Strike at him as you like,
no Wechsler ["feinter"] will harm you.
[xi] Never strike to the sword,
always wait for the openings.
[13] to the head or to the body,
do not shun the Zeckrühr [small cuts, or harassing strikes].
[14] Fence with your whole body
if you want to fence strongly.
[...]
[17] Before, After, these two things
are the source of all art.
[18] Weak and Strong,
Indes["Simultaneously"/"In the same instant"] you must remember.
[19] So you will learn
to defend yourself with art and work.
[20] If you are frightened easily,
you will never understand fencing,
[...]
We can see already much advice similar to Wing Chun. In our terms, we are advised to strike to the man, and not chase his hands (that is to say, not to strike to his sword), nor to worry about feints, as by always delivering a direct attack within measure that threatens the opponent, we make contact first, or else cause him to defend.
Introduced also are the concepts of feeling or "sensitivity," that is to say strong and weak, hard and soft -- and also timing; "before," "after," and "simultaneously."
Here are a few supporting comments on from the original gloss of the text:
"...never strike to the sword but just work as if he does not have a weapon, or as if you don´t see it, and should not avoid Zeckrühr or taps, and permanently be in motion, work and contact, so the opponent may not come to strikes."
"Whatever one strikes or thrusts to his opponent, it will not be defended by any Durchwechsel (feint / change-through) or other techniques, if the strikes or thrusts are directed at the man and at the openings, to the head or to the body, with stepping around or other footwork."
"Also know and learn when he speaks: "Vor Nach [Before, After] those two.. etc" there he means the five words, Vor Nach Schwach Stark Indes [Before, After, Weak, Strong, Simultaneously] and within these words lies all art of Master Liechtenauer and these are the basic foundation and the core of all fencing on foot or mounted, with armour and without."
"Liechtenauer says "Strike and hurry to the man, rush in may it hit or miss". This means, as soon one approaches his adversary by stepping or running, one should instantly attack as soon as he is sure he could reach him with either a step or a jump. Then one must attack to his head or to his body, without any fear to the opening which he can hit best. So he should gain the Vorschlag, and it is not important, if it directly hurts the adversary or not. One must also be sure with the correct measure of his steps, so that he may not step too short or too long."
Comment: this, I believe, is a particularly important point when it comes to applying the aims and principles of our art. Many in Wing Chun, as well as in fencing, are too cautious in entering -- seeking some kind of "bridge" and hand contact with their opponent first. The bridge, or bind, however, occurs only when and if our attack, which is aimed at the opponent, is intercepted by our adversary, at which point "working at the blade," or in our case, chisao, comes into play. Thus, our mindset should be to hit the opponent, and take the line, whilst being aware of his hands, but not worrying too much about them.
The gloss continues:
"If you now hit with the Vorschlag [first strike], so instantly follow through with the hit. However, if he defends the Vorschlag so that he turns aside or leads off the attack, be it a strike or a thrust, away from the intended opening with his sword, you should now, with the swords still being in contact, feel or be aware whether he is soft or hard, weak or strong at the sword."
"Now feel how the adversary acts in his fencing, if he is strong or hard, in the very moment you realize this you should, while the adversary is still protecting himself, become soft and weak if he is strong and in the case of the adversary being weak, vice versa. To make sure that he cannot come to strikes, you should instantly execute the Nachschlag [afterblow, or next blow], that means that you attack again while the other is still protecting himself from the Vorschlag [first strike], be it with a strike or a thrust. So you can employ different techniques for hurrying or rushing towards his openings and thus you are permanently in motion and very close to him and this should make him so irritated and confused that he is only busy protecting himself and cannot come to his own strikes. If one has to defend himself or has to be aware of the strikes which are directed against him, he is in much greater danger than the one who strikes at him, because he either can defend or be hit. And this makes it very difficult for him to gain the opportunity for his own strikes. So Liechtenauer says: I tell you truthfully, no one defends without danger, if you understand this, he will not come to blows."
Comment: Notice the proactive approach that is taken. Too many, I think in Wing Chun, are concerned with controlling and defending. Attack, attack, attack. Even if one must defend, the defense should be an attack, or should be coupled with an attack, and one must continue to attack the nearest opening. Our goal is to shut down the opponent, and not let him come to blows.
"[...here we have some specific advice pertaining to specific techniques, which I will generally omit as they relate only to fencing...]"
"It may happen that one has to defend the adversary´s Vorschlag. So one would defend it by getting at his sword – and if he is a little slow or indecisive so he would want to stay at the sword and use the winden [essentially, chisao] and feel if the adversary wants to pull back from the bind or not.
If he moves off, now that you were just bound at the sword, and the points are facing against each other to the openings, the skilled fencer has followed directly with the point, before the adversary can recover from his pulling-off, thereby executing a good thrust to the chest or anywhere where you could hit him best. And this is the method that the opponent cannot leave the bind unharmed, because with this following one gets nearer by thrusting the point forward at the sword, following the principle of the nearest and shortest target."
Comment: Here we have introduced the principles and importance of lat-sao-jik-chung, or springy energy directed always at the opening, so that should the opponent retract his weapon or defense, be it an arm or a sword, our weapon immediately and without hesitation shoots in. This attribute is essential to applying Wing Chun, or in Liechtenauer's method of fencing against opponents who practice systems other than our own, and it is something that warrants far more practice than we give it; because so often, we train only with practitioners of our own style who do not leave the bridge or bind voluntarily or when it is unsafe to do so, and so as practitioners, we do not learn to capitalize on this mistake.
"And if the opponent tries to attack newly with long strikes or thrusts after pulling off, one may always gain the Nachschlag [next blow] or a thrust rather than with the first strike. Liechtenauer means this by the word "nach"; if one has struck the Vorschlag so he should move in and without break strike the Nachschlag (in the same movement) and thus he should be permanently in movement and in contact, constantly using one technique after the other. So, if the first one fails, the second, the third or the fourth my hit not letting the opponent come to strikes"
Comment: Here we have more advice on the nature of following up; we examine the situation where the opponent wishes to break off, step away, and gain distance, and we are advised always to keep the pressure on, and stay close, such that we do not allow the opponent to break away and reset.
"Now if it happens that the opponent does stay at the sword after he displaced, and now it comes that you also stay at the sword – not having done the Nachschlag[next blow] yet – so you shall wind [work in chisao] and stand at the sword, and you should note and feel if the adversary is weak or strong at the sword. And if you now feel that the opponent is strong, hard and rigid at the sword and only plans to press into you with his sword, you should become weak and soft and completely give up your strength against the opponent. And thus you should let go of the opponent´s sword, so it may whip and move off with the pressure. And now you can slide and pull off his sword quickly and then go for the opponents openings quickly and nimbly, to the head or to the body, with strikes, thrusts and cuts, wherever you may hit surest and most direct.
Because the harder the opponent presses with the sword, the more far his sword is flung aside when you suddenly become soft and let the sword slide off. So the opponent will be left open so that you can touch or hit as you wish before the opponent may recover and come to his own strike or thrust."
Comment: Here we are told how to react to strength, and given an example of where it is safe for us to leave the bind. In the context of Wing Chun, it can happen that we become all too used to sticking, but it's important to know when to stick no-longer; for we should stick only for so long as our opponent competes for the center, and his hands pose an immediate threat, but leave immediately if he pushes strongly outwards, inwards, or in any direction or way that is not a threat to us, lest we allow ourselves to be taken off center and abandon the centerline and the openings.
"If the opponent now is weak and soft at the sword and you feel and notice this, so you should be strong and hard at the sword and should rush in quickly forcefully at the sword, directly and frontal to the next best accessible opening. Just like as a string would be attached to the point which would pull and turn his point to the nearest opening, as to achieve the thrust.
Now if the opponent is strong and defends the thrust and displaces it by becoming strong at the sword, so that the opponent presses into the sword again, so again you should become weak and soft and let his sword slide off. And in this evading you should seek the openings quickly with strikes thrusts or cuts, as you wish. And this is what Liechtenauer means with the words "weich und hart" "soft and hard"."
Comment: Here we are told to become strong in response to weak. This is a good point which I think we often miss in Wing Chun, as, while we should generally remain soft and yielding, we should not give up a superior position and allow the opponent to take us out of it when we have the line and the leverage, unless he should do so in a manner that is very strong and directed out and away from us. I found in my own practice that I too often yielded to my partners when they tried fighting me from a bad position, and bad leverage, and one should note that, not only is this disadvantageous for one's self, it also robs our partner from having to solve the problem correctly.
Do note, however, that Liechtenauer clearly states that even when we become strong, our force is always directed towards the target, and towards the opening -- never at the opponents sword (or in our case, hands), as this would violate the principles of centerline theory and "lat sao jik chung."
"And this concept is from the auctoritas when Aristoteles says in the book Peyarmenias: "Oppositions shine more clearly if placed next to each other then directly opposing them (conflicting) Weak against strong, hard against weak and vice versa." If it should be only strong against strong, the stronger will always win. That is the reason why Liechtenauers fencing ist real and correct art, so that a weak man can win with his art and wits in the same manner a strong man can do with his strength and it would be no art otherwise."
Comment: Quoting Aristotle. Nice!
"Because of this fencing teaches the feeling well as Liechtenauer says: "Learn the feeling, Indes is a word that cuts" because if you are at the sword with someone, and you are now skilled at feeling whether your opponent is weak or strong at the sword, Indes or while you are in the bind, you may very well observe and plan what you should do against him."
Comment: The author begins to touch on the nature of "feeling," or what we refer to as chisao / sensitivity here. A particularly interesting note that appears, and is touched on more prevalently later, is that your response to what you feel must happen "Indes" - simultaneously. If your response is not simultaneous with the pressure you are being given, it is late, and while you may be able to divert the pressure, you will not have the time to enter into the offense before your opponent recovers and reorients himself.
From here, the text diverges and starts to cover specific techniques, footwork, and plays. And for that, we will transfer to Ringeck, as he has nice gloss covering these along with illustrations. But, I will save that for another post, as I'm pretty sure I'm at the character limit here.
I've gained a lot of insight into my practice of Wing Chun from studying Historical European Martial Arts -- particularly, from Johannes Liechtenauer's school (or lineage, if you will) of Longsword fencing. The principles, concepts, and methods found within are utterly identical to Wing Chun, and the methods presented in the early treatises are very sophisticated and pragmatic in their approach. So, my purpose here is to write a comparison and analysis introducing the subject, the similarities between the arts, and the insight we can (or at least I have) gaine(ed) from the medieval fight masters. It also serves, curiously, to as an interesting validation of the universal relevance of the principles and concepts that we seek to apply in the Wing Chun system.
So, to begin with, what is Longsword fencing, according to the Liechtenauer tradition? I will present many quotes and plays from the primary sources (the Dobringer text, and the treatises of Danzig and Ringeck), but I think a video showing a bit of the art is a good place to start, and provide a general impression. I recommend watching this at 480p at least, as it may be hard to see the blade work in the lower quality options. As you watch the video, I'd like you to take note of the direct, linear nature of the attacks, the use of centerline theory, the qualities of sticking, feeling, and working in the bind against strong and weak, the principles of simultaneous attack and defense, or countering "Indes" (simultaneously), the nature of deflections and how the point is generally kept on line, and when and how they leave the bind, or remain therein. The execution and interpretation of the practitioners may be critiqued in some places (I feel that some of the movements are needlessly wide), but I'd like you to focus on the general nature thereof, and also be aware that one of the two practitioners is sometimes intentionally exemplifying the "wrong" way, such that the other learns to counter:
Now, I'd like to introduce the actual texts, and pick out a number of passages and plays to examine. For reference, here are my sources, and the ones I recommend you look at if you'd like to take a look at the treatises themselves:
The Dobringer Text: This presents the system in the form of a poem, and is the earliest reference to Liechtenauer's system.
Ringeck's Treatise: This is a fight-book, containing a gloss of the poem, and indepth instruction and plays.
Danzig's Treatise: The same as Ringeck, and very similar in content.
I'm going to do a bit of cherry-picking now, and present from the Dobringer Text a gloss of a few the lines which I think Wing Chun practitioners can relate to. The reason I'm not presenting the whole thing, besides its length, is because a lot of it is specific advice that applies to actually learning to fence with the sword, and would require a lot of explaining:
Let's take a look at the second section of the poem:
[9] If you want to show art,
move left and strike with right,
[10] And strike left with right,
if you intend to fence strongly.
[11] He who moves after strikes
may not enjoy any art
[12] Strike at him as you like,
no Wechsler ["feinter"] will harm you.
[xi] Never strike to the sword,
always wait for the openings.
[13] to the head or to the body,
do not shun the Zeckrühr [small cuts, or harassing strikes].
[14] Fence with your whole body
if you want to fence strongly.
[...]
[17] Before, After, these two things
are the source of all art.
[18] Weak and Strong,
Indes["Simultaneously"/"In the same instant"] you must remember.
[19] So you will learn
to defend yourself with art and work.
[20] If you are frightened easily,
you will never understand fencing,
[...]
We can see already much advice similar to Wing Chun. In our terms, we are advised to strike to the man, and not chase his hands (that is to say, not to strike to his sword), nor to worry about feints, as by always delivering a direct attack within measure that threatens the opponent, we make contact first, or else cause him to defend.
Introduced also are the concepts of feeling or "sensitivity," that is to say strong and weak, hard and soft -- and also timing; "before," "after," and "simultaneously."
Here are a few supporting comments on from the original gloss of the text:
"...never strike to the sword but just work as if he does not have a weapon, or as if you don´t see it, and should not avoid Zeckrühr or taps, and permanently be in motion, work and contact, so the opponent may not come to strikes."
"Whatever one strikes or thrusts to his opponent, it will not be defended by any Durchwechsel (feint / change-through) or other techniques, if the strikes or thrusts are directed at the man and at the openings, to the head or to the body, with stepping around or other footwork."
"Also know and learn when he speaks: "Vor Nach [Before, After] those two.. etc" there he means the five words, Vor Nach Schwach Stark Indes [Before, After, Weak, Strong, Simultaneously] and within these words lies all art of Master Liechtenauer and these are the basic foundation and the core of all fencing on foot or mounted, with armour and without."
"Liechtenauer says "Strike and hurry to the man, rush in may it hit or miss". This means, as soon one approaches his adversary by stepping or running, one should instantly attack as soon as he is sure he could reach him with either a step or a jump. Then one must attack to his head or to his body, without any fear to the opening which he can hit best. So he should gain the Vorschlag, and it is not important, if it directly hurts the adversary or not. One must also be sure with the correct measure of his steps, so that he may not step too short or too long."
Comment: this, I believe, is a particularly important point when it comes to applying the aims and principles of our art. Many in Wing Chun, as well as in fencing, are too cautious in entering -- seeking some kind of "bridge" and hand contact with their opponent first. The bridge, or bind, however, occurs only when and if our attack, which is aimed at the opponent, is intercepted by our adversary, at which point "working at the blade," or in our case, chisao, comes into play. Thus, our mindset should be to hit the opponent, and take the line, whilst being aware of his hands, but not worrying too much about them.
The gloss continues:
"If you now hit with the Vorschlag [first strike], so instantly follow through with the hit. However, if he defends the Vorschlag so that he turns aside or leads off the attack, be it a strike or a thrust, away from the intended opening with his sword, you should now, with the swords still being in contact, feel or be aware whether he is soft or hard, weak or strong at the sword."
"Now feel how the adversary acts in his fencing, if he is strong or hard, in the very moment you realize this you should, while the adversary is still protecting himself, become soft and weak if he is strong and in the case of the adversary being weak, vice versa. To make sure that he cannot come to strikes, you should instantly execute the Nachschlag [afterblow, or next blow], that means that you attack again while the other is still protecting himself from the Vorschlag [first strike], be it with a strike or a thrust. So you can employ different techniques for hurrying or rushing towards his openings and thus you are permanently in motion and very close to him and this should make him so irritated and confused that he is only busy protecting himself and cannot come to his own strikes. If one has to defend himself or has to be aware of the strikes which are directed against him, he is in much greater danger than the one who strikes at him, because he either can defend or be hit. And this makes it very difficult for him to gain the opportunity for his own strikes. So Liechtenauer says: I tell you truthfully, no one defends without danger, if you understand this, he will not come to blows."
Comment: Notice the proactive approach that is taken. Too many, I think in Wing Chun, are concerned with controlling and defending. Attack, attack, attack. Even if one must defend, the defense should be an attack, or should be coupled with an attack, and one must continue to attack the nearest opening. Our goal is to shut down the opponent, and not let him come to blows.
"[...here we have some specific advice pertaining to specific techniques, which I will generally omit as they relate only to fencing...]"
"It may happen that one has to defend the adversary´s Vorschlag. So one would defend it by getting at his sword – and if he is a little slow or indecisive so he would want to stay at the sword and use the winden [essentially, chisao] and feel if the adversary wants to pull back from the bind or not.
If he moves off, now that you were just bound at the sword, and the points are facing against each other to the openings, the skilled fencer has followed directly with the point, before the adversary can recover from his pulling-off, thereby executing a good thrust to the chest or anywhere where you could hit him best. And this is the method that the opponent cannot leave the bind unharmed, because with this following one gets nearer by thrusting the point forward at the sword, following the principle of the nearest and shortest target."
Comment: Here we have introduced the principles and importance of lat-sao-jik-chung, or springy energy directed always at the opening, so that should the opponent retract his weapon or defense, be it an arm or a sword, our weapon immediately and without hesitation shoots in. This attribute is essential to applying Wing Chun, or in Liechtenauer's method of fencing against opponents who practice systems other than our own, and it is something that warrants far more practice than we give it; because so often, we train only with practitioners of our own style who do not leave the bridge or bind voluntarily or when it is unsafe to do so, and so as practitioners, we do not learn to capitalize on this mistake.
"And if the opponent tries to attack newly with long strikes or thrusts after pulling off, one may always gain the Nachschlag [next blow] or a thrust rather than with the first strike. Liechtenauer means this by the word "nach"; if one has struck the Vorschlag so he should move in and without break strike the Nachschlag (in the same movement) and thus he should be permanently in movement and in contact, constantly using one technique after the other. So, if the first one fails, the second, the third or the fourth my hit not letting the opponent come to strikes"
Comment: Here we have more advice on the nature of following up; we examine the situation where the opponent wishes to break off, step away, and gain distance, and we are advised always to keep the pressure on, and stay close, such that we do not allow the opponent to break away and reset.
"Now if it happens that the opponent does stay at the sword after he displaced, and now it comes that you also stay at the sword – not having done the Nachschlag[next blow] yet – so you shall wind [work in chisao] and stand at the sword, and you should note and feel if the adversary is weak or strong at the sword. And if you now feel that the opponent is strong, hard and rigid at the sword and only plans to press into you with his sword, you should become weak and soft and completely give up your strength against the opponent. And thus you should let go of the opponent´s sword, so it may whip and move off with the pressure. And now you can slide and pull off his sword quickly and then go for the opponents openings quickly and nimbly, to the head or to the body, with strikes, thrusts and cuts, wherever you may hit surest and most direct.
Because the harder the opponent presses with the sword, the more far his sword is flung aside when you suddenly become soft and let the sword slide off. So the opponent will be left open so that you can touch or hit as you wish before the opponent may recover and come to his own strike or thrust."
Comment: Here we are told how to react to strength, and given an example of where it is safe for us to leave the bind. In the context of Wing Chun, it can happen that we become all too used to sticking, but it's important to know when to stick no-longer; for we should stick only for so long as our opponent competes for the center, and his hands pose an immediate threat, but leave immediately if he pushes strongly outwards, inwards, or in any direction or way that is not a threat to us, lest we allow ourselves to be taken off center and abandon the centerline and the openings.
"If the opponent now is weak and soft at the sword and you feel and notice this, so you should be strong and hard at the sword and should rush in quickly forcefully at the sword, directly and frontal to the next best accessible opening. Just like as a string would be attached to the point which would pull and turn his point to the nearest opening, as to achieve the thrust.
Now if the opponent is strong and defends the thrust and displaces it by becoming strong at the sword, so that the opponent presses into the sword again, so again you should become weak and soft and let his sword slide off. And in this evading you should seek the openings quickly with strikes thrusts or cuts, as you wish. And this is what Liechtenauer means with the words "weich und hart" "soft and hard"."
Comment: Here we are told to become strong in response to weak. This is a good point which I think we often miss in Wing Chun, as, while we should generally remain soft and yielding, we should not give up a superior position and allow the opponent to take us out of it when we have the line and the leverage, unless he should do so in a manner that is very strong and directed out and away from us. I found in my own practice that I too often yielded to my partners when they tried fighting me from a bad position, and bad leverage, and one should note that, not only is this disadvantageous for one's self, it also robs our partner from having to solve the problem correctly.
Do note, however, that Liechtenauer clearly states that even when we become strong, our force is always directed towards the target, and towards the opening -- never at the opponents sword (or in our case, hands), as this would violate the principles of centerline theory and "lat sao jik chung."
"And this concept is from the auctoritas when Aristoteles says in the book Peyarmenias: "Oppositions shine more clearly if placed next to each other then directly opposing them (conflicting) Weak against strong, hard against weak and vice versa." If it should be only strong against strong, the stronger will always win. That is the reason why Liechtenauers fencing ist real and correct art, so that a weak man can win with his art and wits in the same manner a strong man can do with his strength and it would be no art otherwise."
Comment: Quoting Aristotle. Nice!
"Because of this fencing teaches the feeling well as Liechtenauer says: "Learn the feeling, Indes is a word that cuts" because if you are at the sword with someone, and you are now skilled at feeling whether your opponent is weak or strong at the sword, Indes or while you are in the bind, you may very well observe and plan what you should do against him."
Comment: The author begins to touch on the nature of "feeling," or what we refer to as chisao / sensitivity here. A particularly interesting note that appears, and is touched on more prevalently later, is that your response to what you feel must happen "Indes" - simultaneously. If your response is not simultaneous with the pressure you are being given, it is late, and while you may be able to divert the pressure, you will not have the time to enter into the offense before your opponent recovers and reorients himself.
From here, the text diverges and starts to cover specific techniques, footwork, and plays. And for that, we will transfer to Ringeck, as he has nice gloss covering these along with illustrations. But, I will save that for another post, as I'm pretty sure I'm at the character limit here.
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