Berlin Buckler Bouts, Posture, Courses & Excursions

Hello fellow buckler fighters, researchers, and enthusiasts,

Last weekend marked the 23rd Berlin Buckler Bouts, with participants joining us from Canada, the US, Poland, and Germany. As usual, I particularly enjoyed the Sunday session, when I could focus on addressing issues in my fencing that had become apparent during Saturday’s bouts—a sentiment I shared with many other participants.

I concentrated especially on my posture and maintaining a low stance, as seen in numerous manuscript depictions of buckler fighters. In this respect, Ewan Ferguson from Vancouver was my role model of the day. With incredible ease, he adopted and fenced in a remarkably low posture—and I noticed more than once that other fencers made a clear effort to follow his example.

I firmly believe that our general form should more closely resemble what Ewan—or Franziska, one of Cornelius’ students—demonstrate. This is not simply an aesthetic ideal. Posture is fundamental to martial arts, and I believe modern buckler fencers should pay far greater attention to it. The absence of hallmark techniques such as shield strikes in today’s sparring is, at least in part, due to a stance that tends to be far too upright.

I completely understand that keeping up with Franziska and Ewan is physically demanding. But it’s ultimately just a matter of training and discipline. For the love of the art, we must make the effort if we hope to see meaningful progress.

Cornelius and I have already outlined and explained the appropriate footwork and tactical approach in our first online course. In celebration of BBB 23, we’re offering it now with a 23% discount, valid until next Sunday. Course 2 on Schutzen is also included in this special offer.

A Discovery at the Armoury

During sword studies in the arms collection of the German Historical Museum, just before BBB 23, my fellow swordsman Marc Heimann made an exciting discovery. While examining a beautiful early 16th-century longsword—one of my personal favourites—he noticed traces of unique blade engravings that had previously gone unnoticed.

To my knowledge, these engravings have never been recorded in the specialist literature. Excellent discovery, Marc! This is a perfect reminder of the importance of careful, hands-on study of original artefacts.

Special thanks to all my patrons for supporting this work. I share more detail with you here.

14th-Century Style Scabbard Completed

I’ve just completed my latest scabbard project by attaching the sword belt. The strap arrangement is based on the tomb of Rudolf von Hohenberg.

I’ll soon share photos and an explanation of how I made and attached the belt. In the meantime, you can find a link list of previous posts on the making of this scabbard here.

The Sword and Scabbard of Henry the Lion

Two weeks ago, I travelled to Braunschweig, where I teamed up with Andreas Müller to examine the sword and scabbard on the monumental effigy of Henry the Lion. We took measurements and documented the sculpture through photos, sketches, and video. As always, I’ll be sharing this material with you soon.

In the meantime, here’s a video that premiered on my Patreon—enjoy!

So, that's it for today. Take care, and keep your blade well-honed.

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Improve your skills with our sword-and-buckler online courses. Use the coupon code BBB23 to get a 23% discount. Offer ends Sunday night.

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Yours,

Roland

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