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Andre Lignitzer/Keith Farrell D 2023
What follows are Master Andre Lignitzer’s lessons with the dagger.
Observe the 1st lesson with the dagger
If your opponent thrusts down at you from above to your face or chest, then go with your left arm from below, and catch the thrust with your left[1] arm, and grab with your left hand from the inside over their right arm, and take it[2] securely to your left side and thrust in with your own dagger to their face.
The 2nd lesson
If your opponent does the same as before[3] and thrusts to your face from above, doing a Feler[4] with the intention of stabbing you in the side, then catch the thrust with your left arm and turn with your left hand from below, out and over their right hand, and take it securely to your chest, and thrust with your own dagger into their face.
The 3rd lesson
If your opponent holds the dagger with the disc[5] by their thumb, and thrusts down from above or to your face, then go inward with your left hand from below their right arm and then outward over their right hand, and catch the hand with the dagger[6] in your left[7] armpit, and set upon them with your dagger however you like.
The 4th lesson
If your opponent holds the dagger with the disc by their thumb, and thrusts to your side or to your groin, then go with your left hand down from above and thrust with your own dagger under their right hand. Push downward with your left hand, and with your right hand lift upward and take it securely to your chest and turn yourself away from your opponent to his[8] right side.
The 5th lesson
If your opponent holds the dagger with the disc by their little finger, and thrusts down from above, then take your dagger and thrust likewise, down from above[9] against their thrust and from your left side[10] over their right hand. Then grab with your left hand under[11] your right hand, onto your dagger’s blade, and bring your arms together securely and pull quickly down or behind you.[12] This is the locking up.
The 6th lesson
If your opponent has drawn their dagger and you have not, and they thrust at you from above, then go with your right arm from below and grab with your right hand behind their right hand, and go with your left hand from below to their right elbow, take their balance,[13] and push the arm over your left arm and throw them like dice.[14]
The 7th lesson
If your opponent has drawn their dagger before you can draw yours, and thrusts at you from above, then catch the thrust with your left arm and go inward and then out over the right arm,[15] and take it to your left side and turn yourself away from your opponent to your right side, and thus you break their arm.
If you want to throw them on their back, then spring with your right leg to your left side and grab with your right hand under their right arm. Thus you throw them over the hip.
The 8th lesson
If your opponent has drawn their dagger before you can draw yours, then stand freely and make the Sperren.[16] If they thrust at you from above then work to take their balance.
- ↑ Specified in the Vienna, but not in the Rome or Krakow.
- ↑ The term in the Rome is druck, which might more usually be translated as “press”. However, when considering how we might express this kind of motion in English, “pressing it” to the outside doesn’t sound right. “Taking it” to the outside is a little more vague in terms of precisely how you might do that, but sounds more natural in modern English.
- ↑ Although the source doesn’t quite say this, it does say that the opponent “does the same”, and so to what is this in reference? I think it refers to the previous lesson, where the attacker made a thrust from above.
- ↑ Feler could be translated as “failer” or “failing action”, and seems to mean a feint or an attack that is intended to fail in order to set up another action.
- ↑ This is most likely a rondel guard between the blade and handle.
- ↑ The Rome and Krakow have “the hand and dagger”, while the Vienna has “the hand with the dagger”. Although both mean more or less the same thing, I think the instruction in the Vienna is a bit clearer.
- ↑ The Vienna has “right armpit”, while the Rome and Krakow both have “left armpit”. Since the action is done with your own left arm, trapping their arm in your left armpit makes most sense.
- ↑ Although the Rome, Vienna, and Krakow all say “his right side”, this doesn’t make as much sense when thinking about applying a joint lock. I wonder if it was supposed to be “your right side”, as this would make perfect sense for a joint lock.
- ↑ The Vienna has “from below” while the Rome and Krakow both say “from above”. I don’t think this is a problem though, because if the dagger is drawing a circle in order to get from the right out to the left below the attack, and then returning to the right over the attack, then “from below” just refers to an earlier point on that circle before the dagger comes high enough to come “from above” to the hand.
- ↑ The Vienna has “from your left side” while the Rome and Krakow do not. Again, this is not a problem, and the Vienna is probably just clarifying what side the action comes from.
- ↑ The Vienna has “over” while the Rome and Krakow have “under”. Again, it is not a problem, because both options let you establish your grip on your own blade.
- ↑ The Rome and Krakow have “behind you” while the Vienna has “downward”. Again, not a problem, because both are valid options to conclude the action.
- ↑ Gewicht can mean “weight”, but the instruction could by trying to convey the sense of breaking the person’s balance.
- ↑ The sources have “and throw two, one, or seven”, likely a reference to a dice-throwing game.
- ↑ Whose right arm? The Rome has “the right arm”, the Vienna has “his right arm”, and the Krakow has “your right arm”.
- ↑ Sperren could be translated as “barring”. We see it described as a technique by Meyer and Balthasaro Cramonio Pomerano, so maybe it has the sense here of using the arms outstretched to bar against the thrust so that you can then do something else?
