Lew/Per Magnus Haaland MF 2019

Here follow some really useful instructions for mounted combat

When you clash with your opponent to thrust him in the chest on his right side.

Turn the horse and grab hold of his right hand with your left.

Make sure as soon as your saddles join together, you take his sword.

Thrust with the point above quickly, change through or parry the opponent's thrust.

Strike, move the sword over the opponent's arm and parry his thrusts or strikes.

Hold the opponent hard with both hands.

Charge at your opponent with full force with thrusts and strikes.

Twist the opponent's right hand, and put your sword-point into his face.

If he removes your thrust, you grab hold of his right hand with your left.

Aim at where the arms are bare by his gauntlets

Charge at the opponent with full force, and pull his hand from the reins and take his sword.

Against all kinds of weapons, learn two techniques with empty hands.

If you grab his visor and his eyes, all your opponent's wrestling will be for nothing.

As soon as you get close to your opponent, you twist his head with crossed arms.

When riding away from your opponent, you parry with half sword or by the point.

When attacking the opponent on the left side you turn in the pommel in his face.

Attack a stronger opponent on the right/Germ. Attack to the right with your techniques.

Put the point into the opponent's face.

Resist forcefully all your opponent's attacks.

In every battle, use your force at the beginning of the attack.

Keep a close eye on the opponent's lance at the attack.

The nameless grip, is when you move the hand into the opponent's visor.

If he attacks you from both sides, turn the horse to the left, so that you end up on his right side.

If space is given for it by your opponent, you turn the horse.

Remember well to disarm and hold on to your opponent's sword.

Move the arm over the opponent if someone attacks you, and fight him hard.

1	If you drop the lance,  the attack will do you more harm than good.

Explanation

This means above all, that when you see your opponent charging at you with his lance, to be able to deflect his thrust and hit with your own. There are four positions or guards you shall use, of these there are three at the full length of the lance and one in the middle.

First position is done thus:

strech out the lance as far as you can under the arm with the point straight toward the opponent's face.

Second is this:

hold the lance as before, but pretend that it is too heavy, and lower it down on your left side and keep it over the horse's neck.

The third is this:

Hold the middle of the lance with both hands across the saddle.

The fourth goes from the middle of the lance. Do as follows: stretch out the lance as far as you can and shoot the point into the face of the opponent.

You can also hold the lance with both hands on the middle, and hold it in front of you as with the whole.

Above mentioned positions are to be done manly and with full force, and here below you learn them.

Figure

The 20th figure teaches that you must quickly use force in the beginning of all fights.

Know you shall learn what techniques that come from the four positions and how to perform them.

When riding to attack in first position, stretching out the lance far against him as if you were to thrust the opponent in the face, you lower the front end of the lance and change through under the opponent's lance to his right side and move it to your right, and your own will hit him.

Another figure

This is what the first figure shows: aim for the opponent's chest on his right side.

When you turn down the lance under the opponent's, you insert the reins into the lower armour hook, and grab the lance with the left to support your right and thrust the point at him.

Figure

The sixth figure teaches that you shall hold the opponent with both hands with all your might.

Second guard

Lower the lance point down on your left side and then you strike up the lance on the opponent's right side let go of the reins as described before and grab hold of your lance with the left hand to support your right.

A technique out of the third guard

When holding the lance in the middle with both hands in the clash, you remove his lance with the front end of your lance and put the point into him.

A technique out of the fourth guard

If you are holding the lance in the middle, and your opponent is holding it in its full lenght in the clash, you drop the reins with your left hand and deflect his lance with it, and then you continue forward and put the lance-point on him.

Figure

The twelfth show how to parry all kinds of weapons in two ways.

Hold the lance in half lance position in the middle of the lance with both hands, in the same way as in full length guard and parry the opponent's attack.

Instruction on what to do if both your lances miss

If you both miss with your lances, and you want to win, you drop the lance as fast as you can, and ride in on the opponent's right side but do not draw sword nor dagger. Turn the horse and make sure to ride in with your left side to his right and pay attention to his right hand.

Then, when you are beside your opponent and he has drawn his sword and is about to strike you, you grab hold with your left hand in his elbow and push up and lift his right leg with your left foot, and he will fall down.

If you do not want to throw the opponent, you grab hold if his elbow with the left hand and with the right onto his pommel, and pull it to you as you push his elbow away from you with the left hand, and you will twist the sword out of the opponent's hand.

Figure

The third figure shows what to do to your opponent when your saddles join, and how you take his sword.

Or show him the sun, i.e. wring his neck.

Or, if the opponent reaches in with his right hand under your reins to take them, how you lock down his hand with the reins.

If the opponent reaches at your chest or neck, then grab hold with your right arm in his right hand and use the nameless grip, and if you then turn your horse away from him, he will fall to the ground.

If you grab the opponent's right hand with your right, you can take his weight with your left hand on his elbow and even use the nameless grip if you wish.

These techniques are to be used if you ride in on your opponent's right side.

How to show the sun to the opponent

If you cannot enter on the opponent's left side when you both missed with your lances, then enter on his right side and throw him to the ground by wringing his neck.

If he tries to draw his sword you reach in with your right arm under his right and press it to you. Then, if you turn the horse away from him, he will fall.

If he has drawn his sword and is about to strike you, use the ”hidden grip”, and when you don that you break his right arm over your right with your left hand.

If you have grabbed hold of your opponent's right hand with your left, then press it to your chest, and turn the horse around, and the opponent will fall.

Second figure shows how to turn the horse and grab hold of the opponent's right hand with your left.

If you have taken hold of your opponent's hand as before, then lay down with your chest and all your weight on his arm with all your might. If you continue riding forward, the opponent will fall backwards.

If he raises his arms in the air, whether he has drawn his sword or not, grab hold of his elbow with your right hand and lift up as you lift up his left foot with your foot, and he will fall.

Disarm

If your opponent has drawn his sword, then grab hold with your left hand in his right elbow and with your right on his hilt by the pommel. Hit his elbow with the left hand as you pull the sword to you with the right, and you will take the sword from him.

Figure

The eleventh figure teaches to press yourself against him hard, drop the reins and take his sword.

How to use the lance

First of all make sure to use the lance with caution and modesty, and not to charge in at full speed, for he who rides in with full force cannot perform any good techniques or gain any advantage.

If you ride at a modest pace you can use these here techniques however you like.

Figure

The twenty first technique teaches that you shall ride at modest pace if someone comes toward you.

Be careful with the lance, sword or grappling, and above all beware of being late, which you will learn about in the following devices.

Here end the techniques for the four guards with the lance.

Now begins the instruction on the four guards with the sword, and where horsemen use these.

First guard

Hold the middle of the sword over your left hand by the reins.

Second

Hold the sword by the right leg with the point up toward the opponent.

Third

Hold the sword with the pommel on the saddle bow, and the point toward the opponent, as before.

Fourth

Hold the sword uplifted on your right side with the thumb underneath on the hilt and the point toward the opponent's face.

Here below you will learn the techniques from said guards.

These techniques here below come from the first guard.

When you both, however which way it may be, have dropped your lances, and both have drawn swords, then do as follows:

Ride in on his right side and hold your sword resting over your left hand, and when your opponent then strikes at you from above, you raise the sword and parry with the long edge on the strong if the sword, that is the part of the blade between the middle and the hilt. Then you turn the point to your right of your opponent and thrust him in the neck. If the opponent lifts his sword to parry your thrust, you cut his reins or left hand and ride away from him.

The leg grip

If you cannot cut off his reins or hand, then instead grab hold of his leg when you ride past him.

Figure

Seventh figure teaches how to hold the opponent down and strike or thrust him.

If you have parried the opponent's strike as before, and do not wish to use the previous techniques, then turn the pommel in on the inside of his hand just by the hilt and press it to your chest as hard as you can. Then you ride forward, and you will twist the sword out of his hand. Use these techniques from the upper guard on the right side.

Here you will learn some excellent techniques you can attack the opponent with

8	Parry all the opponent's attacks as hard as you can,  and when you hurry away from him
9	you use pinning techniques  against him.

Here you shall pay close attention to how to press onto your opponent, so that you get the upper hand. But you must use force, and hold the sword hard, and in this way you will force him to open up, which the fifth figure so beautifully shows.

Figure

The fifth figure teaches that in every first clash you must be strong, and always keep the point of your lance or sword aimed toward the opponent.

If you resist hard in the first clash, you will immediately feel if he is holding his sword hard or loose.

How to turn the horse around

Strike from above with full force to the opponent's head, and if he then parries but holds his sword loose, then pin him with the point, and if he removes your strike to the left you turn up the pommel and put it on his neck. If you then ride on or turn your horse around, you will force him to fall.

If he lifts his sword to parry your strike, you use gripping techniques against his right arm.

If he parries your strike, you use a sun gaze against him, or lay the sword over his chin.

A throw

Strike as before from above to the opponent's head. If he parries by raising his sword, you move the hilt in under his armpit, put the right foot under his tunic, and push away with the pommel, and lift up with the right foot, and he will fall to the ground.

Defence

If the opponent parries your strike above with a thwart strike, then you lift up the right hand over his sword and shoot the point in his face or chest, and pin him thus.

If he parries across against your strike, you raise your right hand and move the sword under his right arm, so that you may grab it with your right arm, then you ride forward, and you will twist the sword off of the opponent. This is what the fourth figure teaches.

Following techniques you shall execute from the side guard by the right leg.

When riding against your opponent, you shoot in the point with straight arms into his face or chest, and thus he has to parry your attack.

How to raise the sword point

If the opponent parries your thrust and removes it on his left side, you raise the right arm and thrust him in the face.

Should he parry your thrust by lifting the arm, you ride as close as you can and move the left hand onto the inside of his right arm and twist it so that you have it captured. Then you can draw your sword or dagger, and pursue his opening or back. Furthermore, you can pull the bridle off the opponent's horse with the right hand and get the upper hand that way, and the opponent's horse stands without bridle.

If the opponent's horse has been spoiled of his bridle, you may easily pursue his openings wherever you find them.

This is how you use this technique, and if he is wearing armour you must quickly take heed of what body-parts that are open that you can aim for.

What openings to pursue

The first of the openings are under both armpits,

the other in the gauntlet

and the third in the wrist and in the face on the opponent.

Above mentioned openings you shall attack with the sword point, since you cannot do anything with strikes or cuts with the edge or pommel against an armoured opponent, as the tenth figure teaches.

Here follow techniques out of the saddlebow guard

If you ride toward your opponent, and he tries to strike at you on your right side, then you raise the sword from the saddlebow, and turn it up over your head so that the thumb lies underneath on your left side, and thus you parry the opponent's strike with the pommel. Then you make sure to thrust him in the left side of his face.

The Turkish strike

If the opponent removes your thrust to his left, you ride forward and strike with the long edge in the back of his neck from behind with full force. This is called the Turkish strike.

A disarm

If the opponent removes your thrust to the left, and you do not want to use the Turkish strike, you ride past him and move the pommel over his right hand. Then you push him with the hilt before you, and then you grab hold of his pommel and ride on, and you will twist the sword out of his hand.

But if the opponent makes a strike from above his left shoulder, you raise the sword you the right against his strike, and cut him in the right side of his face.

If someone were to ride toward you with a lance, you must make sure above all, that from whatever direction he is coming from, you turn the sword well against his thrust, strike away the lance and quickly thereafter thrust him in the face or wherever you may hurt him.

Figure

The eighth figure teaches that you shall use the right hand and shoot in the right point in his face, that is, you shall always turn the sword out of guard against the opponent's neck or sword, and quickly thrust the opponent wherever he is open.

When you then thrust at the opponent's opening and he removes your thrust and rides close to you, then grab hold with the left hand in his right and use the grappling techniques mentioned before, and described here below.

Figure

The ninth figure teaches that if someone parries your thrust, you grab hold with your left hand in his right.

This is called half sword guard

If you are holding the sword over the left hand by the reins, then grab the sword with the middle of the blade with the left hand and hold of the sword before you thus.

How to use the lance

If someone charges at you on your right side with his lance you strike it from your left hand with your sword and then you put the sword in the armpit and thrust with the point into the opponent.

If someone charges at your left side with the lance, then raise the sword up high with the pommel and let the point hang down on your left side, and parry the opponent's attack thus, and then you thrust the point into the opponent.

Regarding the strikes

If you assume guard and the opponent is about to strike from above at you, you raise the sword and parry between both hands, direct the point toward his face and thrust.

You may also parry his attack in half sword, as well as all thrusts be they with lance or sword by putting the left hand on the sword to support the right if need be, and the situation demands it, in the same way as you have learnt to do with the lance, as the sixth figure shows.

Two techniques you shall learn against all weapons, lance or sword, and learn to put the empty hand on the weapon.

A hidden technique

This technique is excellent in mounted combat and it's a secret one, and is done from the left hand. Therefore you must be careful to know where you lay your reins so that you get your left hand free, but still can steer the horse with the reins, and this is called to work with free hand,

since you should hold sword or lance with the right hand, as the twelfth figure teaches about the free hand against all sorts of weapons.

What techniques you should use with the free hand with sword and grappling you will find described in the commentary.

15	The crest grip weakens all grappling coming in front of you.

This is a very useful technique in mounted combat, and is called thus so that not everyone may understand it.

The reason for this name is because you call the opponent's right arm "the crest". Accordingly, you should always grab hold of this when grappling mounted, since the left hand is holding the reins, and cannot harm you as easily.

A crest grip technique

If you want to grapple with your opponent, then ride up on his right side, and grab him. If he grabs hold of you, then grab hold of his right wrist with your left hand, and pull it forward before you, and press it down and hold it down over your saddlebow. Then if you ride forward, the opponent must fall. Again, you should know that this technique counters many kinds grappling technique that comes in front of you. This is what the thirteenth figure teaches,

that the crest grip renders all grappling in front to naught.

You may also use this technique when riding in on the opponent's left side, if he wants to defend himself with the left land.

How to defend yourself against someone who reaches around your neck with the right arm

This technique is rather simple. If someone rides in on your right side, and reaches with his right arm around your neck, you use the following technique. Take a firm grip in the back of his tunic and quickly sink down to the left, and pretend to fall off the horse, and pull your opponent to you. If you were to sink down to low, so that you fear you will fall down as well, if you then just hold as hard as you can in the opponent, he will adjust you back into the saddle with his own fall.

19	Ride in close on the opponent  on both sides

If you are about to attack your opponent or grapple, then ride as close as you can on him. Some courtiers show their techniques while riding toward their opponent, performing techniques not suitable for mounted combat. You on the other hand, when riding toward your opponent, shall remain still and get ahead of him, so that he cannot perform any techniques against you.

You shall also know this: when you ride in on your opponent's right side, you shall use the techniques suitable for the right side, and when riding in on his left side, those techniques suitable for that side. If you do this, your opponent is not able to do any techniques against you, since you get ahead of him.

What to do when approaching the opponent's left side

When riding in on his left side, you shall hold your lance or sword hard, and keep close attention to if you can thrust him and then you shall press onto him in the same way you do on the right side, this way the opponent is forced to used the techniques belonging to the left side, which are those that you can only do on the left side, but not on the right.

Figure

The nineteenth figure shows that you shall parry all attacks and be strong in all clashes.

How to twist the sword off of the opponent

If you ride in toward your opponent with a strike from above, and you ride in on his left side you shall thrust with outstretched arms against his opening. If he strikes at the same time as you, and resists hard, and turns out to be stronger than you, and is about to thrust at your opening with the point, then move your left arm from the inside over the outside of his sword, and press him to your left side. Then you ride past him, and you will twist the sword out of his hands, which is what the sixteenth figure teaches, that you shall parry outside of arm's reach.

If you were to ride in so close to opponent as you can, then grab hold with the left hand in his right, and you will stop him from drawing his sword, and you can do the techniques belonging to the right hand, that are described before and hereafter.

What to do if you ride in on the left side of the opponent and you ride too far so that you cannot perform the above mentioned techniques.

Never let the horse go far away from the opponent, but turn it to the left so that your left side ends up on his right, and then you may use all the techniques and grappling belonging to the right side, as described here above.

Figure

The seventeenth figure shows that you shall only use the right hand to do all techniques that are the best.

What to do if your horse is so unruly that you are forced in on the opponent's left side, but also due to the opponent's strength.

If this were to happen, draw the sword and assume guard with the left hand.

If he is about to strike at you from above, you raise the sword and parry with the long edge, and when you then ride close to your opponent with your parry, you reach with your left arm over the opponent's right hand and twist it as hard as you can to his left side, and strike him with the pommel wherever you want.

Figure

The sixteenth figure teaches that if you ride to the left of the opponent you take his sword and strike its pommel in his face.

How to catch the opponent's right hand with the reins

You may also with the left hand grab hold of his right with the reins and ride away.

Parry the strike from above out of guard as before and ride past him, and strike a free strike above as hard as you can in the head of the opponent.

If the opponent charges at you in guard with lance, then lift up the pommel as high as you can with the right hand and lower the point to your left, and you will parry the lance thrust, and strike him in the head or thrust him with the sword point.

If you ride in on the left side of the opponent and he is about to strike at you, you shall use the sungaze, and he can do no more.

You may also use the crest grip if the opponent tries to defend himself with the left hand.

Furthermore, should he ride in with his left side on your right, and try to throw you with a sungaze, and it turns out that he is stronger than you, then reach with your right arm inside of the opponent's left. If he were to be weaker, you reach with it over on the outside of his left arm. Then, if you use the left hand to support your right, and press backwards with full force, but he then removes his arm, you grab hold of it with the left hand and reach over it hard with your right hand. If you then ride away, the opponent will fall.

Also, if the opponent puts his left elbow over your right arm, you shall grab hold with your left hand in his left and use the nameless grip.

What to do if the opponent rides in on your right side, trying to get the upper hand.

Take good note that if the opponent rides in on your right side when you ride together, and he then tries to get the upper hand over you, then you can stop him by doing this, and always make sure that you join with your left side on the opponent's right and above all make sure that you get close to him and grab hold of his right arm to grapple, and hold him down with techniques shown above and below.

How to get ahead of the opponent

If it were to happen that you are pressed away and forced to flee, and someone then were to pursue you from behind on your right side with lance or sword, and is about to attack you, you turn to your left away from his thrust toward the opponent again, and turn up your sword against his sword or lance so that the thumb is underneath, and thrust him from there.

If the opponent were to ride in on your left side, you turn to your right and use the sword as mentioned before.

Figure

The twenty third figure teaches that if someone pursues you on either side, you shall turn to the left so he ends up on your right side.

In pursuit you must be quick, however, turning quickly in the saddle, and make thrusts backwards on both sides.

Take notice on what way you may wring the sword from the opponent, as you are holding him down, so that he cannot do anything against you.

Ride in on the right side, and attack the opponent's openings wherever you see them with strikes and thrusts, and if it were to happen that the opponent parries and gets in close to you, you pull forward his right arm just by the wrist, with your left hand turned and hold it firmly to you, and press his hilt to the outside of his left arm, and he will be forced to drop his sword. If you hold his arm as described above, you may also strike him with the sword or throw him with the crest grip however you wish, and take his reins.

Figure

Twenty fifth figure shows how to pull the sword from the opponent and hold him down.

A little notice

If you ride in on someone stronger than you, you shall hold him in such a way that he can use his weapons, if you ride in with your left side in his right.

The nameless grip

When you close in on the opponent's left side, and he has pulled his sword or military dagger, and is about to strike or thrust at you, then grab hold of his right arm by the wrist, and twist it around, and press it to your chest, and weigh down with your body, that way you will break his arm. This is called the nameless grip.

A disarm

If you do not want to break his arm when holding it to your chest, you put the right hand on his right elbow and press it away from you. Then you grab his sword with your right hand either by the pommel or hilt, and thus you will pull the sword out of his hands, which is what the twenty third figure says.

Exhortation, that if you want to grab hold around the opponent you must ride close. This you must do on whatever side you close on your in on your opponent.

Sungaze

Do as follows: ride close with your right side onto the opponent's right, and get as close as you can, and reach with the left hand from behind around his left arm and pull it to you as hard as you can. Then you grab hold with the right hand under his chin and push up as hard to his left. Thus you will show him the sun, and throw him off the saddle.

Fourteenth figure shows that you in close range shall catch the opponent's hand twist the forehead the the back of his neck.

This grappling technique is called the sungaze by fencing masters, so that not just anyone would know what it is, and is also called a hidden grip.

When you ride in with the left side into the opponent's right, then grab hold of him as described and throw him behind you on your left side.

Defence against the above

There are many counters to this technique that are well suited both against stronger and weaker fighters.

If someone stronger is riding in with his right side into your right, and wants to throw you with a sungaze, and accordingly has put his right hand on your chin, you move the right arm over the opponent's and move it to your chest as hard as you can. Then you weigh down over it with with the body. If you then ride forward you will throw him to the ground.

If he were to ride in with his left side in your right, and grabs your left arm with his left hand, you turn toward him and quickly lift up the right arm on the inside. Then you remove his arm with the stronger part of your arm move it over the opponent's arm and ride away.

If the opponent is weaker, and rides in with his left side in your right, and tries to grab hold with his left hand in your left, you lift it up behind you, and grab hold of his. Then you lift the arm quickly, and press his arm firmly to the back of the neck and ride forward.

This technique is called hidden, and is one of the best, and not entirely dissimilar to, although not as good as the crest grip, since you can hold your opponent down whether he is strong or weak as long as you like, and lock him so that he cannot do anything against you until you let go, as long as you have taken hold of him in the right way.

If you want to do this, which lazy and over confident masters do, who show all their techniques and plays they know for everyone and all just for show, you will win the praise of the real and experienced masters of combat arts.

If you want everyone to see this grappling technique you do as follows: ride in with the left side onto the opponent's right and grab hold with your right hand in his right wrist and pull it forward as you press down and twist, and grab hold with the left hand in his right elbow, then you push the elbow forward and pull his right arm up over your left arm. Then you lift his right arm your left and hold him locked in this manner with no other fetters, and you may hold him captured for as long as you wish. This technique can be done on both sides.

Admonition for always grabbing hold of the opponent first

Always be careful to be the first to grab hold of your opponent, because if you are first to grab hold him and use the four main grips (the first the crest grip, the second the nameless, the third the hidden, and the fourth the sungaze), you will stop the opponent from using the same grips himself. Then you shall not forget to ensnare the opponent with the reins as well. If you know and exercise these above mentioned grappling techniques well and throroughly, it will be hard for anyone who want to throw you out of the saddle without putting their own health in danger.