Longsword Solo Basics

Stand upright. Hold your balance.
Save energy and use your body in the most efficient way. Develop a feeling for your contact to the ground and improve your body awareness.

In this video Ingulf Popp-Kohlweiss will help you develop your stance sensitivity. You will transfer this new feeling into your footwork and fencing exercises and this will also improve your later

Ingulf Popp-Kohlweiss will describe footwork through simple movements: Translation and rotation. The horizontal and vertical plane for orientation.
Doable at home alone, great for beginners, but also for advanced fencers who should check it out and go over the basics again deliberately!

Ingulf Popp-Kohlweiss explains the first grabbing of the Longsword. An action that can be used as concious entry into training.
Furthermore he shows exercices how to introduce beginners who come to training the first time to moving intuitivly with the longsword.

In this basic tutorial we show you a first step into the four main Huten (guards, positions) in the Liechtenauer System: Alber, Pflug, Ochs and Hut vom Tag. First we look at one position after the other, from front and from side, left and right. Then we use stance, breathing and footwork to move freely with and through the positions. After a mirroring exercise we end circling each other using the guards to threaten and protect. These movements through the guards generates a good basis for your efficient fencing and provides you with a good start into a high quality training.

Ingulf Popp-Kohlweiss shows the diagonal Oberhau (Cut from above) from the right and the left side. It is a really basic but also the most frequently used cut.
You first learn the Oberhau while standing still, later you perform it with footwork.
Starting from basic movement we include whole body strength, breathing and grounded footwork to make the cut powerful.
Since we use the Oberhau very often in training, sparring and tournament it is really important to perform it right.

Ingulf Popp-Kohlweiss shows the diagonal Unterhau (Cut from below) on the right and the left side.
It is a very basic cut, not as strong as the Oberhau (Cut from above) but still very important.

Since it leads into Ochs and the Hängen from above, it makes the system complete.

You will first learn the Unterhau while standing still, later you perform it with footwork.
To make the Unterhau proper we include whole body strength, breathing and grounded footwork. Enjoy!

Ingulf Popp-Kohlweiss shows a second “Wunder” in the Liechtenauer System: The Thrust.
“Wunder” comes from wound, so it stands for a wounding action.
You will train a version of the thrust with the most reach. The thrust into the position “Langort”.
You first do it while standing still, then you combine it with different variations of footwork. In the end you perform the stab from changing through the four guards.

A learning aid to the four times four cuts from Joachim Meyers fencing manual from 1570. We work with the long edge from the outermost to the innermost sequence. At the end you will see a short demonstration how to use your breathing to combine the cuts.

If you were asked how you breathe during training or sparring, what would you answer?
Are you aware of the way you breathe?
In this video Ingulf Popp-Kohlweiss shows one basic principle of strong breathing.
You will learn how you coordinate your breathing with your movement to improve the quality of your training.

A video in which Ingulf Popp-Kohlweiss connects the ideas of the previous videos into one training: Breathing, Stance, Footwork Basics, 4 Guards, Oberhau, Unterhau and Thrust into Langort are all combined into one basic flow.

You will learn how to train these basics of Longsword training in one efficient exercise. This helps you save time while repeating the most important basics of your training.