During the Middle Ages, the warriors of Europe developed a powerful style of combat that was equally victorious on the battlefield in times of war, on the street for suppressing riots or in personal defense, and in a personal or judicial duel to the death. As the wars raged across Europe, fighting techniques were tempered in the forge of battle, and the swordsmen of each country perfected the techniques which they would pass on to the next generation.
Though the techniques of killing in any country
are inherently part of an oral folk tradition, passed on from one
warrior to another, starting in the mid 1300's we find books teaching
fighting techniques were being made in small numbers, each one
carefully reproduced by hand. Some of these books contained
only a few dozen illustrated techniques, but others, such the works
by Fiori Dei Liberi and Hans Talhoffer, catalog literally hundreds of
individual techniques and counters.
By the 1400's these manuscripts were produced
in an ever increasing number, with some authors writing multiple
books in their lifetime. This continued throughout the Middle Ages
and Renaissance, with books being written in many countries, though
the vast majority came from Germany and Italy. If the
1400’s were the heyday of Medieval close combat, then this was
also the golden era of the “Fechtbuch” (fight-book).
In the surviving combat manuals, most contain long sections on
unarmed striking and grappling, unarmed defense against the dagger,
and dagger fighting. They show systematic joint locks, breaks,
throws, disarms, counters, ground grappling, strikes, clinches, holds
and more. The unarmed system is also fully integrated into the sword
and spear work, with the majority of the techniques shown involving
some degree of "close work”. You will see identical
techniques (particularly throws and arm locks) done with all the
different weapon forms, showing the integrated nature of this
system.
The Alliance Circle of Steel program focuses
primarily on the Medieval dagger and unarmed combat methods as
described in the German fighting manuals. The skills of masters such
as Liechtenauer, Lignitzer, Huntfeltz, Talhoffer, and others are
presented clearly and accurately. Many of these skills in dagger
fighting and unarmed combat are as relevant today as they were in the
1400's, when they were in active use.
The German spear, longsword, messer (short-sword) and buckler are
also taught as part of the integrated curriculum. COS uses metal
blunts, wooden wasters and padded contact weapons in this capacity.
The COS program does not include armored fighting, equestrian, or
tournament considerations (there are other fine organizations
teaching these skills).
