Guest
This video will demonstrate a short flow drill with a Hengen, a thrust and a cut. If you want to practice the Hengen positions in isolation, there is a video for that here: Go to one of the four Hengen positions. Because you have defended with the point forward, a thrust riposte is both easy and fast, so do that next. Assume that the thrust is parried. The parry will create an opening on the other side, so follow up with a cut there. Defend again in one of the Hengen to restart the sequence. Keep going. At first it’s probably a good idea to go to the same Hengen over and over again, but as you get used to it, start varying which Hengen it is you go to. Although this is just a short sequence we do still manage to cover quite a bit of ground as it contains a defense, a riposte and a continuation. This can be done with either foot forward. Remember to turn your body, when the Hengen is on the “wrong” side, for example a left Hengen with the left foot forward. I’ve chosen to do this mostly stationary, but it is possible to add footwork. If footwork is added, I would suggest turning with the defense and moving forward with the attacks. This drill isn’t just relevant for messer, and can be done with, for example, a longsword too. More solo messer drills:
