Entrüsthau
Entrüsthau
Also known as: Entrüsthaw
A strike with the blunt edge of the Messer to the ears and neck from Lecküchner's treatise, delivered after a side-step.
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About
Entrüsthau is a technique of single-handed Messer fencing, the long knife, from the treatise of Johannes Lecküchner, preserved in manuscript Cgm 582. The fighter holds the Messer low, flat side toward the body; as the opponent attacks, he steps aside, turns the knife point down and strikes the opponent's upper target with the blunt side of the blade. Unlike direct edge strikes, Entrüsthau aims the blunt side of the blade at the so-called zinn, open targets such as the ears and neck. It breaks the guard from the Luginsland position and parries blows struck from above. The technique belongs to Lecküchner's Messer system, part of the German tradition of historical fencing, and it is precisely the blunt-edge work that sets it apart from ordinary longsword strikes. Wiktenauer lists it under the spelling Entrüsthaw. What the name literally means we have not been able to document.
Historical sources
- Kunst des Messerfechtens (Cgm 582) — Hans Lecküchner, 1482