What we Study

In his 1843 manual, Ernst Friedrich Seidler describes a system of fencing that developed out of German Academic Hiebfechten of the Berliner Turnschule during the French occupation of Prussia in the early 19th century. It treats the heavily curved m1811 light cavalry sabre, also known as the Blücher sabre, separately from the straight-bladed Pallasch or Kürassierdegen.  

W. Lübeck's Lehr- und Handbuch der Deutschen Fechtkunst from 1865 is an extensive manual - nearly 300 pages long - covering all aspects of the Berliner Turnschule fencing systems. The first section is devoted to the Stossfechten, thrust-fencing, that is derived from Kreussler's thrust-fencing system of the 17th century. This system's traditional interpretation is largely found with the Roux family and their publications, spanning from the late 18th through the late 19th century. The Berliner Turnschule interpretations of this system are similar but use German terminology rather than the French, and the techniques vary in some wrist positions and usage. Lübeck's manual describing this system is the most thorough treatment found within the Berliner Turnschule, and once the translation is complete will be the most extensive English translation of a thrust-fencing system derived from Kreussler's teachings.