The armored longsword combatants shown here must use different techniques than the unarmored combatants shown in other photos on these pages. The armor provides so much protection that a blow that would be devastating to unarmored fighter might not even catch the attention of an armored fighter.

Instead, an armored combatant uses his sword to deliver thrusts to penetrate the chinks, the weak points in his opponent's armor. These weak points typically occur at the joints, where two pieces of armor join, for example at the neck, the armpit, the inner elbow, and the groin. The thrusts must be delivered with great accuracy, since the openings in the armor are small.

In order achieve the required accuracy, the combatants must adopt the position called "half-sword". The right hand remains on the hilt next to the crossguard, but the left hand is placed part way up the blade. From this position, a powerful and accurate thrust can be delivered.

The armored techniques used in these photos are drawn from a medieval fight manual dating from 1452 called the Starhemberg Fechtbuch. It's sometimes called the Von Danzig Manuscript, since a portion of text is ascribed to Peter von Danzig.

A complete armored combat sequence from Starhemberg 64 recto is shown in a video clip below.  The sequence is the counter to the counter to "the third device".  The sequence begins with Student (on the left) and Master (on the right) in Low Guard. Student thrusts at Master's face. Master thrusts at the same time, driving Student's blade off line. Student grabs Master's left wrist with his own left hand, in an attempt to execute an arm-break with his right hand.

Master uses the counter to the device. As Student grabs Master's wrist, Master brings the tip of his blade over Student's left arm and his pommel over Student's shoulder and around his neck, in an attempt to cast Student over Master's knee.

Student uses the counter to the counter. As Master brings his pommel across Student's neck, Student turns completely around to his right. With Master's visor down, Student would drop out of Master's sight during this time. Student hooks his pommel behind Master's right knee and lifts to cast Master behind him.

Slow motion video clip AVI file 3MB QuickTime file 6MB

The plate armor used by the combatants in these photos and videos is still a "work in progress" and is incomplete.