Imagine that you have successfully used the crooked strike so that you end in this posture.

Now what?

As I’ve mentioned many, many times before, simply leaving his sword to throw a short edge cut from that position is a stupid idea. All he has to do is slip back slightly and you’ve got a sword point in your groin or belly.

But if you throw the cut from the sword, that is to say you use his sword as a leverage point, then the short edge cut becomes a safe attack. By maintaining contact with his blade you maintain control of the fight. The cut won’t be powerful, but it could take out an eye or open the forehead.

Before we move on, watch these videos:

http://guywindsor.net/blog/2013/05/stretto-drills-revisited/

Did you like those sword grabs? I did. And look how close Meyer’s hands are to his opponent’s blade. He can grab it with his left hand without even trying. And once he does that his sword is free to do some serious damage with the pommel and quillons.

Finer Points

There are two essential points to the way Meyer is performing this action.

His blade is angled downwards, not horizontal. His point is angled forwarded, not to the side or backwards.

If you don’t adhere to both of these your opponent can slip his sword from beneath yours and turn it over for an oberhau to the right side of your head. I’m not certain, but I believe that this is what the Germans call Ablaufen or running off.