Selohaar Fechtschule

 

Seminars by Christian Henry Tobler

Christian Tobler is available to teach single day or weekend long seminars on German Medieval Martial Arts. These hands-on instructional sessions can be tailored to a particular group's needs and interests and can include: fighting with the longsword, wrestling and dagger, sword and buckler, and armoured combat. In all cases, students are taught basic principles of movement from which they can then learn specific techniques and applications.

Previous Seminars

  • May 2001 - Schola St. George Swordsmanship Symposium, Livermore, CA
  • October 2001 - 3rd Annual Western Martial Arts Workshop, New York, NY
  • June 2002 - 2nd Annual Schola St. George Symposium, Livermore, CA
  • July 2002 - All day seminar at the Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, MA
  • September 2002 - 4th Annual Western Martial Arts Workshop, Racine, WI
  • November 2002 - All weekend seminar at Mar-Vista, Marshfield, MA
  • April 2003 - Weekend seminar at Gibson's Martial Arts, Tulsa, OK for the Midwest Historical Fencers Project
  • May 2003 - Weekend seminar for MASHS (Mid-Atlantic Society for Historic Swordsmanship)
  • June 2003 - 3rd Annual Schola St. George Symposium, Benicia, CA
  • July 19 & 20, 2003 - Weekend seminar for the Rocky Mountain Historical Combat Guild
  • October 2004 - 5th Western Martial Arts Workshop, Amsterdam, NY
  • February 2005 - Weekend seminar for the Topeka School of Historic Swordsmanship, Topeka, KS
  • February 2005 - 1st Western Washington Western Martial Arts Workshop, Seattle, WA
  • June 2005 - Seminar for the Gallowglass Academy, Leaf River, IL
  • September 2005 - 6th Annual Western Martial Arts Workshop, Racine, WI
  • March 2006 - 2nd Western Washington Western Martial Arts Workshop, Seattle, WA
  • March 2006 - Seminar for the Academy of Knightly Arts, Danielson, CT
  • July 2006 - Seminar for the Great Plains Fechtschule, Topeka, KS
  • September 2006 - Seminar for Veritas Swordplay Academy, Moses Lake, WA
  • October 2006 - 7th Annual Western Martial Arts Workshop, Argyle, TX
  • November 2006 - Seminar for MASHS, Annapolis, MD
  • August 2007 - Seminar for the Lake Ontario Fechtschule, Sandy Creek, NY
  • October 2007 - Seminar for Veritas Swordplay Academy, Moses Lake, WA
  • September 2007 - 8th Annual Western Martial Arts Workshop, Racine, WI
  • March 2008 - 3rd Western Washington Western Martial Arts Workshop, Seattle, WA
  • April 2008, Dagger Seminar for the Virginia Fencing Academy, Springfield, VA
  • June, 2008 - Presentations at Chivalric Weekend, Sandy Creek, NY
  • October, 2008 - Armoured Combat Seminar for the Chicago Swordplay Guild, Chicago, IL
  • October, 2008 - Armoured Combat Lecture and Demo for Loyola University, Chicago, IL
  • Novemer, 2008 - Weekend Seminar, Wilmington, DE

 A Sample Seminar Outline 

Below is an outline for an overview-style two-day seminar. Much more in-depth coverage of the material can be achieved by limiting the material covered. I'm more than willing to tailor the curriculum to suit your needs and interests.

Part I: The Long Sword (entire first day)

- Introduction to Ringeck's fechtbuch and its place in the Liechtenauer tradition
- Basics of Ringeck's long sword: initiative in the fight, guards, basic tactics, to cut
- Drills for transitioning between guards
- The Five Master Strikes, or Meisterhau
- Working on the sword: binding, winding, changing through, and grappling
- Fühlen: Developing sensitivity when working against someone else's sword

Part II: Sword and Buckler, Wrestling, Dagger (first half of second day)

- A brief demonstration of Ringeck's sword and buckler
- A hands-on overview of the wrestling techniques of Ringeck's book
- The dagger techniques of Masters Lignitzer and Huntfeltz
- Armoured Wrestling

Part III: Armoured Combat (second half of second day)

- Introduction to Armoured combat: the judicial duel, modes of using the weapon against armour
- The half sword guards and their relationship to the regular longsword guards
- Techniques of half-sword combat
- A brief introduction to mounted combat in armour
- Closing remarks

Fees for Mr. Tobler's seminars are $900 for a single day presentation and $1500 for a two day event, plus travel expenses. Christian is also available for training at his Oxford, Connecticut home. For further information on scheduling a seminar, please contact Christian Tobler


Last Updated February 28, 2009