In this video, Eric has an Albion Lichtenauer and I (Shane) have a custom Regenyei blunt. Some of our other members use blunts as well. We do indeed spar with our blunts, though mine specifically needed a little work to be suitable for freeplay (Regenyei appears to use the same blanks for their blunts as their sharps, so out of the box my blunt was a little too pointy and stiff for sparring).

We are certainly not encouraging anyone to ignore any threat, but we are trying to encourage fencers to grapple with the context in which these sources were written. An unanswered strike to a lower opening is a "hit," so to speak. However, the sources say plainly that if your opponent attacks a lower opening or attacks from below, do not parry, but attack to their upper openings. In blossfechten, as we see in descriptions written out by the fencing masters and the images that they provide, fencers would wear gambesons or doublets that would do wonders for protecting their bodies; however, their heads would be unprotected, or "open," as in "fencing with openings," our preferred translation of blossfechten. If a sword is leveraged at your unprotected head/face, you are going to lose any interest in completing your attack to your opponent's stomach, underarm, etc. However, should your opponent decide to complete their mittlehau anyway, as you mentioned, the gambeson will stop the cut. When we as modern practitioners put all our gear on, we lose that natural sense of urgency to protect our openings- because we no longer have any. Our gear directly contradicts the context that our sources were written in. So, we are making an effort to encourage fencers to be mindful in grappling with that context.

@@ShaneBrown-be8eh The rule as you describe it does encourage a fencer to ignore a cut to the legs or torso if they are sure they can hit the head. And no, the sources don't say that. They say not to PARRY, but nowhere can you see advice like "smack him on the head, if he cuts your legs, fuck it". "If a sword is leveraged at your unprotected head/face, you are going to lose any interest in completing your attack to your opponent's stomach, underarm, etc" Not necessarily. I've had a sharp leveraged at my unprotected face, and yes, it's scary as shit, but if I can make a solid cut to their legs and escape, I would do it. "However, should your opponent decide to complete their mittlehau anyway, as you mentioned, the gambeson will stop the cut." If the jacket stops the cut, that means you should throw out any mittelhau to the torso as invalid. Why score them in other cases? "When we as modern practitioners put all our gear on, we lose that natural sense of urgency to protect our openings- because we no longer have any. " I've spend a long time fencing sans any gear, I am well aware of this :) "So, we are making an effort to encourage fencers to be mindful in grappling with that context." I get the goal, I just think your approach creates yet another context which also doesn't reflect that context well.

@@ShaneBrown-be8eh "fencers would wear gambesons or doublets that would do wonders for protecting their bodies" They would, to a degree, which is why we have cut quality judged as well. But as has been known for years after solid tests of gambesons, you can cut through them and into flesh and deal solid stopping damage even with what people might call a "tap cut"