Let us use the backend of the messer. Pommel, nail, grip, parry are always stronger than the bones and joints of your opponent.

Weapon: Messer

Source: Leckuechner and others

This workshop focuses on all the parts and some techniques of the Messer that have a fatal effect apart from the blade.
Pommel, nail, grip, parry — all of these are rarely the focus of attention and, due to their nature and brutal efficiency, are too dangerous to use in sparring and tournaments, or difficult to incorporate safely into training.
Let’s see what can be done with these parts and how and if we can train this without destroying the skulls, jaws, and joints of friends we like to train with, but without forgetting about those techniques that are very useful in reality.

Skill level of Participants: Intermediate (few years experience for this weapon)
Needed Equipment: Mask, Tooth Protection

About the trainer – Martin Enzi

Martin Enzi first got in touch with martial arts by practicing classical boxing, but finally found his passion when he switched to HEMA in 2001 to train longsword, wrestling, dagger and polearms.
2003 he got his hands on the first draft of the transcription of Johannes Leckuechners “Kunst des Messerfechtens”, while work was still in progress. This gave him the possibility to be one of the first persons to dig into this manuscript.
Instantly fascinated while reading the first pages of the manuscript, this was when his fascination with and passion for Messer started.
After intense studies and training, he started as a trainer for Longsword, Messer, and eventually also for the so-called “peasant weapons” like sickle, scythe or flail plus the not so common use of spear in 15th century sources.
2006 he took part in the transcription of parts of Paulus Hector Mair’s manuscript (scythe, sickle and flail) for the Higgins Armory Museum, which will be published by Jeffrey L. Forgeng and the Hema bookshelf.
Even though training in Liechtenauer School of longsword and the peasant weapons from PHM has always been close to his heart, his main focus and deep passion lies with the Messer according to cgm582, taking also into account other Messer-related sources like Talhoffer, von Baumanns Fechtbuch ( Codex Wallerstein), Pauernfeindt, or Falkner.
After teaching for over 20 years now at international events and martial arts gatherings, Martin Enzi was honoured to be the first European HEMA-teacher to get an invitation to Tokyo, where he held a masterclass in Messer fencing – in fact, the first Messer class based on European sources in the history of Japan.
He was also asked to contribute 3 articles to the book series “Meditations on HEMA”, and writes articles in magazines and does surveys about finds and originals in museums.
Apart from HEMA, Enzi has been practising stagefighting constantly for 24 years. As an instructor in an SFX agency, he teaches and coaches actors and stuntmen in the use of historical and modern weapons and is an examiner for the practical part of the official Austrian gun licence. He also works as a fight choreographer for film, theatre and television productions and recently received his certificate as a weapons master of arms for film and theatre.