"I take pleasure in the Dussack ..." wrote print maker and publisher Conrad Goltzius around 1590, and we could not agree more. It is one of our favorite forms of Renaissance sword work. In practice or competitive bouting, the energy and flow of a well-played dussack fight is hard to match, and our steel training pairs make this even better with increased sensitivity, a superior point of rotation, and a better ability to feel edge alignment than traditional dussack trainers.
Train more for less...
Of course, most dussack trainers today are made of leather covered wood or nylon. In order to get the benefits of training with steel you need a buddy who is adequately equipped. To facilitate this we are offering our new Dussack Trainer as a pair at a special price. Gift one to your favorite training partner, go 50/50 or have a pair to hand in your training bag all the time, so the joy of Dussack does not pass you by.
The Training Dussack from Arms & Armor
Left and Right
Since dussacks have a nagle, they are handed. If you need one to be right handed and other lefty, just add it in the notes when ordering and we can accommodate. That's right, your sinister friend can join right in.
Construction
Our training dussacks have a hot peened nagel and wooden slab grip for durability and ease of maintenance. They should provide years of solid use and dussack joy. The hardened steel blades are rounded on edges and points for safety and the knuckle bow is oversized to accommodate the safety gear of modern HEMA practice. Unlike wooden, leather, or nylon training tools, these behave much more like a real blade and will help you maintain edge alignment and structure, and to move more realistically in the bind.
The use of the Dussack seems to have gained wide popularity in the mid 16th C. where it was one of the main training weapons used in the Lichtenauer tradition.
There are many examples of dussacks in the art and fighting manuals of the period. The foremost probably being the manuals and writing of Joachim Meyer. We think that our dussack is especially suited to the complex blade actions in Meyer's fighting system, with a point of rotation that makes actions like the Stork's Beak make intuitive sense.
One last reason for doing Dussack at every opportunity is the fact that
pluderhosen are the appropriate pants to wear, and we advocate wearing this garment as frequently as possible!
Dussack combatants, print by Conrad Goltzius in the British Museum, ca. 1590.
The rhymed text translates:
"I take pleasure in the Dussack / All of its blows are known to me / And yet I still seek to determine / Who is the master of this game." Translation by Matt Galas