One of the drills I was taught early on to practice disengages was to take my sword and do half circles around the bottom of a doorknob, without hitting the doorknob. I never really liked that drill for a few reasons, the main one being is that the standard doorknob height is really too low for me.
Remembering a conversation I had with Melchior zum grauen Wolf about a similar topic I was talking to Don Diego Miguel Munoz de Castilla at the Quintavia practice about it and as a result, came up with this.
This is my beta version of the device. Eventually I’ll pick up a blade to mount on it, but it will work as is. Version two will have adjustable angles for both the “arm” and the blade. This works out significantly better than using a doorknob. Even without having the blade attached, it simulates disengaging a blade significantly better
Construction Details
For materials I used is ¾” by 1½ “ by 18” piece of scrap wood and a corner brace I had sitting around. The bracket is mounted to the wood at an angle, not straight on.
To figure out the angle, first determine the height from the floor that you want both the top and bottom of the wood, then subtract the bottom number from the top number. Lay out the wood on the edge of a table and move one end up that many inches from the edge. Mark your holes for the bracket, drill them, and attach it, then attach the unit to the wall and you are ready to practice.
Incidentally, I was looking through The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe after I had finished it and saw this picture
Evidentially, good ideas never die.
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