#half-sword

“ Photo credit: Tanya Moons “

Found here.

Pictured are members of the  Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild, and you can find more cool pics of theirs here.

As to what’s happening in the pic:

An example of ‘halfswording’ in historical fencing today. ‘‘ The weapon was used in the half-sword, with one or both hands on the blade. This increased the accuracy and strength of thrusts and provided more leverage for Ringen am Schwert or “Wrestling at/with the sword”. This technique combines the use of the sword with wrestling, providing opportunities to trip, disarm, break, or throw an opponent and place them in a less offensively and defensively capable position. During half-swording, the entirety of the sword works as a weapon, including the pommel and crossguard which function as a mace as shown in the Mordstreich. ‘‘ From Wiktenauer.

To check out more on this type of technique research the various manuscripts listed here.