The Five Hews

15th Century

The five hews could be considered the cornerstone of the Liechtenauer system. They are the techniques upon which everything else is based.

• CUT 1: Zornhau (wrath cut)
• CUT 2: Zwerchau (thwart cut)
• CUT 3: Krumphau (crooked cut)
• CUT 4: Schielhau (glancing/squinting cut)
• CUT 5: Scheitelhau (parting/scalp cut)

There are a number of miscellaneous additional movements associated with the five strikes:

• Abnehmen/Oben ab Genomen (taking away [above])
• Krieg (the War)
• Duplieren (doubling)
• Mutieren (mutating)
• Kurtzhau (short cut)
• Schnit (slice)
• Veler (failer)
• Verkerer (inverter)

16th Century

The 5 hews are referred to as the Meisterhauw in Meyer's text.