Fulen

Feeling

Once the bind is established then we move to fulen - “feeling”. The aim here is to see if the opponent is strong or weak at the blade. If he is strong it means he is pushing harder at your sword or in a position of superior leverage. If weak then he is able to be pushed against and displaced; an opponent who is suddenly soft at the sword, for example, may be taking his blade away to strike around to the other side, while someone strong at the sword may be attempting to displace you.

The choice of what to do in the bind while feeling in this way is one which is take Indes - in the moment. One might choose to remain (Bleiben) or take away and slash around to a different opening (Umbschlagen), or any of the other handworks from the bind.