Ochs
Ox
Longsword
A high hanging guard with the point online. The left ox (ochs links) is performed with the right leg forward and the hands high and uncrossed by the left side of the head. The right ox (ochs rechts) is performed with the left leg forward and hands crossed, holding the blade to the high right of the head. Posture for ochs is seen with both cross and forward weighted posture.
The blade may be angled with the long edge pointing up and away from the head at around 45 degrees, or the blade can be thumbed from below so that the crossguard is angled upward and toward the head. The choice of angle depends on application; adopting an ochs from a zwerch is better achieved with the angled down guard, while cuts from below are better used with a crossguard angled up position.
This is an on-point final position for a cut from below (unterhauw), or the cut can more through to einhorn.
The ochs is one of the four principal guards.
Rappier
A similar guard position to the longsword, the ochs with the rappier threatens with the point. Meyer describes several recommended parries from here:
- Hanging
- Slicing Off
- Suppressing
- Taking Out from below with the half edge.
