In Chapter 10 of Joachim Meyer’s 1570 book, he discusses how one should attack the 4 openings. To paraphrase, he wants us to be able to “execute any cut, from any posture, to any of the 4 openings, at any time”.

This sounds great in principle, but how do we actually do it?

More to the point – *How* can we do this without having to do all kinds of mental tactical mapping each time an opponent gives us an opening?

Simple – By practicing those “mental gymnastics” well in advance.

One of the more physically and mentally challenging solo 4-Openings drills I have for our new(er) students is actually one of the simplest. In it, you simply pick a starting posture, pick one of your opponent’s openings, and figure out all the different ways you can attack it by asking the deceptively simple question – “How do I get there from here?”. Just as with most of Meyer’s Stücke (drills), there’s plenty buried beneath the surface that we can learn much from…

The basic drill:

The rules are simple – move however you need to in order to execute your selected cut from the posture to the selected opening. This includes stepping, transitioning through other postures, cutting across the center-line, etc

1. 1. Start in any posture/guard (ex, Right Ochs)
   2. Pick your target opening (ex, their upper-left opening)
   3. Pick which cut to use (ex: Right Shielhau).
   4. Execute the attack: (using the examples given)
      1. Using Ablauffen (“Running Off”) to your inside, drop the point and bring the sword across in front, moving through Hengentorte/”Hanging Point”.
      2. Bring sword around the left and up into vom Tag.
      3. Cut Right Shielhau to opponent’s upper Left opening while stepping forward and out to your Right (“Transverse step”) with your Right foot.
      4. End in Left Ochs.

Some of the things we identified we used in executing the above example:

• • Footwork – Transverse passing step
  • Postures – We started in Right Ochs, passed through Hangetorte and vom Tag, and ended in Left Ochs.
  • Cuts – Shielhau.
  • Handworks – Ablauffen

Now that your familiar with the base concept of the drill, I HIGHLY recommend going through each of the 7 combined Primary cuts and Meisterhauen, from both right and left sides. Ask yourself if there’s more than one way to execute that specific cut to that opening from your starting posture: i.e. – What happens when you change the angle on your Zwerchhau from horizontal to coming up from below when you attack that opening?

Executing a Left Zwerchau to the opponent’s Right Ear when you’re in Olber will be a bit more complex than executing a Zornhau to the opponent’s Left ear starting from Right Zornhut.

But knowing which combinations are more complex, will take longer, or may leave you exposed will help you not only know HOW to execute those attacks, but will also help you figure out WHEN and IF you should use a particular cut when a particular opening presents itself.

This will give you practice doing exactly what I believe Meyer ultimately wants us to be able to do. By regularly using this drill, you’ll learn which cuts are quicker and easier for you to execute to an opening depending on which posture you’re in, and which ones are more complex, take longer, or may leave you exposed. You’ll also become more comfortable and proficient with each posture in the process.