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The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald39.A break of lockwrestlingWhen he falls behind me with his right handthen I take the left hipThis can be taken left and right.43

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald40.Another break against lockwrestlingWhen his right arm falls over his leftthen I fall upon his neck with my left armand spring forward with my left thighand take the left hipwhich goes completely freely.44

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald41.Break against the short hipWhen he steps in with his left thighand takes the half hipthen his foot comes winding on my right footThen I trap him behind the knee with my right kneeand press low in the balancethen his is brought low onto his knee.45

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald42.Break against the high hipJust when he springs inthen my left hand comes to his left shoulderAt the same time, I pull him over backwardsand grab him by his right thighThen I heave him all into the air.46

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald43.Break of the rejected hipWhen he springs out with the hipthen I come with my left arm over his right shoulder and onto his neckand bring him into me with my left handThereafter I wind my right hand in and grab his right thighand heave him up and in, onto the left sidethen I am his master.47

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald44.Break of shrugging the opponent.When he shrugs me, with the left arm forward,then I step out with my left leg, obstructing behind his rightand with my left elbow I bring him over backwardsand catch him between his legs with my right arm.This piece goes left and right.[Note: the woodcut shows the technique with the sides reversed]48

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald45.Break of the hook that is called "Ausschupffen".When someone has me in a hookthen I force his right thigh out with my left thighand at the same time I catch him with my right armLift him upthen I am powerful over him.49

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald46.This is a break against the break that is Ausschupffens.That when he would use the Ausschupffens on methen I rapidly take the barIt is a good help if he is smaller than me.50

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald47.Another break of the hook.While he is entering,I force my left thigh to displace his left footand put him back with my left hand.This techniquecannot be caught by many.51

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald48.Another break of the hook.I come with both hands to his throatand bring him in before methen he must weaken.52

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald49.When I bring him before me with both handsthen I lay my right hand on the back of his neckand press him low with itThereafter, grab between his buttcheeks with my left handand turn him right overjust as one would take the wheeling of the opponent.53

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald50.Break against the break of the entering hook / I stay under him in his balance / and with my right arm I force his left arm out / just exactlyas if I would run him into the hook / but stay standing with my legsThereby I learn / if he can break the entering hook / If he can,then he comes to it / then I come with my right over his breastand bring him back over my right knee / but if he cannotthen I take the hook with his help.54

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald51.A Break against the hook and bar. / When he has run me into a hookthen I stretch my left leg / so that he must take the barIf he stays in the bar or runs me into the hookthen I step with my left thigh out and behind, obstructing himand give myself completely low in the balanceand grab his left leg with my right handabove his ankle / that that he has no more help55

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald52.Break against the bar in the hook.When he stands with me in the hookand I have stretched my left thigh so that he wishes me to the barand if he does not wish itwhen immediately I give with my left thigh, out and behind himand as I go I give low in the balanceso that his bar is broken.56

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald53.The left hip is again an entry to the hook.57

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald54.This is winding into the wheel.Here I must wind my right hand over his left arm, and to his body.58

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald55.This is the break before the entering hip.That is what this piece is called.have good caution with itand it is called the bar of the left arm. If he would make an entry of the hipSee it here:that you take the bar with the left armunder and through his left armand presently set yourself in the balance on the left side.59

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald56.And if he has already come to the hook / then have caution for itand wind your right foot with the toes outwardso that he cannot come to the short hipAfter that he must take the high or rejected hipso with your left hand to you / and set it hart on his sideunder and through his left armand give in the balance onto the left sideand catch his right thigh with your right arm.60

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald57.And step, winding your left leg into his left footthen heave his right thigh up with your right hand, and with your left handbring him over backwardsthen he cannot come back with his left legthen he falls over backward.61

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald58.The entering of the hook.I pull his left arm in with my right handand come in over the ankleand run in with my right thigh against his right legthen I am right in the hook62

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald59.Lockwrestlingfrom which comes an armbreak.When I come with my left arm over his left armthen I must come with my arm high between his legsthen I stretch his left arm over itthen it must breakor be trapped.63

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald60.A legbreak.When he stands with straight legsthen I thrust my right leg onto his left kneeBut if he stands rightly in the balancethen I cannot do this.64

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald61.The winding of the hips and the hook.Here comes the backward thrownwhen I have someone with my armthen I go with my right arm over himand wind my right hip forward / noand run him into the hookand stay with my left foot against himThen the backward throw is fast and sure.65

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald62.If he comes at you with his hands out frontthen you will take a piece of his fistIf he gives you the right handthen you give him the leftIf he gives you the leftthen give him the rightAnd always with your thumb in the middle of his handAs you see here.66

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald63.From this technique comes an armbreakHere I come with my right arm over his left arm, from a wind outside inbehind his left elbowAnd if the arm does not breakThen with my right thigh I pull out his left.67

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald64.Backward throw from the hook.When I am in the hookthen I wind my left foot into himHere must the hook and the hips be fast into himafter this I give behind himand take the backward throw powerfully.68

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald65.The slant.From the other hook goes the slantthuslyWhen he has me hard in the hookthen I grab his right thigh with my left armand heave it upThereafter I step with my right thigh behind his leftThen I am his total master.69

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald66.When he has stretched me out of the hookthen I come over both of his arms with my left armand do the sameas I would to take the slantand thereby I take the left hip.70

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald67.The fork in the hook.With my right thigh, I go high-- so high as I canand wind to the left with my bodystaying up with my thigh high in the airthen I fall on top of him and he below.71

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald68.When someone falls upon me with both hands at my throatThen I take his neck and arm togetherrise upand take the fork.72

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald69.The short hip.When he stretches my foot out of the hookthen I step with my right thigh, winding out against his right footand stretch my thigh.73

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald70.The high hip.When I am in the hookand my opponent stands wide against meThen I spring for him with both of my legsand as I spring, give myself low in the balanceand right my rear upthus I have power to pull him up and over.74

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald71.The rejected hip.When someone puts me in a hookand he stands too wide against meso that I cannot take the other hipThen I spring him out of the hook with my right thighand wind entirely out with my hipgrab his left leg with my left armand run with him to the left / as long as I wish.75

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald72.Thereafter I let my right hand go to his headand at the same time grab his left leg up from underThus I make him into a sackpipe.76

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald73.This technique is called the back press.When someone would bring me in to himand I cannot take the hipthen I step out of the hook with my right thighas wide as I canand press into the middle of his back with my right elbowso that he must be trapped under me.This is my threat.77

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald74.This is the outer hook.When we sweeps under my right arm with his headThen I take the backward throwas I also put him in the right hook.78

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald75.This is the underhookthat my right arm comes above his leftAfter this comes the backward throw.79

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald76.Whoever has this done to himand would deny the backward throwthen I step with my right thigh outside of his leftand take the technique called the slantHe goes into the backward throw.80

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald77.This is also a technique from the underhookthat is called the half hip.81

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald78.Look, thou, and see: how men in the past would wrestle in the hole.One stands in the holeand may not remove his leg from itand his opponent must hop on one legMuch art comes of thisand it is funny to see.82

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald79.This is the backwards throw from the hookto throw him out from the holeIt goes quickly and is very funny.83

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald80.This is the hip and the back of the kneewhich is also good when someone tries to throw me out from the holeThen I come with my right thigh into the back of his kneeand wind to the right side.84

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald81.This is a technique to throw someone from the holeit is called the MisthackHere I come with my left leg into the back of his right kneeand bring him over backwards.85

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald82.This is a free technique from standing in the holeWhen he enters into hooking meThen I sweep through under his right arm with my headand my right arm comes over the back of this neckand my left arm comes between his legsand runs him to the rightand I stay the whole time with my left thigh in the hole.86

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald83.This technique is done from within the holeThe trick is to take a hipSo I stand with my right thigh in the airagainst himAnd I stay with my left thigh in the holein the balanceis the trick.87

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald84.When he takes the Misthack against metaking me on the inside with his left thighthen I pull with my right thigh, winding inside his leftwhich is the break of the Misthack.88

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald85.Then I take the technique that pullswith my right legI pull on his left legthen he must go out against the Misthack on the sideand he must fall.89

The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von AuerswaldPrinted in Wittembergby Hans Lufft.A. D 1539.90

Fabian von Auerswald’s “Ringer kunst” :Interpretation through language and organizationby James KlockHaving recently completed a modern English-language translation of a 16th centurywrestling manual, I have begun to turn my attention towards understanding, interpreting andteaching the martial arts system described in that book. Along the way, two observations about thestructure and linguistic content of the book immediately presented themselves. This paper attemptsto justify, though an analysis of the word usage in the text, a very close and literal reading of theindividual words, while also attempting to make sense of some potentially confusing organizationalelements with respect to the order in which information is presented.ContextFabian von Auerswald’s “Ringer kunst: funf und Achtzig Stücke” is one of the earliestprinted books of wrestling, and has legitimate claims to a significant academic legacy: the eightyfive plates described by the title, as well as the title plate and a portrait of the author, were created inthe school of the notable painter and illustrator, Lucas Cranach the Elder. In addition, a note fromthe publisher, on the final page of the text, indicates that it was printed in Wittemberg in 1539, byHans Lufft, who was also responsible for printing Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible, in thesame city and at about the same time.However, this interpretation will not be concerned with the importance of the figuresinvolved in the creation of the book, but will focus solely on its content, looking in particular at thelanguage that is used, and the manner in which the book is organized. It is hoped that this analysismay both improve the reader’s understanding of the system of martial arts described, and give someinsight into the author’s intention in writing the book.Verbal AnalysisPurpose: In reading this text, it became apparent that von Auerswald was using a tightly limitedvocabulary, with a very specific and careful choice of wording throughout. In order to test this idea,and look more closely at how the word choices influence the reader’s understanding of the text, I

performed a basic analysis of the word usage, the results of which will be used to draw someconclusions about the significance of the limited vocabulary, and the specific words, that are used.Methods: The verbal analysis presented here is based on the individual words used in the book. Inorder to focus on the technical material, I have discarded the forward, title plate, printer’s mark andauthor’s portraiture, including only the eighty five pieces of wrestling technique. The individualwords in the text were considered, without reference to the context in which they appear: theindividual words were collated into an alphabetically ordered list, without any indication of whereeach word appeared in the original text.Different tenses and cases of each word were then convert into their root words (so, forexample, the English words eat, eaten and ate would all be considered to be instances of the rootword, eat), and root words were placed into one of six categories:Verbs (which include all verbs, in any form)Descriptors (which include words that direct placement, such as “in”, “out”, or “above”)Anatomical words (which refer to a specific part of the body :“foot”, “hand”, “leg”, etc.)Technical words (which refer to specific, named techniques, including locks, throws, etc.)Timing words (which include any words that suggest when, in an engagement, an actionoccurs. Examples include “then”, “when”, “before”, “while”, “thereafter”, etc.)Miscellaneous words (including articles, possessives, and all other words that do not fit anyof the above categories).TABLE I: Results of verbal analysisCategoryWordsTokensTop 5 tokens, English translation (number of occurrences)Descriptors71732right (132), left (126), in ( 80)*, to (45), on (43)Verbs52474come (39), take (35), step (31), go (28), trap (17)Anatomy36024arm (74), hand (61), leg (60), thigh (52), hip ( 17)*Timing28521then (118), when (41), before (27), as (10), thereafter (10)Technical16117hook (37), break/counter (20), hip-throw ( 17)*, balance (15), wind (14)

Results: The eighty five pieces of von Auerswald’s book are annotated by 3,527 German words;however, when the text is collated into “tokens”, or root words, as described above, there are fewerthan 300 unique token words used. Of those, if we consider only the ten most common root words,(the, I, and, with, his, my, right, left, then, arm), they account for over 1400 words, nearly half of thewords in the text. The results of this analysis are presented in Table I.Known problems: Several words could not be reliable assigned to any category, without contextualclues, either because the same spelling was used to refer to two distinctive concepts, or because asingle word may fit into either of several categories, depending on its usage. For example, thewords “him” and “inside”, in modern German, translate as ihn and in, respectively, but in vonAuerswald’s text, both are generally spelled as in (the same is true for the dative case, ihm and im).Also, some words may legitimately be placed in more than one category, depending on the contextwithin which the word is used. For example, Hüffe (hip) can refer either to the anatomical bodypart, or to any of several hip-throw techniques (which are generally labeled with names such as “theshort hip”, “high hip”, “half hip”, etc.). *As an approximation, the results above count half thethe occurrences of any questionable word in each of its possible categories (so, for example, Iassume that half o

friendship and aid / and keep myself and my children in his aid / Now that I am an eccen-tric old man / For I was born in 1462 / And have this work in the Year of Our Lord . and with my right hand I catch him . 14 The Art of Wrestling by Fabian von Auerswald 10. Wheeling the opponent Here I step with my right thigh as wide as I can