Whats better then a day of swords? Two days of swords! Which is what the Omaha Kunst des Fechtens(OKDF) guild had with their Auf der Hut tournament. Welcoming combatants from their own guild, as well as Nebraska Swordfighters Guild, the Musketeer Fencing Club, and the Iron Lions out of Des Moines, IA.
To start off the weekend, OKDF held a longsword
and Dusack competitions. Each competition started with a several pools of combatants, where the combatants went round robin style around the pool, testing their “metal” against their opponents. Once the pools were complete, OKDF took the results and created a single-elimination bracket for the tournament placement, this not only allowed for fair placement, but also allowed for more sparring among the combatants, which everybody liked.
Sunday’s competitions were laid out the same way as Saturdays, but the weapons of choice were Rapiers for the first competition, and Mixed Steel for the second. Both competitions allowed for a sidearm with your main weapon, this lead to many exciting bouts, including some combatants using a steel cup as a buckler-like defense item.
Overall, we had a wonderful time, met wonderful new people, and hope to see everyone at the next tournament.