A horizontal cut delivered at roughly shoulder or waist height.
The Mittelhau travels across rather than down or up. Meyer gives it its own name and uses it in his devices; in the earlier glosses the horizontal strike at the head is mostly discussed as the .
Horizontal cuts cover a different line from descending ones, so they are useful for reaching around a high cover or changing the line after an .
Your familiarity
Sources and interpretation
- Joachim Meyer (1570) well-attested Meyer names the Mittelhau as one of his principal cuts, alongside the Oberhau and Unterhau, with the Zwerch as a separate cut at the head. Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens (1570), Wiktenauer page