[1][2] Fencing with the German longsword has been a focus of historical European martial arts reconstruction since the late 19th century, when swordsmen such as Alfred Hutton first popularized the pursuit.

The earliest source, Ms. 3227a of 1389, mentions a number of masters who are considered peers of Liechtenauer: Hanko Döbringer, Andres Jud, Jost von der Nyssen, and Niklaus Preuss.

Kal's contemporary, Hans Talhoffer, may have been involved with the founding of the Brotherhood of St. Mark, which enjoyed a quasi-monopoly on teaching martial arts from 1487 until 1570.

[c] In 1516, Pauernfeindt published a treatise entitled Ergründung der ritterlichen kunst des fechtens durch freyfechter czu Vienn ("Foundation of the knightly art of combat by the Freifechter of Vienna"), which is one of the earliest printed fencing manuals.

In the 17th century, rapier fencing of the Italian school became fashionable due to treatises by such as Salvator Fabris, and the German tradition becoming regarded as old-fashioned and unrefined among the nobility during the Baroque.

[7] Both Peter Hagendorf (a mercenary who fought in the Thirty Years' War) and Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen make references in their works to the excessive number of deaths among the member of the traditional fencing guilds and the massive destruction of the regions in which they were active (this also explains why most of the surviving schools and lines were active in the eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire or in regions that were far less affected by the war).

He also writes that "it is possible to kill a man who is armed with a gun in a short range, when he stands close to you[,] with the help of the rapier, because of the highly effective thrusting techniques [that] will save your life, rather than with the slower cutting of a bigger sword or a sabre.

The last known practitioner by name was Theodori Verolini[14] in 1679, when he published his book Der Kůnstliche Fechter ("The Artful Fencer"), which was based upon Joachim Meyers fechtbuch.

[16] In 1726, Gottfried Rudolf Pommer auf Bugenhagen mentions, in his publication Sammlung von Merktwurdigkeiten ("Collection of Oddities"),[17] the use of long swords in those fencing schools.

[24] Büsching goes on to say that the art was dying out very slowly, mostly due to the fact that there were fewer living fencers who were trained by the few remaining Marxbrüder und Federfechter.

[25] Strangely enough, the public demonstrations of these fencing styles seem to end very abruptly, despite the big popularity they had among both noblemen and common citizens.

[26] The collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1806, and the wars and battles of the period destroyed several of the remaining old fencing schools and led to the death of many active fencers.

[28] The German historian Alfred Schaer presented evidence that longsword fencing was referenced in descriptions and even portrayed on images of the Marksbrüder and the Federfechter as long as these institutions existed.

[30][31] On 16 April 1862, The Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung mentioned the death of an unnamed, 76-year-old (born in 1786) former member of the Marksbrüder, who having fenced longsword in his teenage years in the early 1800s, was possibly the last living practitioner.

[67] Giffart directly references "thrusting with a longsword" and compares his own bayonet fencing system with "the handling of a large sword" (" épée-grande").

[73][74] The Hews "Pflug", "Langort" and "Schlüssel" seem to have been considered the best guards and there were still references to their roots in older, medieval fencing styles as late as the 19th century.

[78] Like Liechtenauer's system, Styers' method doesn't have parries, but uses bladework to focus the enemy weapon away from its original target and provide openings for the fencer to attack.

There are several places called "Lichtenau" in Germany, and Ms. 3227a states explicitly that Johannes Liechtenauer traveled widely to learn from as many masters as possible.

"[82] After the medieval period, emerging traditions of fencing, i.e. the early modern rapier systems, as opposed to the generic systems of "combat" or "fighting" of the late medieval period, developed in close contact with each other, which led to the separate but closely related rapier styles of Italy, Spain, and later France, all of which were also well received in Germany.

[83] The 15th century Liechtenauerian tradition seems to have been geographically centered on Swabia and Franconia, and influenced development in the adjacent territories, including Alsace, the Rhineland, the Lowlands, Bohemia, and the Swiss Confederacy.

[year needed][84] In spite of the surging popularity of the Italian and Spanish rapier, elements of the German tradition survived well into the 17th century.

[85] There is evidence that, in the second half of the 16th century, at least a handful of German long sword fencers (Marksbrüder) traveled to England and gave fencing lessons.

One German source states: "the young prince (Louis XIV) was very excited by the stage fencing provided by fencers from his mother's fatherland.

When they were finished with the swordplay, he (Louis XIV) clapped loudly and asked for more (stage fights and friendly bouts)" (Note: Anne of Austria, the mother of Louis, was a Spanish princess from the Holy Roman Empire, given that the Liechtenauer tradition was both the most widely practiced and officially recognised form of fencing in the Holy Roman Empire, it is very likely that these fencers were practitioners of the Liechtenauer tradition).

The anonymous author explicitly states that Liechtenauer had cast his teaching in opaque verses intended to hide their meaning from the uninitiated.

The text goes on to present the core principles of successful swordsmanship in eight rhyming couplets (17v): A characteristic, introductory verse of Liechtenauer's – often repeated in later manuscripts – echoes classic 14th century chivalry, addressing the student as "young knight" (jung ritter): The principal discipline is unarmoured fencing with the longsword (Blossfechten).

The foundation of the system comprises five "master-hews" (Meisterhäue) or "hidden hews" from which many masterful techniques arise, 12 "chief pieces" (hauptstücke) that categorize the main components of the art, and five words (fünf Wörter) dealing with concepts of timing and leverage.

At the center of the art is an emphasis on swiftness, as well as on balance and good judgement: The terms "before" (vor) and "after" (nach) correspond to offensive and defensive actions.

Later masters introduce richer terminology for variant guards: The following are transitional stances that are not properly called guards: Other terms in Liechtenauer's system (most of them referring to positions or actions applicable in mid-combat, when the blades are in contact) include: The Fechtbücher themselves rarely if ever mention complex footwork, which caused a debate among historians whether or not there was complex footwork in Liechtenauer's system.

However, the fencing master Hugo Wittenwiler strongly implies that "fancy footwork" was seen as impractical and even dangerous in the medieval and early modern period.