The Honour Taker



 Previously I posted an article by Stewart MacPhee, writing as Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler, about the Prussian forms of Parasol Duelling.

Here is another excellent post.

Well done Sir!

Enjoy
Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed, and your water iced.
KJ


Ed: It is my pleasure to post another wonderful article from the good Doctor Adler.

This one discusses the history and forms of the infamous Ehre Nehmer move and how it was used in other Parasol Duelling styles. As an eyewitness and formal Doctor (umpire) at many Parasol Duelling competitions he was well placed to observe and study these moves. 

A valuable addition to the increasing amount of information being compiled on this intriguing sport. 

Abflug mit gnade
(Departing with grace)
By: Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler

    Many of my colleagues as of late have been asking me many questions regarding the elegant form of parasol dueling known as the Prussian style that is widely practiced in the Germanic territories.  One topic in particular is the dreaded move known as the Ehre Nehmer or Honour Taker.  While talking about this with my fellows there arose a bit of controversy over just what form the move in question takes when practiced.  While some will state that it appears to be a twirl but instead of facing the opponent the duelist instead turns their back, appearing like a “reverse twirl”, others still state that the move in question takes the form of a snub, where the duelist keeps the parasol facing their opponent, but then turns on their heel and walks away appearing like a kind of “reverse snub”.

    While I initially found this quite strange as the move that I had grown up hearing about, and had witnessed on more than one occasion, had always taken the form of the aforementioned “reverse snub”. Imagine my surprise, after exchanging letters on the subject with learned minds on the continent and my own investigations, when I found not one or two, but three variations of this move!  While they may all be called “Honour Takers”, in their own way they are each a separate move as practiced by those of different schools or styles of the sport. 
   
    So with that in mind, I have decided to sit down and write this missive on what had originally started as a Germanic move but has since seen its way from the vaunted drill academies of Berlin to the elegant runway plots of the Seine and, if rumours are to be believed, to the very shadow of Buckingham Palace itself.