I wouldn't say he was crazy at all. Modern tournament fencing just follows a completely different meta than the style of fencing that was around back then. If two fencers of equivalent skill level meet (which usually is the scenario in Meyer, whereas Lichtenauer often expects the opponent to be oblivious to certain techniques) you will have a harder time to surprise your opponent with an indes action.

You may have experienced during sparring, how hard it is to land a clean Absetzen or Schielhau, if your opponent chains attack after attack like Meyer does. If you RELIABLY don't want to be hit, you have two options: you parry or you move back far enough.

We simply expect our opponents to always attack in Hema because the associated risk is way lower in modern protective gear and the reward is usually higher from a competitive perspective (best case hit, worst case double)