Practice Notes for Oct. 16

Rapier

For L’Ange rapier we reviewed the fine details of the ‘German’ style grip. Then we repeated the exercise with the ‘Italian’ grip as you might see in Capo Ferro.

Then we looked at plate 7 of Capo Ferro’s Use of Fencing. This play teaches one how to safely disengage when constrained and to punish someone who disengages in an unsafe manner.

More on Plate 7

Greatsword

In the greatsword section, we looked at Manciolino’s 3rd Assault for the Montante. This section deals with fighting from “half swords”, or in other words from the bind. (This has nothing to do with “half-swording”.)

In the prelude we saw some basic attacks from the bind using a riverso, either directly or as a feint.

The first play has you capture both swords, trapping your opponent’s hands between them. This doesn’t work with swords that have side rings, as they leave too much of a gap.

The second play begins with a cross-knock using the “small hilt”. That means the lugs or parrying hooks. The cross-knock leads directly into a pommel strike.

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