swordplay Archive

  • This book fills me with nerd rage. It's such an arrogant and ill-informed Victorian age view of the history of fencing. The author is so thoroughly caught up with the nineteenth century idea of progress that he cannot see anything beyond what he wants to see. Sadly, the book is still the best history of fencing from the Middle Ages to the present day. Here's a sample:

    Review: Schools and Masters of Fencing

    Posted on 21 May, 2012 | 1 Comment
    This book fills me with nerd rage. It's such an arrogant and ill-informed Victorian age view of the history of fencing. The author is so thoroughly caught up with the nineteenth century idea of progress that he cannot see anything beyond what he wants to see. Sadly, the book is still the best history of fencing from the Middle Ages to the present day. Here's a sample:

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>Henri de Sainct Didier outlines three basic postures: high, medium and low. This last has two variants. The high and medium postures seems to be untenable in any form of actual bout, be it sporting or deadly in intent. I believe that Sainct Didier intends them as defensive stances but cannot prove this from the text. These two postures are the outcomes of drawing one’s sword and stepping back with the right foot (see the <strong>Trois Desgainements</strong> below).</p> <p>The only actions that I can make work from these postures (other than initiating the Six Strikes sequences) are defensive: parrying with the […]</p>

    Henri de Sainct Didier – Guards and Draws

    Posted on 14 May, 2012 | No Comments

    Henri de Sainct Didier outlines three basic postures: high, medium and low. This last has two variants. The high and medium postures seems to be untenable in any form of actual bout, be it sporting or deadly in intent. I believe that Sainct Didier intends them as defensive stances but cannot prove this from the text. These two postures are the outcomes of drawing one’s sword and stepping back with the right foot (see the Trois Desgainements below).

    The only actions that I can make work from these postures (other than initiating the Six Strikes sequences) are defensive: parrying with the […]

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>Unlike Joachim Meyer, Henri de Sainct Didier says little about his concept of the fight and how to approach or conduct it. There is rarely anything that appears to be explicit tactical advice in his text. However, there are several oblique references from which we can deduce something of the fight he envisioned.</p> <p>Swordplay is compared to sport. In Sainct Didier’s view, a good <em>jeu de paulme</em> (the handball forerunner of tennis) player has the physicality necessary and general concept of movement (fore-hand and back-hand) to make a decent fencer. Is this only a comment on the degree of athleticism […]</p>

    Henri de Sainct Didier – Fencing and Tennis

    Posted on 30 April, 2012 | No Comments

    Unlike Joachim Meyer, Henri de Sainct Didier says little about his concept of the fight and how to approach or conduct it. There is rarely anything that appears to be explicit tactical advice in his text. However, there are several oblique references from which we can deduce something of the fight he envisioned.

    Swordplay is compared to sport. In Sainct Didier’s view, a good jeu de paulme (the handball forerunner of tennis) player has the physicality necessary and general concept of movement (fore-hand and back-hand) to make a decent fencer. Is this only a comment on the degree of athleticism […]

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  • <p>I was reading today Sigmund Ringeck’s Fechtbuch on the longsword (both the Lindholm and the Tobler translations) and found that his definitions of <em>vor</em> (the before) and <em>nach</em> (the after) are quite different to what I’ve been taught. These terms refer to much more than just plain owning the initiative of the fight. They’re about breaking the opponent’s guard and single-time defences.</p> <blockquote><p>“Before means pre-empting your opponent with a strike or thrust to an opening. Then he must defend or parry. Be flexible in your defence and aim your sword against one opening after another so that he cannot get </p> […]</blockquote>

    German Longsword: Vor and Nach

    Posted on 21 April, 2012 | No Comments

    I was reading today Sigmund Ringeck’s Fechtbuch on the longsword (both the Lindholm and the Tobler translations) and found that his definitions of vor (the before) and nach (the after) are quite different to what I’ve been taught. These terms refer to much more than just plain owning the initiative of the fight. They’re about breaking the opponent’s guard and single-time defences.

    “Before means pre-empting your opponent with a strike or thrust to an opening. Then he must defend or parry. Be flexible in your defence and aim your sword against one opening after another so that he cannot get

    […]

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  • The Six Strikes of Henri de Sainct Didier are a simple set of exercises which teach more than just how to cut and thrust at an opponent. Also encoded within the sequences are a range of parrying techniques; some simple, some more complex. One aspect which puzzles is how he suggests the Lieutenant change safely from attacking from the right to attack from the left and vice versa. Here's our interpretation.

    Sainct Didier’s Transitions

    Posted on 2 April, 2012 | No Comments
    The Six Strikes of Henri de Sainct Didier are a simple set of exercises which teach more than just how to cut and thrust at an opponent. Also encoded within the sequences are a range of parrying techniques; some simple, some more complex. One aspect which puzzles is how he suggests the Lieutenant change safely from attacking from the right to attack from the left and vice versa. Here's our interpretation.

    Continue Reading...

  • Agrippa's Treatise on the Science of Arms (1553) doesn't quite make the cut for Club 1570 (my personal interest in later sixteenth century sidesword) but he remains an important factor in the understanding of the world and mindset of fencers of the period. An civil engineer by trade, Agrippa broke with the so-called medieval traditions of fencing still extant in his life. He de-constructed the art of the sword and rebuilt it as a science on firm geometric principles. Some believe that his work may be the inspiration for the geometry of the Spanish sword art known as La Verdadera Destreza. I need to revisit Agrippa's work at some point. I've learned a lot since I wrote these posts and I can see there's plenty more to learn within the text.

    Camillo Agrippa – Redux

    Posted on 19 March, 2012 | No Comments
    Agrippa's Treatise on the Science of Arms (1553) doesn't quite make the cut for Club 1570 (my personal interest in later sixteenth century sidesword) but he remains an important factor in the understanding of the world and mindset of fencers of the period. An civil engineer by trade, Agrippa broke with the so-called medieval traditions of fencing still extant in his life. He de-constructed the art of the sword and rebuilt it as a science on firm geometric principles. Some believe that his work may be the inspiration for the geometry of the Spanish sword art known as La Verdadera Destreza. I need to revisit Agrippa's work at some point. I've learned a lot since I wrote these posts and I can see there's plenty more to learn within the text.

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>This post marks the start of my investigation into A Tract on the Single Sword of Henri de Sainct Didier (1573), another member of Club 1570. Like my look at Joachim Meyer’s rapier technique, there is likely to be a bunch of posts working through different aspects of his swordplay style culminating in a PDF which presents my interpretation of them. I’ll be relying on the facsimilie text of the treatise available at the Raymond J. Lord Collection of Historical Combat Manuals and Fencing Treatises rather than the translation by Preston and Wilson which I’m not at all keen on. […]</p>

    Henri de Sainct Didier – At First Glance

    Posted on 12 March, 2012 | No Comments

    This post marks the start of my investigation into A Tract on the Single Sword of Henri de Sainct Didier (1573), another member of Club 1570. Like my look at Joachim Meyer’s rapier technique, there is likely to be a bunch of posts working through different aspects of his swordplay style culminating in a PDF which presents my interpretation of them. I’ll be relying on the facsimilie text of the treatise available at the Raymond J. Lord Collection of Historical Combat Manuals and Fencing Treatises rather than the translation by Preston and Wilson which I’m not at all keen on. […]

    Continue Reading...

  • Last time, I looked briefly at what Giovanni Dall'Agocchie has to say in his On the Art of Fencing (1572) about teaching a complete newcomer in thirty days how to survive a duel. The simple technique he describes covers enough situations to be effective for a beginner. However, he says, if given more time, he'd teach the student a second guard. This post looks at his advice for that guard, coda lunga stretta. Together with this guard position, the porta di ferro discussed last time and Dall'Agocchie's advice on how to use them forms a solid core for any one interested in cut-and-thrust historical swordplay. A right-handed fencer is assumed.

    Learn to Duel in 30 Days – Part Two

    Posted on 27 February, 2012 | No Comments
    Last time, I looked briefly at what Giovanni Dall'Agocchie has to say in his On the Art of Fencing (1572) about teaching a complete newcomer in thirty days how to survive a duel. The simple technique he describes covers enough situations to be effective for a beginner. However, he says, if given more time, he'd teach the student a second guard. This post looks at his advice for that guard, coda lunga stretta. Together with this guard position, the porta di ferro discussed last time and Dall'Agocchie's advice on how to use them forms a solid core for any one interested in cut-and-thrust historical swordplay. A right-handed fencer is assumed.

    Continue Reading...

  • I'm making a side trip into the rapier fencing technique of Giovanni Dall'Agocchie as outlined in his On the Art of Fencing (1572). He's considered the last writer within the Dardi School of rapier fencing. The book has a fascinating little section on how to teach a complete novice within thirty days enough skill and technique to allow him or her to survive a duel. His advice is extremely useful to anyone interested in cut-and-thrust swordplay.

    Learn to Duel in 30 Days – Part One

    Posted on 13 February, 2012 | 2 Comments
    I'm making a side trip into the rapier fencing technique of Giovanni Dall'Agocchie as outlined in his On the Art of Fencing (1572). He's considered the last writer within the Dardi School of rapier fencing. The book has a fascinating little section on how to teach a complete novice within thirty days enough skill and technique to allow him or her to survive a duel. His advice is extremely useful to anyone interested in cut-and-thrust swordplay.

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>I’ve posted before on the difference between sword fighting and swordplay. One is for the battlefield and the other is for more social situations. I find it amazing that there are historical fencers wthese not understand or fully appreciate the different contexts in which these wonderful weapons were used and how their use changed over time. This post is a quick and very general overview of the different situations in which swords were used.</p> Battlefield <p>This is the most obvious use of the sword as a weapon. It is also the one that is least understood by fencers. Contrary to […]</p>

    Swordplay: Context is Everything

    Posted on 30 January, 2012 | 1 Comment

    I’ve posted before on the difference between sword fighting and swordplay. One is for the battlefield and the other is for more social situations. I find it amazing that there are historical fencers wthese not understand or fully appreciate the different contexts in which these wonderful weapons were used and how their use changed over time. This post is a quick and very general overview of the different situations in which swords were used.

    Battlefield

    This is the most obvious use of the sword as a weapon. It is also the one that is least understood by fencers. Contrary to […]

    Continue Reading...

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