Book Two, Rule Five for the Single Sword

Back to Book Two, because that's what I was in the mood to cover when I sat down to write things! Fabris says that the fifth rule is "more subtle than the others" so this could be a trip. (He also says that if we can safely get to the place where we utilize the rule, we'll be able to strike our opponent without ever being in danger ourselves, but that's not a new claim in Book Two. The description of the rule is only about two pages long (though it has nine plates following) so let's get to it.

So while our opponent is in "whatever guard" they like, we move towards them with the usual small steps. While we're doing that and approaching measure - because we're all starting outside of measure, right? -  we'll slowly move our sword into position such that the moment we hit measure, we're set up the way we want. 

Fabris reiterates that as he says in previous rules, we want to set up to the weaker side of our opponent's blade. Nothing new there! This time though, he wants us to get close enough so that our point is near but not past our opponent's hilt. We should have the point of our sword to one side or the other of our opponent's guard as is appropriate to whichever side is weaker, but our sword point should be pointing slightly downward, which is different. According to Fabris, this is for two reasons. First, this should let us perform a quick cavazione if we need to. Second, our opponent will need to lower their hilt to control the point of our sword, which will more or less be a free tempo for us since we'll be so close to them.

Okay. When we get to actually fence and work with other humans again, I'd like to work on this as a concept just to see how it plays out. I can see what he means, but I really want to feel it in my hand to make sure that I get it. My fencing practice dummy just isn't animated enough as-is to get this to work.

Moving on from there, Fabris says that if our opponent is in third or fourth we should be sure to keep our blade in a straight line from point to wrist (which yes, the sword should by definition be straight from the point to your wrist but the wrist should also be straight, maintaining the line through the forearm) and our arm should be well extended so that we can defend against attacks. (Also, extending your arm into a fourth will make it a lot easier to get your blade pointed slightly downward.) 

If our opponent is in first or second, Fabris says that we should "still direct your point toward his sword hand, but this time underneath his hilt." The way I'm reading this really conflicts with the previous statements about keeping our swords pointed downward, which is something that we're going to revisit in the plates. He reiterates that our hand should not make any angle at all, so keep your wrist straight and firm.

Should our opponent strike directly at us from this position, Fabris says that we can defend and strike in a single tempo, over and to the outside of their sword. Again, this is something I need to play with because as I'm seeing it, you'd be running along your opponent's sword with your debole, but to the outside in fourth, which isn't common at all. Fabris does suggest bringing our feet to the outside to keep us safer, so there's that? But what's getting me in combination with closing the line to the outside in fourth is that we'd need to re-angulate our sword such that our point is above their sword as we go. I just wonder if our sword pointing down is less efficient than horizontal? (Fabris does somewhat address this concern of mine later on.)

If our opponent doesn't do anything, Fabris' advice is both general and extremely in keeping with all his prior techniques. We just redirect our point away from their hand and towards an opening, we cover ourselves with our hilt, move the body to support these things, and strike them. It's pretty broad as advice goes, but honestly by this point in the manual it's reasonable to assume that you've really incorporated all of those as basic concepts.

If our opponent turns their guard to third or fourth, we should just cover to the inside and keep moving forward. If those guards are particularly low, we should have our point above their guard and defend with our hilt. (There are a couple plates illustrating this, the second of which has some real similarities to one from the previous rule.) 

Fabris closes with a collection of general pieces of advice for this rule:

• Be in fourth. No matter what, be in fourth. Keep pointing towards our opponent's hilt.
• The closer we can get to them the better.
• Feints can be a problem. Always parry towards the side where our sword and body are. Don't keep our sword on one side and our body on the other.
• Parrying should be done in fourth, either to the inside or outside. But if their sword is underneath us and to the outside, turn to third as we move.

This is one of those things that is just... really simple, at least on the surface. "Be in fourth, point at their hand, push through them in fourth when they hit you, it'll work out." There's obviously a lot of mastery that's required to be able to manage this in the correct tempo and measure, let alone smoothly and well. I want to reiterate again just how really hard is can be to just walk unceasingly towards your opponent while you try to shut them out and strike them - and our swords aren't sharp. That said, it's also really intimidating to have your opponent doing this to you so it's probably worth the practice!

Next time, plates! Which will clarify some things, make me question some other things, but generally make this at least appear even more straightforward a rule.