The Weekly Warfare   Musings martial from across the SCA

On to the more specific discussion of particular feints, used to illustrate and reiterate: How to Strike to the Chest with Single Sword – from the Measure and Parity of Swords This illustration shows an artful manner to strike the opponent in the chest while assuring yourself of his weapon so that he may not […]

Last week Gawin and I worked through the first half of Giganti’s discussion of feints.  Here I’ll discuss only the first section.  I usually substitute rapid sword movement and body/foot/hand fakes for anything like a formal, structured attempt at a feint, which has left this as a rather gaping hole in my arsenal.  Time to […]

I’ve been pimping Giganti all over of late (Caelia got a belated birthday present, and I told Miguel and Indy at Drums of War to invest in it).  I wonder if I can put together a class for August University. So far, Giganti has taught two means of attack: Close the line, force a cavazione, […]

Giganti in these section reiterates his main theme of forcing your opponent to take a tempo and attacking him in that tempo.  At length. Explanation of the Strike in Tempo For instance: Gain your opponent’s sword from out of measure… so that the opponent cannot attack you without a cavazione.  So, in the very tempo […]

Just one section from this week’s study, but it’s a section rich in awesomeness.  Yet again, half a page (page 7) packed with good stuff.  I think by this point, Agrippa was already in to full on “nifty tricks you can do from this guard” mode.  Giganti’s still laying down the groundwork of combat theory.  […]

We return to page 4, where we find the first instance of Italian Rapier Soft Core Porn.  You know, I really do appreciate being able to see the exact orientation of each muscle and joint in an action or guard (at least, when the engraver doesn’t go for Rodin-esque distortions), but concentrating on pages full […]

Having established a better conception of tempo, Gavvin and I digressed from page 2 all the way to page 24.  Why? There are many who attack the opponent with full intent and deliver thrusts without any respect to tempo… but always throwing blows with fury and vehemence. Sound like anybody you know?  Say, anybody who […]

You can’t truly say you understand defense and offense if you only know how to stand in guard or in counter-guard… you can only make that claim if you have a command of tempo and measure. Tempo and Measure, again and again.  The same principles of combat from DiGrassi, and the Bolognese school, and I.33, […]

The Guards and Counter-Guards Giganti launches straight in with the properties of a good guard.  He does not, in the entirety of the work, bother to define a set of guards which are to be used (he gives some examples of guards that offer various openings to opponents, but never the “Prima, Seconda, Tierca, Quarta” […]

Consider, if you will, Gavvin.  He’s been going to a moderately large practice, fighting decent fencers (provosts, free scholars, senior scholars) for about six months.  He’s been taught the generic strip-derived technique, and improves at a decent pace.  Then his teacher made a mistake: his teacher purchased Tom Leoni’s translation of Giganti’s “The School”, a […]