The Weekly Warfare   Musings martial from across the SCA

Translation by Rachel Barkley

Two middle blows from where the position of the enemy is made by striking down

To this position by this reasoning it will be necessary that you adapt yourself. You should place forward the right foot and you will hold against the enemy the sickle before your face in the right hand, at the same time you will apply the left hand to the left hip. Meanwhile you should put the right outside foot after the adversary’s left foot, and from this attack of the cut[1], and you will yoke the sickle around the limbs of his right side by cutting.

If he has seized you in a hardly dissimilar reasoning[2] then remember in turn that you will use this position and thence you should drag the enemy, you turning yourself.[3]

If however he has in turn applied his own sickle to your limbs, you should attack his inner right elbow with your left hand, and you should repel the blow of the enemy, with your left side having been turned.[4]

Otherwise if in turn you will have suffered the repulsed blow from the same position, with his chin having been seized in your left hand, you should lift him upwards.

When the enemy is attempting this or turning you upward, you should suddenly seize your sickle, and as if you wish to knock him upward by ploughing up, but instead you should deflect[5]. Wound his left arm, and by this reasoning you will free yourself lest he is able to apprehend your chin.

If however you understand that you become the same from your enemy against yourself[6], from the tossed sickle[7], you should throw your left hand against his neck, you should apply the right hand to the genitals[8], and if from here you will have lifted the enemy, you should throw him to the ground on your left side.

Notes:

[1] “attack with a cut”

[2]  “by the same reasoning”  How did a race whose grammar looks like that make an empire?

[3] Rotate and pull so as to drag the sickle through your opponent

[4] This describes an action to stop the rotation above

[5] This describes feinting a remise of the original counter attack with a redirection to the opponent’s left arm

[6] See [2]

[7] Or “having discarded your sickle”

[8] It’s important to be good friends with your HMA sparring partners

 

Interpretation by Owen Townes

Setup:

Agente:
Right foot forward
Sickle in Middle Guard

Patiente:
Left foot forward
Sickle in middle guard

Play:

Agente:
Offside Mittelhau with lengthening step to inside with Right foot

Patiente:
If Right arm free
Offside Mittelhau
Rotate to Right to evade  Agente’s pull
Pull through Agente

If Right arm trapped
Block or seize Agente’s right elbow and rotate to Right to free Right arm

Agente:
Grab Patiente’s throat and lift him up

Patiente:
Feint a  body attack, redirect to strike Agente’s Left arm

Agente:
Discard sickle, seize Patiente by neck with Left hand and genitalia with Right, throw to the left side

 

Observation:

This is one of the more confusing plates so far.  It shows a far longer string of actions and reactions than the usual template.  Also, the text is unclear, but seems to suggest two possible, conditional responses to Agente’s opening attack.

The lengthening step that opens Agente’s attack lowers Agente’s gravity to assist the throw that concludes the play.