Carry the point of your dagger upright and the hilt so low as your girdle-stead, without putting your thumb against the blade of your dagger, but gripping him fast in your hand, and the point of your rapier under the Dagger hand according to the picture (which, conveniently is not there)
This has required some guesswork- mainly because of the lack of the picture. It's a fairly straight forward stance. The big question is where the point of your sword goes. Obviously it's under your dagger, but do you carry the point near the ground or close to your fist?
Personally, after practice and some of the bits that he says later, I think the point should be carried close to the ground- in a position similar to one of the iron guards. You still have a lot covered by the sword but it looks a bit more open because of the increased space. It also stops you from getting tangled up with yourself.
This guard will make your chest appear open and it helps limit the effectiveness of the opponents dagger.
There is one particularly beautiful move from this position and it comes when you receive a thrust to the chest. It is a simple passing step where you turn the point of your sword up to offend. Providing you keep your dagger arm locked (relative to your body) as you step, you move to behind your dagger and your opponent runs onto your sword.
This looks quite Hollywood and foppish when done- which is a bonus- it feels really satisfying when it works. The hardest thing about the whole manoeuvre is stepping forwards when a sword is coming at you.
No comments:
Post a Comment