Assumptions.

I guess this is the place to start- and it's one of the hardest since I'm trying to list the things that I take for granted. I think I'll try to stick to the ones which don't quite come into "being a good fighter. That will be a different topic"

"All cuts are fatal". This isn't meant as in "that nick in your arm will kill you". However the gash will slow you down and make it much easier for a nastier blow to land. Being stabbed/cut hurts and pain is distracting. Therefore- don't get hit.

"If you survive, you don't want to be hanged". I think this is a peculiarly Swetnam trait. Somewhere around then, duelling had been outlawed in the city and this brings a more cautious attitude to the fight. If you did some of the capoferro techniques involving aiming at the right eye- you could be hauled up in front of the beak on a murder charge. So the legality of duelling has shaped the fight.

"Any hole's a goal" there's no point being picky about your target. If you can give a light cut and remain under cover it's as good as stabbing him through the heart. If a leg is exposed then go for it. Predicting exactly where and how you will hit an opponent is pretentious, egotistical tomfoolery and a bit silly, especially when "passing". If you can make a hole without getting hit- do it.

"Englishmen have a tendency to cut" this is another Swetnam specific, and from my experience this is pretty true. It's only fairly recently that longsword simulators have been safe on the thrust (well, not including feders) and so you'll notice a tendency to cut with most weapons. From behind a rapier, a cut still feels nice and I know I still go for them despite the fact that it would be wiser to thrust. This is also probably something to do with distance control and suchlike. But basically although rapier is primarily a thrusting weapon, it still cuts and people tend to use the cut first.

"Feints must be treated as if they were real" You must, at least cover a feint and a feint should be able to be moved into an attack on that line as well as the line you're trying to open up.

"Don't trust the other person to believe these assumptions" Just because you don't want to be up for murder, it doesn't mean your opponent is thinking that far into the future.

"All swords are sharp pointy things designed to cut and to thrust. Some types are better at one than the other, but they still work both ways." The differences between one handed, complex hilt swords are fairly moot. What works well for a rapier will work, just not quite as well, with a backsword and so on. Throwing these techniques away simply because you're not using the perfect sword for them is a stupid idea. You never know what may come in handy.

These assumptions will shape my interpretation in some ways- for example the shoulder becomes a "vital organ" and a thrust there is, in ways, preferable to a stab in the face, lungs or heart.

I may cover the assumptions that make a good fighter, regardless of weapon and school of thought later. It would certainly be helpful for putting lessons into blocks.