Why nobody use half swording on single handed sword?

[Griffion Lau]

As you know,there is a very important techniques of longsword is half swording,grabing the blade as a shot spike of long war hammer.

But I have never seen any one use this techniques on arming sword,side sword,rapier and any other single handed sword?Why????

Am I wrong?

[Jon Pellett]

Yes, you are wrong.

It's maybe not as common but it is definitely there.

For rapier -
Fabris http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/Fabris/book2/04023257.jpg.
I believe it's in Capo Ferro too but I can't find a pic.
Thibault, e.g. Table 21, Circle 7.
Swetnam: "Now another fashion is, by holding your left hand upon the blade, and so with the strength of your forefinger and thumbe of your left hand, you may breake your enemies thrust cleere of your bodie, by turning of your rapier point downe-ward or up-ward accordingly as your enemie chargeth you; and then charge your enemie againe with a quicke answer."

A whole bunch of messer/dussack stuff, but I don't know much about that.


For one-handed sword the Bolognese have some - they call it "the manner of the sword in armour". It's in some of the half sword plays (here meaning half-sword in the Italian/English sense not the German sense).

[Jonathan Hill]

You should also consider why you should be half swording, and this will give you clues as to its usage for the different weapons. First off you notice that every time you see half-swording the two fighters are much closer than they are when swinging the sword as is illustrated by the messer pics above. Naturally half swording/grabbing your blade shortens your distance, thus it is more valuable closer in. In armor this gets to be a normal as our opponents sword is of little effect at cutting range and thus you close in so you can use it to better effect. Halfswording also increases your control and leverage on your own blade, this is a good thing when needed but is it always needed?

Unarmored when you are in distance to use half swording techniques then you have already passed the cutting range of the weapon and are pretty much in grappling distance or very close to it. Fiore addresses this distance quite a bit for the longsword but instead of having two hands on your weapon, you generally have your off hand on your opponent, his hands or his blade. While halfswording is a viable option to do, there are other possibilities that personally I would do before placing both hands on my blade. At the bottom of this article you can see many of the Fiore pictures showing techniques at about this distance, notice most do not have both hands on your own blade. - http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/Liberi.htm

Using a single hander the principles are similar, your off hand is available for a weapon of its own or you are generally better off using it to control your opponent or his blade.

[Griffion Lau]

Was there any techniques like halfswording in any swordsmanships of side sword,armingsword?

[steve hick]

As you know,there is a very important techniques of longsword is half swording,grabing the blade as a shot spike of long war hammer.

But I have never seen any one use this techniques on arming sword,side sword,rapier and any other single handed sword?Why????

Am I wrong?

There are a whole series of pictures in Burgundy, done in honor of Philippe le Bon's wedding to Infanta Isabella that have 1/2 swording with arming swords on horseback. I have one that could be Dom Duarte somewhere.
Steve