Second blow in Swetnam

[leam hall]

Swetnam talks about a second thrust after a false play or feigned blow. He advocates a straight arm guard, as well. Do you keep your arm straight at all times or do you flex the elbow to get the second thrust?

[DavidEvans]

Swetnam say clearly that:-
"You must proffer, or faine a thrust a foote above your enemie head, but presently plucke backe your hand againe, and put home your thrust which you meane to hurt your enemie withall under his Dagger arme, either unto his body or thigh, as you will your selfe, but step not forth with your foote when you faine a thrust, but with the second thrust which you meane to speed your enemie withall, let then your foote and hand goe together"
So, the faine is static, with the sword hand being extended then plucked back. The real thrust is done on the pass, foot and hand together. He doesn't say anything about flexing the elbow at all but it seem that thrusts are all done on the pass.
My I suggest having a look at " A Bluffer's guide to Swetnam" which might help.

[Stuart McDermid]

Hi David,

What leads you to believe that all attacks are done on a pass?

I'd say that attacks are mostly done on a lunge.

The best way to bring thy feete to a sure standing, both for defence and offence, is when thou dost practise with thy friend or companion; at first get thy backe to the wall, and let him that playeth with thee stand about twelue foote distance, and set thy left heele close to the wall, and thy right foote heele to the great ioynt of the left foote great toe, and when thou intendest to offend thy enemy, either with blow or thrust, then steppe forth with thy right foote, and hand together, but keepe thy left foote fast moared like an anchor , to plucke home thy body and thy right foote into his place and distance againe; vse this fashion but three of foure times, and it will bring thee to a true standing with thy foote, and it will be as easie to thee as any other way ;

Given that Swetnam says.......

Keepe thy rapier hand so low as the pocket of thy hose at the armes end, without bowing the elbow ioynt , and keepe the hilt of thy dagger right with thy left cheeke,

......,my interpretation is that you do indeed pluck back the rapier by beinding the elbow rather than using an Italian Style Cavatione.
Cheers,
Stu.

[DavidEvans]

Stuart
Swetnam says:-
"For your instruction herein, when you practice in a chamber, looke what board you stand upon, you should in delivering either of blow or thrust, alwaies steps foorth with your right foote upon the same board which the left foote standeth on, for looke how much your left your fore foote wide of the straight line towards your enemie."

Which I do take to mean that you attack on the move, not a lunge. When talking about the passage, each move involves the movement of the feet, stepping forward or a jump sideways!

As for bowing the elbow, There's nothing else to indicate if you do bend the elbow, however the injunction not to bend the elbow in the guard does suggest to me that the elbow is static, force coming from the movment of the whole arm

[Stuart McDermid]

Hi David,

If the right foot is forward and the left is back when you launch an attack that involves a step forward with the right foot then this constitutes a lunge whether or not you were moving at the time.

Is this the type of attack you are talking about?

I disagree about the elbow movement. Moving the entire arm simply takes too long. As it is the movement is slower than an Italian cavatione as a wrist action is much faster than an action involving any other part of the arm.

Swetnam certainly uses a very similar guard structure in his backsword section and definitely uses half arm blows.
Cheers,
Stu.

[DavidEvans]

I'm not sure. The five ways listed in the section headed The Manners of a Passage count 4 moves with the left foot and a sideways jump. If you're stood with the heel of the right foot against the big toe of the left foot then four moves look like a pass. The section on The Cross guard is left foot first twice. Which is interesting, because it's in direct contrast to his advice on learning to judge distance with the left foot fixed fast. However. I think this scetion is a training exercise, done to teach distance and measure.
He does make it clear that the forward foot is the same as your sword hand.

[leam hall]

Stuart;

A search on the forums didn't reveal any info on "Cavatione". For the rapier challenged, can you elaborate or give a manual to read?

[Steven Engelbach]

'Cavatione' is also spelled 'Cavazione.' The 'crude' explanation of what a cavatione is would be a disengage. However, it would be more accurate to think of it as a change of line (either from high to low and vis-versa or inside to outside and vis-versa). There are a few species of cavatione including the cavatione di ubbidienza, the cavatione di tempo, the contracavatione, and the ricavatione.

The following authors (among others) explain the cavatione in their manuals: Alfieri, Capo Ferro, and (with the best explanation) Fabris. Unfortunately, Capo Ferro is the only one of these manuals has a readily available commercial translation to English (although Tom Leoni's Fabris translation should be out someday). It is also defined in the Pallas Armata (as the Anglicized 'cavere') but this text doesn't explain the theory behind its use particularly well (IMHO).

Steve


Steve