Quarterstaff and partisan review

I'm going to take a short break from writing on the duel in thirty days to discuss another pet project we've been working on for quite some time: quarterstaff. I first learned some quarterstaff a few years ago when I was still in Vancouver, and I've been fascinated with it ever since. I've read nearly all the source material (which consists of mostly English authors, such as Silver and Swetnam in particular), and had the opportunity to teach some short workshops over the course of the past year, but recently, I've begun to question how precisely some of the actions ought to be optimally done, and how to practice it safely without dressing up like the Stay-puffed Marshmallow Man. This post is an attempt at consolidating what we have been working on in the past couple of months, in the hopes that we can continue to simplify the system to its essence.

Neither Marozzo, nor Manciolino, nor Swetnam - the former two discussing the use of the partisan and partisan and shield, the latter the shortstaff - have much to say about footwork, other than "then you attack with an increase or passing step." But what about defensive footwork? We've found that you can parry a thrust or blow without moving your feet whatsoever; I just wouldn't recommend it if you value your joints. The force of the impact from parrying a good blow, either high or low, is simply too great to withstand more than a couple of times. Due to my continuing research on Dall'Agocchie's system, which belongs to the same tradition as Marozzo and Manciolino, I thought it would make sense if we make two defenses in one: one with the weapon, one with the body/feet. In other words, every parry is made with a circular step: if the right hand and foot are forward, you will parry with a step to the right side, and if the left hand and foot are forward, the parry will be accompanied with a step to the left. Here are some of the reasons why I think this is a valid interpretation:

1) From personal experience, the parry is mechanically easier to make, and is much easier on the joints.
2) Stepping to either the left or right against any possible attack sets you up for an immediate counterattack to a now very open line. This was not always the case with a static parry.
3) The partisan and rotella sections in Manciolino's and Marozzo's books are full of this kind of footwork, and Dall'Agocchie - although speaking of a different weapon - states in no unclear terms that every parry should take you opposite the blow.

I have much more to say on this topic, but I'd like to have the texts at my fingertips so I can point to specific examples, as well as elaborate on the "best" way to perform certain actions, notably the blows, the false plays, and the defenses against the false plays, in particular the shuttle thrust in reverse, which as we found out last night is very effective.

Dueling in thirty days: day seven

To bring the first week to a close, I thought it would be useful to summarize what we've discovered, and where we will need to be going next. In particular, I've read through the treatise again, and I've found a number of places (in the section on defenses, provocations and their counters, plays of the half sword) where the exact action - with or without footwork - is described. Unless the words of the text themselves change, I don't foresee this interpretation changing much, if at all.

The footwork

Dall'Agocchie is very clear concerning the movements of the feet in defending with a riverso sgualimbro, and striking with an imbroccata: against all five attacks (he does not include a mandritto to the leg or a riverso ridoppio, perhaps because they would be unlikely attacks against this guard), we parry with a riverso sgualimbro (a cut that goes from the right shoulder to the left hip) with a step to the enemy's right side with the left foot, do a mezza volta of the wrist (i.e. a riverso ridoppio), and thrust an imbroccata to the appropriate target (face, chest or flank) with an increase of the right foot towards the enemy. The only exception to this rule is not in the footwork, but in the parry: the riverso to the leg must be parried with a riverso ridoppio, as the sgualimbro does not cover low.

Why the riverso ridoppio?

I was initially skeptical of putting in a seemingly extra motion when there was no explicit mention of one in the final section of the third day of dialogues, but after reading and typing up an updated version of all of the defenses, provocations and their counters, I found a number of instances - no less than five - that describe this exact action: parry with a riverso sgualimbro, do a mezza volta of the wrist, which is another way of saying throw a riverso ridoppio, and thrust an imbroccata to the available target. Here are two additional reasons for this interpretation, which are drawn entirely from performing the action numerous times:

1) The person thrusting the imbroccata by way of the riverso ridoppio is completely covered throughout the entire action.

2) When done correctly, the action is very fluid, which is unlike the initial interpretation, which felt an awful lot like "flinging" the arm forward.

The simplest version of the drill

Finally, I'd like to put up the absolute simplest version of the drill, which in theory could last forever, provided neither fencer makes a mistake. We've found that we really only need to work on finding places to thrust the stoccata, and throw a mandritto or riverso to the leg; the riverso sgualimbro and imbroccata are automatic.

1) A thrusts an imbroccata with an increase of the right foot.

2) B parries with a riverso sgualimbro, stepping to A's right with the left foot, and then immediately throws a riverso ridoppio to Alicorno, and goes to thrust an imbroccata with an increase of the right foot towards A.

3) A parries with a riverso sgualimbro, stepping to B's right with the left foot, etc.

As I said earlier, our current plan is to flesh out this drill by adding in all of the attacks "at random" - kind of a misnomer, as there are specific instances where each attack is appropriate - and then eventually include different kinds of defenses, which involve different footwork: a falso manco, Guardia d'Entrare, cut to the hand while passing back, etc. Only twenty-three more days to go!

Dueling in thirty days: day six

Lo and behold, several hours later I come back with day six of the Bolognese experiment. The two of us were fencing sword and buckler (I.33) in Christie Pitts today down at Bloor and Christie, but we always begin with 10-20 minutes of going over the sidesword plays. I am now entirely convinced that the way we are currently doing it is correct, as we are completely covered - by distance and by blade placement - the entire time. Left to the side, right foot towards the opponent.

To change things up a little bit today, Dall'Agocchie mentions earlier in his book the various defenses (of which there are really only five; more on this later) from all of the guards against all likely attacks. I noticed while reading through the defenses yesterday that the same blows - mandritto, riverso, imbroccata and stoccata - can all be parried with a falso manco (a deflection) followed immediately by either a mandritto sgualimbro, or a riverso sgualimbro (i.e. a left ribbon). I've done the former numerous times in the normal AEMMA class during drills and free-fencing time, but only against attacks from the right side. So we tried it out, and a number of interesting things came out of it.

1) The footwork is very clearly the following: parry with the falso manco while stepping to his right side with your right foot, and then throw either a riverso or mandritto sgualimbro while stepping with the left foot. This is the only way to strike the targets (head or face) that Dall'Agocchie explicitly states on a number of occasions.

2) In some instances, he gives the option of either mandritto or sgualimbro, but in others, only one or the other is available. I initially believed this to be a simple omission on his part; of course you can do both, because I mentioned it ten pages ago! But when we tried doing both indiscriminately, we found that the mandritto sgualimbro is not always a reliable follow-on; this depends entirely on the nature of the attack the opponent is giving.

3) Curiously, this action does not correspond with the left ribbon described in the solo form in terms of feet; the solo form has the fencer either stepping to his right, forward or backward, but not to his left. The more I think about it, the more I question if there really is a higher purpose for the solo form, or if it is meant purely for teaching footwork.

Once we get really good at performing both kinds of defenses with the respective foot motions, we should be able to do the drill in a circle, alternating between parrying with the true edge and the false edge.

Tomorrow's post will be a synthesis of what I've talked about in the first six days; we've gone a few different places while interpreting the text, some more useful than others. Every seventh post, therefore, will present the most updated understanding of the defenses and counter-attacks that come from Porta di Ferro Stretta, as well as progress made in creating a drill that incorporates all the attacks at random.

Dueling in thirty days: day five

Due in no small part to my negligence yesterday, days five and six will both be posted today; thankfully, I actually have things to say about what we've been doing. Yesterday, I thought it would be useful for us to work our way through Dall'Agocchie's solo form (stepping in the guards) before we started going through the defenses from Porta di Ferro Stretta. The reason for this is two-fold:

1) After a very brief discussion (one sentence) of the first chief skill - knowing which edge is true and which is false - footwork is really the first topic to which Dall'Agocchie dedicates a large amount of ink. And as he says, all fencers must be equally comfortable moving in any direction, be it forward, backward, on the traverse, etc.

2) The action we have been playing with for the past few days - a riverso sgualimbro followed immediately by a riverso ridoppio to an imbroccata - is described as the last forward moving action in the sequence. From Coda Lunga e Alta, the fencer throws a riverso ridoppio to Alicorno, and passes with an imbroccata, ending in Porta di Ferro Stretta.

To make this sound a bit less nebulous, I've broken down the steps for the solo form below; since I've been doing this for the past several years, it all makes perfect sense to me, but if the language is somewhat unclear, please let me know and I'll do my best to clear up the language.

1) Beginning with the feet together, the right foot slightly ahead of the left, and with the sword in its sheath (real or imaginary), throw a falso manco or falso riverso tondo while stepping on the traverse with your right foot, followed by a riverso sgualimbro as the left foot lands, ending in Coda Lunga Stretta. I call this combination a left or reverse ribbon for short.

2) Now throw a falso dritto while stepping on the traverse with the left foot, followed by a mandritto sgualimbro as the right foot lands, ending in Cinghiale Porta di Ferro. I call this combination a right ribbon for short.

3) Throw a dritto tramazzone with a pass forward of the right foot, ending in Porta di Ferro Stretta.

4) Throw a left ribbon while passing forward with the left foot, ending in Coda Lunga e Alta.

5) Throw a riverso ridoppio to Alicorno, and then pass forward and thrust an imbroccata, ending in Porta di Ferro Stretta. (Alternately, throw the riverso ridoppio with the pass forward, and thrust the imbroccata without moving the feet. I personally find the first version more fluid.)

6) Throw a left ribbon while passing back with the right foot, ending in Coda Lunga e Alta.

7) Throw a dritto tramazzone while passing back with the left foot, ending in Porta di Ferro Stretta.

8) Throw another dritto tramazzone while passing back with the right foot, ending in Cinghiale Porta di Ferro.

9) Finally, throw a left ribbon while passing back with the left foot, ending in Coda Lunga Stretta.

A video of this will be up on Saturday when I have access to the salle again.

Dueling in thirty days: day four

The more I practice the motion, the more it feels natural; a riverso sgualimbro with a step along the circle, followed by a riverso ridoppio to Alicorno, and an imbroccata to the nearest available target with an increase of the right foot. I'm starting to see why Dall'Agocchie was so quick to recommend this very simple action as a good starting point for the non-fencer - you can cover against every attack, and immediately have a counterattack available - but it also apparent why he says it is not enough. Although with practice, the action should be one continuous motion, there is a moment - a tempo - for the opponent to parry. Thankfully, the chances of the opponent over-parrying are particularly high, which leads to a number of interesting plays.

I found it somewhat odd that the Bolognese fencing masters, with the exception of Marozzo in his chapter on dagger defenses, rarely mention presas; from what I've been learning at AEMMA for the past two years, entries happen all the time with swords. So why is it that Dall'Agocchie only mentions four instances of presas? Is it indicative of the style of fencing? That is to say, was grappling strongly frowned upon during the 16th century? Or was it perhaps because of the formal duel setting? Until I read a book that deals specifically with the Italian duel of the Renaissance, my questions will remain unanswered. However, after only a few repetitions of the circle drill, it is quite obvious where the concluding play of the paired form (Variation of the guards) comes in.

1) A provokes by thrusting an imbroccata from Alicorno.

2) B throws any blow.

3) A parries with a riverso sgualimbro while stepping to the left, throws the riverso ridoppio to thrust an imbroccata with an increase of the right foot.

4) B parries with his own riverso sgualimbro (exact same footwork), and throws his own riverso ridoppio somewhat wide.

5) A immediately yields to Guardia di Testa, seizes B's sword hand with the left hand, and cuts a mandritto to either the head or leg.

I don't want to get to far off topic here; it suffices to say that the entire art - every parry, counterattack, half sword technique, etc. - can come directly from Dall'Agocchie's section on how to defend oneself well using only two guards. All of this is purely hypothesis, of course, but one which I wholeheartedly embrace.

Dueling in thirty days: day three

Tonight was free fencing night, so we didn't get a chance to do much with the drill, unfortunately. However, the three of us spent about 15 minutes after class working through each defense in isolation, and then walking in a circle. I'm becoming more and more convinced that the ridoppio/imbroccata combination is the way to go for two reasons:

1) This is the way it is described in the solo form described during the first day of Dall'Agocchie's treatise. (Coda Lunga + riverso ridoppio + imbroccata)
2) Performing the imbroccata after a ridoppio provides excellent cover, and almost always gives a bonus cut to the sword arm.

Tomorrow, we'll be working on refining the circle drill, and integrating all five of the attacks - and all one defense - without warning. The stoccata seems to me to be very appropriate, as it is specifically directed to the face, which, when doing the drill, is the only available target! This Dall'Agocchie was one crafty guy...Finally, depending on what kind of energy the opponent gives during the parry (hard forward, weak, etc.), the presa described in the paired form comes out very readily in a number of situations; in this specific case, against a wide-spaced riverso ridoppio. More results to be posted tomorrow.

Dueling in thirty days: day two

We continued working on the Porta di Ferro Stretta defenses today after class, and another, interesting possibility has been raised: that the imbroccata is not done by changing to Alicorno after the parry, but via a riverso ridoppio, an action which makes parrying all the attacks much easier and more consistent. This version works as follows:

1) A attacks B with either thrust or cut.

2) B parries with a riverso sgualimbro while stepping with the left foot, and continues directly into a riverso ridoppio (thereby covering all possible lines of attack) without stepping. Finally, B thrusts an imbroccata to the appropriate target with an increase of the right foot.

From the hour or so we worked on the two variations, this one definitely seemed to be safer, and provided better results; I could see it being done in almost one tempo if done correctly. It alters the continuous drill somewhat, so we still need to perfect the mechanics of it, but it promises to bear good fruit.

An aside: my old (six years this year!) camera is operational once again, so video and pictures will be on the way. I think it would be particularly useful if there were pictures of the beginning, middle, and end of the defense-counter against all attacks, as well as a video of the same.

Dueling in thirty days: day one

So begins our serious study of Dall'Agocchie's section on how to survive a duel in thirty days, using two guards only: Guardia d'Alicorno (Unicorn) and Porta di Ferro Stretta (Iron Gate). The reason for teaching only these two guards is manifold:

1) You only have to defend your right side, as the left part of the body is covered by distance.

2) You can parry any blow to your right with a riverso (sgualimbro or ridoppio, depending on the circumstance), and immediately counterattack with an imbroccata.

3) With practice, this combination can be done in almost one tempo.

4) Through our own experiences, we've discovered that by doing the drill in its entirety, it makes a pretty incredible drill.

First of all, we have the parry-counterattack with its very specific footwork. Regardless of the attack, the footwork is always the same: step to your left with the left foot, and then advance with the right foot. This is a constant, as is the motions of the blade itself: the step of the left foot is led by a riverso (i.e. the parry), and the step of the right foot corresponds to the thrusting of the imbroccata.

The riverso cut, when performed correctly, serves as a beat to the opponent's sword, an action which is greatly aided by the movement of the left foot. With the opponent's sword temporarily out of commission, the defender is free to thrust the imbroccata to any number of targets, but primarily the face, the chest, and the flank.

With these basic ideas in mind, let's look at the defenses in sequence, and then put them all together. Note that all of these actions begin with A provoking an attack by thrusting an imbroccata without moving the front foot. It is during the transition from Alicorno to Porta di Ferro Stretta that B launches an attack. Note also that B always attacks with an increase of the right foot, and A always performs the same footwork.

1. B throws a mandritto to the head: A parries with a riverso sgualimbro, and then thrusts an imbroccata to the chest.

2. B throws a riverso to the head: A parries with a riverso sgualimbro, and then thrusts an imbroccata to the flank.

3. B throws a riverso to the leg: A parries with a riverso ridoppio, and then thrusts an imbroccata to the face.

4. B thrusts an imbroccata: A parries with a riverso sgualimbro, and then thrusts an imbroccata to the chest.

5. B thrusts a stoccata to the face: A parries with a riverso sgualimbro, and then thrusts an imbroccata to the flank.

As we went through these drills today, we realized that A and B can counter each other by doing the same action. In other words, we can circle around each other endlessly until: 1) one of us makes a mistake, or 2) one of us over-parries, which leads most notably to an entry, or presa. (We'll return to this as the month goes by.) So, we devised two basic drills that train these motions, which again can be done against all attacks.

Drill one

1. A makes a provocation in Alicorno, and changes to Porta di Ferro Stretta.

2. B throws a mandritto or riverso sgualimbro to the head.

3. A parries the attack with a riverso sgualimbro while stepping to his left, and goes to thrust an imbroccata while stepping with the right foot.

4. If B attacked initially with an increase of the right foot, he can parry with a riverso sgualimbro while stepping to his left (now both fencers are going clockwise), and then thrust an imbroccata an imbroccata while stepping with the right foot. Continue ad nauseam.

Drill two

1. This drills works exactly the same way, except on the third attack,

2. B throws a riverso to the leg, which prompts the appropriate response (a riverso ridoppio followed by an imbroccata to the face) from A. B will succeed in parrying, and A will throw a riverso to the leg on his third attack, and so on.

I need to find the charger for my camera so I can film the drill to put up here. More insights to follow tomorrow evening.