The Art of Fencing Part 8

Most People imagine that a Left-handed Man has, by Nature, the Advantage of a Right-handed Man in Fencing, whereas he has it only by Habit, exercising oftener with Right-handed Men than a Right-handed Man with him, as well in Lessons as in a.s.saults, most Masters being Right-handed, as well as most of the Scholars, taking Lessons from the Right-hand, and practising seldom with Left-handed Men, find themselves puzzled, nothing surprizing more than what one is not used to, which is so true, that to embarra.s.s a Left-handed Man, who has not fenced much, you must put another against him; I say one that has not fenced much, because Right or Left-handed Men who go to the School of a perfect Master, will be taught to use both Hands, by which Means, they will not be so much surprized when they meet with a Left-handed Man, as they would otherwise be.

When a Right and a Left-handed Man fence together, the Right handed Man should push but seldom within, that being the Antagonist's strongest Part; and his weakest and outward, which should be kept covered, or in a defensive Condition, as the most liable to be attacked; the best Way is to push _Quarte_ without, Engagements, Feints under, and Thrusts above, and double Feints, finished above or under the Wrist in _Quarte_, Cuts over the Point without, and upon the Parade, with the Fort, or with the Feeble, redoubling _Quarte_ under the Wrist, or _Seconde_ over: These are chiefly the Thrusts which a Right-handed and a Left-handed Man may make against each other, whether on an Attack, or in Defence, by Time or Risposts.

Several Masters puzzle their Scholars by telling them that with a Left-handed Man they must act quite contrary to what they do with a Right-handed, which appears to be false; because to a Right or Left-handed Man you must push, opposing with the Sword, which is to be done by pus.h.i.+ng _Quarte_, when the Enemy is within your Sword, and _Tierce_, when he is without. All the Difference between a Right and a Left-handed Man is, that two Right, or two Left-handed Men, are both within or without, whereas a Right with a Left-handed Man, the one is within when the other is without, the one in _Quarte_, the other in _Tierce_.

CHAP. XXIII.

_Of the Parade of the Hand._

There are, in Fencing, three Parades with the Left-hand: The first, like the Opposition that is from the Top to the Bottom; the second, with the Palm of the Hand without, towards the Right Shoulder, and the third, from the Bottom to the Top, with the Outside of the Hand: Of these three Parades, the first is the easiest, the most used, and the least dangerous: They are condemned by able Men, as weakening those of the Sword; wherefore it is wrong in a Master to shew them to a Scholar, before he has practised those of the Blade a good while, which being longer, can return to all feints, which the Left-hand cannot, it being impossible to parry with it except you be near, which is very dangerous, as well by reason of the Difficulty of meeting properly with the Sword, as of the Facility of deceiving the Hand, which in this Case has not Time to come to the Parade, because of it's small Distance; and besides the Facility of deceiving it, you need only push at the Arm, Sword in Hand, in order to make it useless.

_Of the Opposition of the Hand._

Many People make no Distinction between the Parade and Opposition of the Hand, tho' there is a very great Difference, the Parade being made only against the Adversary's Thrust, and the Opposition to prevent a following Thrust after having parryed with the Sword, which is very necessary in most Thrusts, especially in the Risposts which may be made to your Thrust in _Seconde_.

Besides the Opposition of the Hand, after having parryed with the Sword, you may oppose with it, taking the Time, that is to say, when the Enemy pushes from above to below, as the motion of his sword is greater than your's, having only a strait line to push _Quarte_ on, whereas his from above to below, is crooked, so that pus.h.i.+ng upon his time, he cannot avoid the thrust, and you may easily oppose his with the Left-hand, which is very different from the parade with the hand, to which you do not push 'till after you have parryed.

CHAP. XXIV.

_Of the beat of the Foot, in closing the measure, or in the same place._

Though it may seem to many people, that the beat of the Foot, in gaining measure, making appels, or alurements, engagements, or other Thrusts, is rather ornamental than necessary; nevertheless, there is nothing puts the Foot in a better condition to follow the swiftness of the Wrist, in most of the actions of the Sword; nor can any thing contribute more to the equal situation, and to the retention of the Body, qualities, which keeping you covered from the time of your combatant, procures you the means, not only of taking advantage of his, but also of possessing firmness, freedom, justness and swiftness. You are to observe two sorts of beating, the one with the Foot firm in the same place, the other gaining measure; the Beat with the Foot firm, is done in two ways, the one in appels, or alurements on the Blade, and the other in engagements or Feints. That upon the allurement on the Blade, may be made by a single beat of the Foot, but those who are pretty well advanced, make two without lifting the Foot but once, the first with the Point, and the other with the whole Foot: that on engagements or single Feints, shou'd have but one beat, the thrust being to be made on the second motion. The beat of the Foot in marching or advancing, is also divided into two sorts, the one in Engagements or single Feints, and the other in Engagements and Feints following, or in double Feints; the manner of engaging must be with a single beat gaining measure, and that of engaging with a double Feint, must be done with a double beat, in order to agree with the motion of the Wrist; and as in all, including the lunge, there must be three beats; you must, on the First Time or Feint, beat with the whole Foot in the same Place, at the second Motion of the Wrist beat again with the foot getting Measure, and at the third Motion push.

You must observe, that between the first and second Motion, there is no Interval, but between the second and third there is, in order to see where the Enemy gives Light: This Interval must be shorter or longer according as your Disposition or Practice is more or less.

CHAP. XXV.

_Of the Good Effects of a nice Discernment of the Eye._

In Fencing, there is the Foreseen, and the Unforeseen; the Foreseen is the Effect of the Understanding and of the Will, and the Unforeseen is the Effect of the Discernment of the Eye, and of Custom; which being upheld by this Quality, has no sooner discerned an Action or Opening of the Enemy, than all the Parts which are to act, display themselves to oppose or attack him, as if they depended on the Eye. To be convinced of this Truth, you may reflect on READING, wherein, as soon as the Eye has discerned the Words, the p.r.o.nouncing them follows as quick as in a studied Discourse; the Eye and Tongue being so disposed by Custom, as to do it without immediately reflecting. Indeed before they cou'd arrive to this, the Understanding and the Will were necessary, which having been united for a certain Time, have communicated such a Habit to these Parts, as to make them act as it were of themselves.

In order to acquire this Quality in Fencing, it is necessary that the Master, in his Lessons, shou'd shew what Opportunities are to be favourably laid hold of, two opposite Actions at one and the same Time, That whilst he is uncovering some Part of his Body, he cannot, at the same Instant, parry, because by the Parade, it must be covered; so that by making them make their Thrusts, and other Motions, by the Discernment of the Eye, they find themselves by Practice ready to oppose all the Motions of the Antagonist without the a.s.sistance of the Will. This Method is indeed a little more tedious in the Beginning, but it afterwards becomes shorter and more certain.

If you have not had Practice enough to make the Discernment of the Eye thus habitual, you must observe what Motions your Action causes in the Adversary, by making a Half, or Home-thrust, in order to discover whether the Enemy has recourse to the Parade, or to the Time: If he goes to parry, you must observe his Manner, in order to make a Feint resembling the same Thrust, and to push at the Part where you observed him to give the Light; and if he goes to the Time, you also make a Feint, preparing yourself for the parade and Rispost, or to take a Time contrary to his.

CHAP. XXVI.

_Of Time_.

If we were to follow the exact Term of Time, every Thing that is done in Fencing might be called so; for you shou'd never thrust but when you have a favourable Opportunity of hitting, nor parry, but at the Time that favours you to oppose the Enemy's Sword, not make an Engagement, nor a Feint, but to take the Time upon the Motion that your Action occasions in the Adversary.

Time is the Duration of any Motion: It is called Time because it is the most favourable Opportunity of pus.h.i.+ng, the Enemy being unable during one Action to do a contrary one.

It is divided into several Manners and Terms: The first is called the Time, the second, taking his Time, the third, Time to Time, the fourth, the same Time, and the fifth, false Time.

1. Taking the Time, is making your Thrust by a judicious Discernment on the Motion of the Enemy, taking him by a contrary one: You are to know that every Motion, of whatever Part it be, is called Time; for which Reason, I shall say nothing of Feints, Engagements, and Disengagements, upon which it may be taken; and that in three Manners, _viz._ strait, lowering the Body, or volting it, which you must know how to apply. In a strait Thrust the Time shou'd be taken by lowering and volting the Body, because the Thrust coming strait, if you were to push the same Way, you would, by supporting the Wrist, make a _Contrast_; and by pus.h.i.+ng crooked, you would make a _Coup Fourres_, or an interchanged Thrust; but if the Thrust be in Two Times, or Motions, you may push on the first; If it be in three Motions, on the second. As to the volting and lowering the Body, they may be used on all Motions, provided they be abandoned, and that the Enemy does not keep back his Body to draw you on.

2. Taking his Time, is the most subtle Thing in Fencing, depending princ.i.p.ally on the Mind: The Manner of taking it proceeds from your Place or Situation, which gives you an opportunity of knowing the fort and the feeble of the enemy, so that feeling his blade with your's, you may by a judicious custom, push at a proper instant, according as you find the weakness of his sword; and though it may seem that the enemy, in the same guard, and at the same distance, can as easily parry; that does not happen because of his different design to push, disengage, or make a feint, by reason of the several operations of the mind which follow the will.

3. The Time to Time, or the Counter to Time, is by several people, called Counter-time: this cannot in effect alter this necessary part of the art; it being but an impropriety in terms; when they say that making a motion to bring the Enemy on, and when he is going to make a Thrust, the making a Counter; this is by consequence a Counter Time, like a Counter-disengagement, without observing that a Counter-time is nothing but an ill timed Motion, which should upon all occasions be avoided: and if that argument were to take place, it might be said that there is no such thing in fencing as taking the Time, because it is to be done only by taking a Time contrary to that which is intended to be taken of you, which according to their Argument would be a Counter-time; whereas the Term Time to Time, or counter to Time, sufficiently shews, that it requires three Motions; since the taking the Time requires two, and the taking it at the Time that he takes it, must require a third. Of these three Motions you are to make two: The first, in order to get one from the Enemy, that you may have an Advantage by your second, which is the third Time; so that when he thinks to take the Time upon you, you take it upon him, which, far from being a Counter-time, is a Time to his, or Counter to his Time.

4. The same Time, depends on three Things: First, that both having a Design to push, you both push by chance at once, without expecting it from each other: Secondly: That full of the Design to take the Time, and not knowing it, you push upon the Enemy's Thrust, without foreseeing how to avoid it; and thirdly, when an Inferior or desperate Man, unable to defend himself, had rather run on your Thrust in endeavouring to hit you, than strive in vain to avoid it. These are not only the Occasions of the same Time, but also of the _Coups Fourres_.

It is to be observed, that Time, and the same Time, differ only in their Figure, and not in their Occasion, as Monsieur _De la Touche_ says, for to take the Time upon a Thrust, you must go off upon the Lunge, as if it were on the same Time, except that the Figure of the Body shuns the Thrust, which in that of the same Time it does not do.

5. False Time, is a Motion made by the Enemy to draw you on, in order to take a Time upon your's; therefore he that would take the Time, shou'd distinguish whether the Motion made, is to disorder him, and take the Advantage of his Parade, or to make him thrust, and take the Advantage of his Lunge; In Case of the first, it would be a Fault not to push; and in Case of the other, it would be amiss to push. Some Masters call the false Time, Half Time, which is wrong, every Motion being a Time, and as it is impossible to make a Half Motion, so 'tis impossible to make a Half Time.

The Difference of Time between the dexterous and awkard is, that the dexterous present and take the Time, and the others, give and lose it.

CHAP. XXVII.

_Of Swiftness_.

Swiftness is the Shortness of Time between the Beginning and End of a Motion: It proceeds from a regular and frequent Exercise, joined with a good Disposition; that is to say, Vigour and Suppleness, which form Agility.

A great Swiftness cannot be acquired without long Practice and a good Disposition, the one not being sufficient, without the other, to give it: For the best natural Parts, without Practice, will be of very little Service to those who have the best Disposition; and the most regular Practice without the a.s.sistance of Nature, will never make a Man perfectly Swift.

Swiftness in Fencing, is so necessary, that without this Quality, it is very difficult to defend, and impossible to offend: This Truth is so well known, that every one is earnestly desirous of it, tho' most People are ignorant of the Means necessary to acquire it.

What contributes most to the becoming swift, besides, frequent Exercise and a fine Disposition, is a perfect Situation of the Parts, the Retention of the Body, and the regular Motion of the Wrist: The Situation requires this advantageous Point of all the Parts, to communicate Freedom and Vigour to the Action, that they may act with Quickness. In order to retain the Body, it is necessary that it be always in it's perfect Situation, during the Motions previous to the Thrust; and if the Thrust consist of one Time only, the Wrist must begin.

As to the Motion of the Hand, it must not only be animated, but also the Action must not be wide, whether in Disengagements, Engagements, Feints, or Risposts; because if you would be soon at your Mark, it is not sufficient to go quick, but it is also necessary that the Action be close.

Many People have confounded the Swiftness of pus.h.i.+ng with precipitate or consecutive Thrusts, without considering that Precipitation is either when the Body moves before the Hand, or when an improper Motion is made; and the consecutive Thrusts, the pus.h.i.+ng several Times without Interval, or when there is no Occasion; which may be done by one who is not swift; for Swiftness is only the Shortness of Time between the Beginning and End of an Action, as I have already said.

Swiftness and Time are very justly called the Soul of Fencing, and all Thrusts owe their Success to these Qualities; for you cannot hit but by Surprize, nor surprize but by Swiftness.