Sidesword Sparring - Striking the Hands

Hello there, today we will have a look at some of my sidesword sparring this summer. In this session I specifically had 3 things in mind. First: Stay calm and relaxed. We had to pause for a couple of months after all. Second: incorporate more circular footwork in my fencing and third: Follow Manciolino’s advice of striking the hands. {Lots of hand strikes incoming!} So this a great opportunity for me to give you some advice on your training while sharing this footage with you.

00:32 - As always, Stephan and I start super relaxed and will pick up the pace over time. Manciolino writes in his introduction, that the hand is the foremost exposed limb and therefore would not counted as a hit in a friendly match. He points out that in a real encounter it would be the most effective attack on the other hand. You should attack the part of your enemy that he needs to perform attacks on you – namely: the hands. Thus, if you go explicitly for the hands you can stay further back and void attacks to your head and torso more easily just by your footwork.

01:10 - This works especially well, if your opponent doesn’t commit to his attacks with his own body and feet. Every movement in range is a tempo to attack. If you don’t need your sword to defend, counter immediately. One thing I like to do is to truly attack the position of my opponent. Either they move and give me a tempo or they get hit – here with a thrust to the fingers. Another bit of Manciolinos advice is to start high if you want to strike low and vice versa. He also says that one usually feels more threatened by attacks to the torso and face. So I usually threaten high, if I want to hit the hands with a false edge cut. In my experience a direct attack from below results on a double hit all to often. If you watched my last video on Marozzo’s Primo Assalto, you’ll notice that his rising falsi are mostly set up with a thrust to the face – enticing your opponent to lift the sword and exposing the arms.

02:19 - My next tip would be to be mindful of the positions you are in. The stretta positions for the narrow measure have their hands close the knee on purpose. Imagine your opponent’s range like a bubble around the dominant shoulder. He has maximum reach at shoulder height. To protect your hand you can draw it further back or you can lower it with the same effect. If your sword points at the opponent the crossguard will automatically get in the way of their strikes.

02:49 - Also they will now always attack your strong, your forte, if they go for the hands or they will need to commit harder to attack to the body – giving you a better tempo for a parry and riposte. The thing I am working on here is patience. Remember, that the goal of fencing is self-defence. If I strike my opponent I don’t want to get hit in return. Especially in a one on one duel there is no need to rush and hurry. Take your time, be patient and set up your actions properly. I promise that this can be a very enjoyable way of fencing. I certainly enjoy it a lot. Another great thing to do is to practice with your left or non- dominant hand. First, you can just keep fighting for longer times. Second, your sparring partners can get some practice against left- handers, especially if you don’t have any at your club.

04:24 - Last but not least, they are great transition effects for your dominant hand as well that can truly push you to the next level. Just make sure that you have the basics down first. Since we are in another lockdown again, it’s a great time to start exercising with your other hand. I found it useful even for two-handed weapons like longsword and spear. So why not give it a try? Let’s talk about good and bad opportunities to attack the hands.

04:56 - A great one is the tempo as your opponent lifts the sword to prepare an attack or switches carelessly between positions. If they are already attacking committedly, it would be risky to attack the hands as a double hit would follow most of the times. If you can perform a good body void or are faster than your opponent… maybe… but I prefer to parry and riposte in this instance, as it’s safer. If they are super defensive and in an extended position (then) the arms are a great target for a provocation via a thrust or a small cut as well. Just remember if you attack a waiting opponent committedly there is the risk of running into a counter as Giovanni dall’Agocchie would say.

05:43 - So either you wait for them to step or you make them move with your provocation. This brings me to my next advice. Don’t move without purpose. You will often see, that I don’t turn my hands as Stephan switches to the other side. With proper posture your false edge is very capable of defending yourself. Don’t give your opponent tempi that you do not control and make small and direct motions that leave you in a better position. That’s of course easier said than done, but just being aware of it will make you a better fighter over time.

06:43 - Alright, as Stephan and I now both switch back to our dominant hand and pick up the pace I’ll leave you alone for a bit to see these principles in action. Okay, if you just take away three things these should be that the stretta positions have the hands low, close to the knee and point at your opponent which protects the hands really well. Second if you want to strike the hand, look for preparation motions of your opponent like lifting the hand. You can provoke these by attacking high. And last, be mindful of your own motions. Make them deceptive or small and direct. If you enjoyed this kind of video please like, comment and share as it truly helps me to grow the channel. Thank you for watching, until next time, train safe. .