back/
index/ next
The first four
Strikes shall be nimble and quick from one opening to another for your steps to
be successful.
However while in
the onset there are three ways for your Sword or sword's blade to hit and touch,
firstly with the Long edge as was already taught, then with the Short, and
lastly with the flat, therefore observe that you can also slash handily to all
four openings with the short edge as well as you did before with the long, then
still at the last with the flat, and similarly to what was shown before now with
the half edge, fly freely from one opening to another, namely with the inward
flat to the right, and slash with the outward (that is with reversed or inverted
flat to his left).
-
However if you
would become practiced in this, then you shall always change with the first
strike, and when you first strike to his upper left opening, and then the second
is to his lower right opening, and then further as taught above (as is shown by
the outer digits in the printed figure), then you shall again strike first to
his lower left, then a second to his upper right, and then further as the second
set of digits in the previous figure show. The next strike is first struck to
his upper right then to his lower left, then further as shown by the third set.
The last strike is first struck to his right, then further as is shown by the
inner digits, and first learn this as instructed with the long then with the
half edge, then lastly with the flat as judged into the work. When you can do
such, then follow ahead to the next part, namely that you must understand the
four openings before the strikes just taught can be retained, or onward your
sword's blade will be held off and you will be repulsed with better countering
strikes, these are thus the two Main Elements of Fencing, the Origins from which
all other elements flow forth, onward follows the third, a large element which
is and is named the Practice. One comes to the Practice thus: when you can lead
your strikes from the stances to all of Man's divisions, which in the First part
of fencing must be taken in the Before thus into the work, and yet your opponent
is the same, and is also nimble in the Second stage of displacing, working off
or stopping you and your strikes, so that you cannot reach your chosen
destination for your strikes, then we come thus to the Third part which is the
Practice, which is the most cunning, and teach it as you did the strikes where
you were aware, that while every point can be futile or pointless, twitch off
closely and nimbly from there to strike again onward, or feint over to let it go
off and then lead on to another opening. When he also displaces himself, then
twitch off yourself as well, and thus let fly from one opening to another so
long and much as you are able to reach to a hit. However, so that such lessons
will be marked and understood , I
will demonstrate with a few good examples so that my objective will be simply
and distinctly taught, presented, and set out, with which the goodly Reader will
sufficiently
judge all secondary and ongoing elements, and thus can take understanding from
it in the Middle work thus:
back/
index/
next