Unorthodox Postures with Rapier

Larga Guard: We start by looking at starting positions where the sword is held low with the point directed down.

Broad Guard: We look at how to use and counter a broad guard. The broad guard is a position used in some schools of fence where the sword is held far from the centreline to threaten the opponent from one side, leave only the centreline open and make the sword challenging to find and control by the opponent.

Forte Guard: We’ll explore the vertical terza and horizontal seconda, inspired by the works of Salvator Fabris. These are used to force the opponent into the forte of your sword in spite of nearly anything they do. Facing these difficult positions, you will learn how to use distance, timing, and constraint to defeat even the most withdrawn of swords.

No Guard: To wrap-up our study on unorthodox postures we’re going to look at the most unorthodox posture of all, that of taking “no guard”. In these classes we explore an approach to the opponent where we leave our sword out of the presence until the last possible moment.