Working Through Di Grassi

Figure 1:

High Ward

Figure 2:

Parts 1 and 2: Parrying-These parts have little force but they are closest to the hand so they have more strength.

Parts 3 and 4: Striking-These parts are the fastest and have the most force.

*The circumference of the sword (tip) is the fastest part of the sword and carries the most force for the blows. However, the real strength and power of the sword is found in the hand making the parts of the sword closest to the hand the best for parrying. This portion of his theory is most useful when applied to edge blows and parries.

Figure 3:

The Wrist: The circle of the wrist is the smallest. Because of this, the wrist is the fastest part of the arm since it only has to fetch a very small compass to move.

The Elbow: The circle of the elbow is larger than that of the wrist. This larger circle gives the elbow more strength, but it also makes its movements slower.

The Shoulder: The circle of the shoulder is the largest of the three having a diameter of the whole arm. This gives the shoulder the most strength of any of the circles, but it also makes it the slowest too.

 Figure 4: 

On line AB:

Whole Straight Pace : C-D

Half Straight Pace : C-F

Whole Slope Pace : C-E

Half Circular Pace : C-G

AKA: Compass Step

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terms 1. Low Ward : The ward framed by holding the sword arm straight down from the shoulder. The sword is held by the knee with the point pointed towards the enemy. (figure 1) 2. High Ward : The first ward framed when the sword is drawn from its scabbard. The arm is led straight up with the sword pointed down towards the enemy’s face or chest. (figure 1) 3. Broad Ward : The broad ward is framed by holding the sword arm directly out from the shoulder away from the body. The sword is pointed in line towards the enemy. (figure 1) 4. Reasonable Pace : Di Grassi’s measure of movement. It is not specifically defined as a set measure (ex. 1 foot) because not all rapier fighters are the same size and thus would not have the same “reasonable pace”. It is the distance for which and individual fighter is comfortable moving one movement forwards, backwards, etc. 5. To Void : To move you body out of line of the attack. 6. Divisions of the Sword : The sword is divided into 4 equal parts with part 1 being the part closest to the guard and part 4 being the part closest to the tip. Since parts 1 and 2 are closest to the hand and therefore the strongest they are to be used for parrying. Since parts 3 and 4 are closest to the tip and the fastest they are to be used for attacking. (figure 2)

7. Divisions of the Arm: The arm is also divided into 3 parts, each part forming a circle at which it is the center and the rest of the arm is the diameter. The wrist is the fastest, but the weakest. The elbow is not as fast as the wrist, but since it is closer to the body, it is stronger. The shoulder is the slowest part of the arm but since it attaches directly to the body it is the strongest. She shoulder is too slow to be used for parries and edge blows, so rather they should come from the elbow and the wrist. (figure 3) 8. Footwork (figure 4) Whole pace : A movement made when the rear foot is brought in front of the fore foot without moving the fore foot. It can be made forwards, backwards, sloped, or circular. Half pace : A movement made when the rear foot is brought next to the fore foot and left there or moved forward. Again this movement can be made forward, backwards, sloped, or circular. Straight pace : A pace made in a straight line forwards or backwards. Crooked/Slope pace : When the rear foot is brought forward of the front foot, but at an angle so as to void the body out of line of the attack. Circular pace : A circular movement of the front or rear foot (usually the rear foot) to the right or left of the body. 9. Thrust : An attack with the blade in which the point of the sword is thrust towards the opponent. 10. Edge blow : A cut made with the edge of the blade in which the blade is moved from right to left. 11. Reverse edge blow : A cut made with the edge of the blade in which the blade is moved from left to right.

 

 

To Keep in Mind .The Five Advertisements 1. The right or straight line is the shortest (in most cases).If you want to strike in the shortest line strike in a straight one. 2. He that is nearest hits soonest. 3. A circle has more strength at the extremities of its circumference than at its center. 4. A man can withstand a small force easier that he can with stand a great force. 5. Every motion is accomplished in time.  Rapier and Dagger 1. The dagger should be used to defend the left side of the body down to the knee and the sword should be used to defend the right side of the body and the left side from the knees down. 2. Do not parry by crossing your blades in an “X”. 3. You can parry with the edge of the dagger forward or with the flat forward. If you have the edge forward parry the sword at it’s 1 or 2 position, advance in a straight pace turning the dagger 90 ° (so that the flat is forward and the edge is towards the blade of the sword) and parry. If parrying with the flat forward, use the quillions to catch the sword and parry it. 4. Always parry your enemy’s sword to the outside, away from your body. . Rapier and Cloak 1. The cloak’s ability to defend a portion of your body depends greatly on the flexibility and the weight of the fabric it is made out of. The cloak itself is not strong enough to protect you body from a blade, which can easily cut through the cloak. After all, fabric is not impervious to sharp objects. Rather, the cloak’s flexibility and its weight combine together to create force, which is used to beat the blade off line.

2. The cloak should be used to defend the lower left side of the body. It should not be used to defend the upper left side of the body because the weight of the cloak weighs the arm down and would cost a fighter time to move it up to protect the upper part of his body. Thus the sword should be used to protect the entire right side of the body and the upper left side. 3. Take care not to tangle yourself up in your cloak, which can happen if it is too long. 4. Again, always parry to the outside, away from your own body. Rapier and Buckler 1. Take care that your buckler does not interfere with your sight. 2. Take advantage of the buckler’s geometry to protect your whole body. A circular buckler forms a cone shaped area behind it, which is protected from attacks. 3. Use the buckler to protect the left side of the body down to the knee. Use the sword to protect the right side of the body and the rest of the left side. Case of Rapier 1. To fight case effectively, you should be able to use both hands equally well to attack and defend. 2. Even though you can attack with both weapons at the same time, don’t forget to defend your self and parry your opponent’s blade (away from your body) before you attack. 3. Take care to keep your weapons in different lines. Do not hold them parallel to each other.

 

 

Single Rapier Attacking in High Ward The main attack, and generally the first, while in high ward, is made by thrusting over hand in a straight line and ending your attack in low ward. Don’t forget to draw your rear foot near your front foot while delivering the blow to increase the force of your attack. This attack allows no time for the enemy to get inside your ward. Your can also execute a right or reverse edge blow at your opponent’s head. However, the compass needed to strike with an edge blow moves the point off line by almost a sword length, which gives your opponent plenty of time and room to get inside your ward. If your attack does not strike your opponent, continue your attack by striking with a right edge blow at your opponent’s head while moving in a compass step with the rear foot towards the right to increase the length of your attack. If this attack is also voided, strike from your new position with a reverse edge blow while advancing with a slope pace of the rear foot and draw your sword against your enemy to make the blow stronger. Attacking in Broad Ward From broad ward, thrust under hand by drawing the rear foot close to the front foot and executing the attack while continuing to advance the rear foot. End you attack in low ward. You can also attack with a right edge blow executed form the wrist while advancing the right foot. This attack should also be ended in low ward. The reverse edge blow, however, is very dangerous form this position and should only be executed while the fighter is out of line of his opponent’s attack and in a position where only he can attack safely.

Defending against attacks from High Ward The best ward from which to defend yourself from attacks in high ward is low ward. While in this ward you should parry his weapon with the outside edge of your weapon while advancing with a slope pace of the back foot. Pass your enemy on his right hand side making sure to keep your sword point towards him. In this position your enemy will either run himself onto your blade or come well with in your range. To defend your self from edge blows (which move in a circle) thrust underneath the edge blow. If a right edge blow is thrown parry his weapon with the edge of your own and thrust at your enemy’s face while executing a compass step to lengthen your attack.       Defending against Broad Ward Once again Di Grassi stresses the use of low ward for defense. While in this ward the enemy can not easily defend himself or get inside his opponent’s ward. From this ward a fighter can protect himself from downward right and reverse edge blows with a thrust or by parrying the enemy’s sword with his edge and riposting with a reverse edge blow of his own aimed at the enemy’s face. While executing the edge blow, a fighter should execute a slope pace towards the right taking care to end his attack in the broad ward. If your enemy moves his point out of line because he is forced to move in a compass step, make a straight pace and thrust underneath his sword while holding his sword with your left hand. The thrust underneath can be defended against as a fighter would defend against a right edge blow.

 

Attacking in Low Ward From this ward Di Grassi says that a fighter can execute a thrust of an edge blow but that it’s greatest benefit is that it allows the fighter to easily defend a high or low attack. He cautions that a fighter in low ward should not be the first in a fight to execute an edge blow as it would give the enemy too much time to attack. Similarly the fighter should only execute a thrust if he intends to be the first to attack. If your thrust is warded then the fighter should advance in a straight pace forward and execute a thrust with the sword lifted and his point between the enemy’s arm and body.

Defending against Low Ward Since Di Grassi believes that the reverse and right edge blows are incredibly easy to defend against from low ward he does not bother to talk about them. Rather, he only concerns himself with defending against thrusts from low ward. He suggests that a fighter beat the thrust inwards and execute a compass step to the right with the rear foot. As soon as he has beat his opponent’s sword he should turn his hand and execute a reverse edge blow to cut his enemy’s face while carrying his front foot always on the side that his hand is. If his attack is beaten outwards by his enemy, he should execute a slope step forwards and attack with a thrust while advancing with a straight pace.

Rapier And Dagger Attacking in High Ward Di Grassi explains that there are two types of attacks from High Ward: those with the right foot in front and those with the right foot behind. Attacks with the right foot behind the fighter take more time because the point is farther from the enemy but they are much more forceful because the attack is made with the force of the whole body not just the arm and hand. Attacks with the right foot in front strike more easily and only require an advance of the of the front foot but they are not as strong as attacks where the right foot is placed behind because they do not involve the whole body. Attacks with the right foot in front (which are of the “true art”) are executed with a thrust from high ward as the fighter advances with his front foot and the attack ends with the fighter placing himself into low ward. When attacking with the right foot behind him, a fighter should execute the same thrust as with the right foot in front with as much force a possible. Di Grassi says that he should not worry himself about edge blow attacks because he can easily defend against them with his dagger.   Attacking in Broad Ward When attacking in broad ward with sword and dagger Di Grassi says that a fighter shout beat his opponent’s sword away with his dagger and thrust while advancing with a straight pace.

Defending against High Ward To defend against high ward Di Grassi once again recommends standing in low ward with your right foot forwards and your right side toward your enemy. In this position you can defend your self basically 3 ways: with the dagger only, with the sword only, and with both. If defending only with dagger, Di Grassi recommends advancing in a slope pace to find your enemy’s sword. Parry it away with your dagger and advance in a straight pace to attack from beneath. If defending with the sword only, advance once again in a slope pace and either parry your enemy’s sword away with your own while striking his temples with your dagger or transfer your enemy’s sword to your dagger and thrust with your sword. Defending with both weapons is similar to this second option except that the thrust underneath is made with the advance of a straight pace.         Defending against Broad Ward  Defending against broad ward with sword and dagger is, for Di Grassi, very similar to defending against high ward with sword and dagger. Once again he has his fighter stand in low ward. Parrying against broad ward with the dagger only is the same as parrying against high ward and he considers parrying against broad ward with both so ridiculous that it can not possibly be safe in a combat situation. The only real difference arises in parrying with the sword. When parrying against broad ward with his sword only, a fighter should parry his opponent’s blade with the edge of his own and thrust at his opponent’s face while making a compass step to lengthen his attack

 

Attacking in Low Ward  When discussing attacking from low ward, Di Grassi says that a fighter can stand with his right foot forward or behind him. Although he mentions these two style choices he does not talk about the latter with any detail. He does however go on to talk in great length about the first option. He states that from this position (standing with the right foot forward) a fighter can attack “within” (a position where his sword is between his enemy’s sword and dagger) of “without” (when his sword and dagger are born outside his opponents sword and dagger, which are born in the middle of his weapons). If a fighter wants to attack from within, he should advance with a slope pace and trap his opponent’s sword in the middle with his sword and dagger. He should the attack his opponent with at thrust while advancing in a straight line. Or he could choose to beat his enemy’s sword offline and, while advancing one foot forward, thrust. If, however, he wishes to attack from without he should thrust at his opponent’s face. When his enemy moves to defend himself, he should advance with a slope pace, move to throw a reverse edge blow at his opponents legs, and rather than going through with his edge blow, he should change his attack into a thrust underneath his opponent’s ward while advancing in a straight pace. Di Grassi also offers a couple of other options to use when attacking, which are for the most part simply variations on his first suggestion.

Defending against Low Ward  Here Di Grassi reminds his readers that there are a few types of edge blows that they will have to learn to defend against: reversed and right, high and low. With a high right edge blows the opponents sword can be parried with the dagger only or with the dagger and sword together. When parrying with just the dagger, a fighter should advance, lift the dagger and parry his opponent’s sword at its weakest point while attacking with an underhand thrust. When parrying with both the dagger and the sword a fighter should lift both of his weapons to parry his opponent’s sword and as soon as the sword is met it should be parried with the dagger and the enemy’s face should be cut with a reverse edge blow. The whole attack should end in the broad ward. To defend against a low right edge blow a fighter should execute a high thrust at his opponent with a compass step of the rear foot to the right side. If defending against a high reversed edge blow, a fighter can parry with his dagger only, attacking with and underhand thrust after the sword is parried with the dagger, or with the sword only, by advancing with the left foot, lifting his sword up to parry his opponent’s sword, and executing a thrust at his opponent’s right leg with an advance of the right foot. A reversed edge blow, according to Di Grassi, can be defended against by thrusting, which not only threatens his opponent, but also prevents the opponent’s attack from hitting his legs.

 

Rapier and Cloak Attacking in High Ward Before offering suggestions for attacking in high ward, Di Grassi reminds his readers that the fighter should be using his sword to ward his body from his head to his cloak hand and his cloak to ward from his cloak hand to the middle of his leg. When describing high ward attacks, he once again suggests that a fighter attack with an overhand thrust and end his attack in low ward. A right edge blow should be executed from the wrist and, just as before, the attack should be ended in low ward.

Defending against High Ward To defend against high ward, Di Grassi suggests that a fighter should stand in low ward. While in low ward a fighter can defend with his sword from within or without or with his cloak from within or without. When defending with his sword from within, a fighter should execute a compass step with his back foot on the right side and thrust at his opponent’s face. From without he should advance forward and parry the first part of his opponent’s sword with his cloak and thrust at his opponent form beneath. Likewise, Di Grassi says that each of these strategies can also be executed with the cloak. One strategy in particular requires, not only that the fighter be especially daring and confident in his execution, but he must also have excellent judgement. To execute this defense, the fighter should hold his cloak in front of him. When the point of his opponent’s sword has his cloak hand by one hand length (and no more), he should beat the sword away from his body at the same time he advances with his right foot and thrusts at his opponent from underneath. When a fighter finds himself threatened with a right edge blow, Di Grassi cautions that he should not parry the attack with his cloak if it is in a high line because he runs the risk of blocking his vision. Rather, he should only parry edge blows with his cloak if they are in a low line. When defending against reverse edge blows, Di Grassi instructs his readers to parry with their cloak only, their sword only, or both. If defending with the cloak only, he recommends that a fighter should advance, parry his opponent’s sword with his cloak, and thrust from underneath. If defending with the sword only the fighter should simply thrust at his enemy’s thigh which servers not only as an attack, but will also defend against the edge blow. If using both the sword and the cloak to defend, the fighter should advance, parry with the cloak, recover his sword, and thrust while advancing his right foot (which adds force to the blow).

 

Attacking in Broad Ward The attack that Di Grassi suggests from this ward is slightly complicated. He suggests that a fighter should begin his attack by thrusting while executing a compass step with the rear foot (to bring him closer to his opponents). Suddenly change your attack by discharging a right edge blow from the wrist and a second reverse edge blow, while advancing the right foot right after it. Continue the attack with a thrust while advancing. Attacking in Low Ward In this section Di Grassi cautions his readers not to use edge blows as an opponent can attack under them and they can be warded easily. Thus he says that a fighter should only attack with thrusts. To attack, Di Grassi recommends that you should steal half a pace without your enemy noticing you have closed the distance between the two of you. The cloak can be used to distract him. Find your enemy’s sword with your cloak, advance with a half pace and thrust at your enemy while parrying his blade with your cloak. This can be executed from within or without.

Defending against Broad Ward As usual, Di Grassi recommends the low ward for defense. He recommends that fighters should counter attack with an underhanded thrust to the face while executing a compass step to the right with the back foot. This serves to protect the body in case the counter attack does not hit by voiding the body out of line. To ward against edge blows, once again he recommends that fighters should strike at their opponent’s thigh with a thrust. Defending against Low Ward The only defense against the low ward that Di Grassi recommends here is to void the body out of line.

 

Rapier and Buckler Attacking in High Ward From the high ward, Di Grassi says that the right and reversed edge blows are easy to defend against, as a fighter can easily thrust underneath them. The usual over handed thrust can be delivered with the right foot either in front or behind the left foot. If the right foot is carried behind the left foot, the overhand thrust should be executed with and advance of a straight pace of the right foot (to add strength to the blow). The attack should be ended in low ward. If the right foot is carried in front, first steal a half pace without your opponent noticing. Then thrust over hand, increasing another half pace and end your attack in low ward. Attacking in Broad Ward In the broad ward, if a fighter wants to step forward and attack, he should execute a thrust. Edge blows from this position in this weapon form are too dangerous because a fighter must carry his blade so far away from his body.

Defending against High Ward Once again to defend against attacks from high ward, Di Grassi recommends to his readers that they stand in low ward. From this position, a fighter should thrust outwards and advance one pace forward. For this attack the sword and buckler should be used to parry the opponent’s sword before the attack is begun. Di Grassi also says that a fighter can use an attack called the “mustachio” if his enemy comes in close contact with the fighter. This attack is executed by punching the enemy in the face with the buckler.     Defending against Broad Ward To defend against attacks made in the broad ward, a fighter should parry his opponents thrust with his buckler and end in low ward. When his opponents comes to thrust again, the fighter should not parry the blow, but rather void his body by executing a compass step and thrust at his opponent.

Attacking in Low Ward To attack in low ward with the right foot in front, Di Grassi recommends that a fighter should thrust (with the advance of a pace of right foot) between the enemy’s sword and buckler (or outside his sword and buckler) and end the attack in low ward with the right foot still in front. From this new position the fighter can continue his attack from within or without. If he wishes to continue from without, he should parry his enemy’s sword with his own and transfer the blade to his buckler while advancing a half pace forwards. He should then recover his blade and continue his original thrust while advancing a pace with his right foot. If he wishes to continue from within, he should attack in basically the same way, only more forcefully. He should trap his enemy’s blade between his own blade and his buckler to prevent any edge blows and then continue his thrust into the body with the advance of a pace of the right foot.

Defending against Low Ward Once again the low ward is recommended for defense. When your enemy begins his thrust, thrust at his thigh or chest turning the hilt so that it parries your opponent’s blade and execute a compass step with the back foot to take your body out of line.

 

Case of Rapiers Attacking in High Ward When attacking in high ward with case of rapier, you can stand with either your right foot in front or with it behind your left foot. According to Di Grassi, you should take care to hold your back arm in high ward and your front arm in low ward. You should be careful to always maintain this symmetry so that as one sword goes into low ward the other goes into high ward and vice versa. To strike, you should stand without and using the sword that is in low ward you should find your opponent’s blade and beat it aside. From there you should attack with a high thrust while advancing a pace with the right foot. If your enemy retreats backwards you should follow continuing your attack which will hit according to Di Grassi because you can go forward faster than he can go backwards. This attack can also be made from the initial position of having your right foot forward and your right arm in high ward. However you need a lot of force and power for this attack which this stance doesn’t provide so it will not do much good. Attacking in Broad Ward   To frame this attack, the arm behind the rear foot should be in broad ward and the arm in front should be in low ward. Parry the enemy’s sword away from the body with the front swordadvance with a slope pace, move forward, and thrust at his thigh. Move to stand without and end your attack with the other arm in broad ward.

Defending against High Ward As usual Di Grassi favors the low ward for defense. He instructs that you should stand with the same foot forward as your enemy with the front sword in a high ward. When he attempts to beat your blade let it be beaten off line. Advance with a slope pace and with your rear sword (the one in low ward) beat the enemy’s thrust to the right. Then with the other sword (the one that was beaten) deliver a low thrust while advancing in a straight pace continuing to beat away you enemy’s sword with your other weapon. This defense is very strong and sure. It can also be preformed with the opposite swords and it will be just as strong, but it will be shorter.         Defending against Broad Ward To defend against attacks in broad ward, take care to stand in low ward and carefully observe how your opponent moves. With the right arm stretched out wide and the right foot also widened, advance the right foot forward and carry the right shoulder with it to void you body from the attack. If you are standing with the opposite stance, just reverse the movements. As the enemy thrusts, advance in a slope pace and parry his blade.

 

Attacking in Low Ward When attacking with case of rapier in low ward, a fighter can stand with his right foot in front or in back and he can attack within or without. With the right foot in front, if a fighter wishes to attack from within (with either one or both blades between his enemy’s blades) he should simply pass underneath his opponent’s blades and thrust, taking care to keep his point up and his hand slightly down so that he can use the guard to help protect his hand. The only defense from this attack is to void. If he wishes to attack from without he should beat his opponent’s sword off line (with his fore sword) and thrust at his head or chest (with the rear sword) while advancing in a slope pace and ending his attack in low ward with the left foot in front. When striking from without a fighter can also advance with a slope step and drive a thrust at his opponent (with his fore rapier) over his opponent’s sword and with the other rapier he should thrust underneath his opponent’s blade. The only defense for this attack according to Di Grassi is to retreat, however this attack requires great dexterity so the fighter should be agile if he wishes to attempt it.

Defending against Low Ward All attacks can easily be warded from low ward. To defend against attacks made in low ward, not only should a fighter stand in low ward, but he should also void his body out of line by advancing with a slope pace and thrust at his opponent’s face.

 

 

References

Three Elizabethan Fencing Manuals. Jackson, James L. Scholars’ Facsimiles & Reprints. Delmar , New York . 1972

Schools and Masters of Fence. Castle, Edgerton. Arms and Armour Press. London , N.W. 1969

Methods and Practice of Elizabethan Sword Play. Turner, Craig and Soper, Tony. Southern Illinois University Press. Southern Illinois University , USA . 1990

“A Distilled Di Grassi”. Moondragon, Tivar.

Di Grassi, Giacomo. Di Adoprar si Curamente L’Arme Si Da Offesa, Come Da Difesa…Di Giacomo di Grassi. PDF available at http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ewew/fencing/manuals.html. Downloaded 10/13/2001.

Copyright 2005, M. Alison Kannon.  All information presented here is for personal research only.  Any use of the information contained herein must be properly cited.  Linking to this website is allowed.