I think that we, as students of the Priest, should not use the six standard sword and buckler guards. The treatise tells us that these are the guards that all 'ordinary' fencers use. 'Ordinary' is not a compliment!
"These seven parts are used by ordinary combatants; The combat-waging cleric holds the opposite and the means" - (P.2)
(I've said six rather than seven since, if you're doing it right, after every blow you will end up in Longpoint - a great position to protect your head when making a blow, an awful position to spend more than an instant in!)
It seems to me that the treatise is in two sections. In the first section (about two thirds of the manuscript) the Priest tells us how to defeat each of the 'ordinary' guards in turn using special attacks called 'counters'. In the second section he gives us special guards to use instead of the ordinary ones - Priest's Special Longpoint and Walpurgis' ward.
So we should only use counters and the two special wards.
I'm interested to hear everyone's views on this theory.![]()
Bookmarks