Written by Brett, Rapier & Dagger Instructor
A Dagger in Their Left
Hand
Currently, our Monday mixed martial arts group is busy learning the art of rapier and dagger in South Calgary.
The group spent the first few weeks learning about the intricacies of how to properly hold, position oneself, thrust, disengage, and void with a basic rapier.
The style of sword fighting the group is focused on learning is from Salvatore Fabris, an Italian fencing master who wrote his treatise called ‘Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme,’ in 1606.
Last summer, our club began exploring the basic guards and techniques taught by Fabris. This year, the focus is returning to the basics of how to properly use the dagger and rapier separately before going into the complexities of Fabris’s style of sword fighting.
1606 treatise
For instance, the first image above from his 1606 treatise shows a guard in terza (third) where it is difficult for the opponent to disturb one’s dagger, gives time to react to thrusts, and helps lure the opponent to attack the left side.
While another Fabris guard seen, also in terza (third) helps prevent the opponent’s blade from getting in between the rapier and dagger and helps prevent disengages and feints.
Another example highlighting two similar guards are ones shown above in quarta (fourth).
While the first image above looks like the previous image shown in terza, minus a slight change in position and hand position, the second image above on the right shows how Fabris often advocates keeping the opponent off balance and disrupting standard techniques.
In this case, keeping the rapier lower disrupts the opponent’s ability to take control of the blade and measure the correct distance, allowing the person to gain the advantage.
That’s just a brief highlight of what the club is doing in South Calgary on Monday nights in relation to sword fighting for the summer.
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Fellowship of the Sword is Southeast Calgary’s immersive, inclusive, & afforable not-for-profit HEMA club.
