J. M. Waite

“ I am not without hope that the altered system of sword play I have described in this Manual will, if properly followed, be found interesting by amateurs as well as by soldiers, and I am greatly encouraged in this hope by the fact that the very numerous pupils I have had the honour of instructing have never failed to take great interest in what they had to learn and practise: have often been as anxious to acquire complete mastery over the weapon as if they were shortly to use it in actual fight, and, in not a few cases, have attained exceptional proficiency. ”

“ A soldier’s life may often depend on his being able to wield his sword against a determined antagonist, and his chances of victory are not likely to be improved by the fact that his instructors have forgotten that a sabre has a point as well as an edge, and have not taught him the most formidable way of using the weapon they have placed in his hands. ”

“ Daily combats gave me every opportunity for putting my ideas to the rough test of practice, and I soon found that I was not mistaken, and that there were longes and time thrusts which could be delivered with the sword, and were formidable even to the most skilled opponents. ”

“ Time Thrust with Opposition. A time thrust can be made when a man feints at your head and tries to deliver a cut under your right arm, or on any part of the right side down to the foot.
As he raises his point to feint, make a straight thrust at his breast with a longe, keeping your hand as high as your right shoulder and a little to the right of it. Palm turned down.
Should you be quick enough, your point will fix on his breast, and his cut will fall on the forte of your sword.
If you are too slow, your thrust will guard his attack, although you may not touch him. ”

“ Those viiwho have taught its use seem to have thought of little else than the cuts which can be given with it, and to have overlooked the fact that the modern sabre, essentially a cut-and-thrust weapon, can be used with great effect for thrusts, and that, when thrusting, a man exposes himself less and is more likely to disable his antagonist than when he delivers a cut. ”

“ Feint at outside of leg, and as your adversary tries to counter, make a half longe, and, aiming at the inside of his wrist, make a retrograde cut by drawing your hand towards your body, and at the same time retire out of distance.
Attacks at the leg should never be made without being preceded by a feint or a beat to divert your adversary’s attention, and even when done in that manner you should be chary of their use. ”

“ I once saw a sketch drawn to prove this assertion, in which the man thrusting was depicted with his point lowered to a line with his adversary’s breast instead of being level with his eye, while the man who was cutting, and should have had his sword similarly placed, had his point drawn back and raised about two feet above his head, a distance greater than I should draw the point of my sword back were I going to cut the carcase of a sheep in two at one stroke. ”

“ With a heavy sabre, the thumb should be placed round the grip, or you maybe disarmed by a strong beat made with a sword of the same weight.
In singlestick, do not let the end of the thumb touch the hilt, or a hard blow on the hilt might seriously injure it.
Hold the sword securely, but do not grasp it tightly, or your hand and arm will soon tire. The grasp should only be tightened when delivering a cut or forming a guard.
There is great art in easing the grip directly after a movement has been executed. ”

“ Always deliver your cuts with a true edge and with the centre of percussion, which is generally about seven or eight inches from the point. It is the most effective part of the sword to cut with, and will not jar the arm like a cut made with any other part of the blade.
Never press upon your adversary’s blade after having delivered a cut or thrust, but recover as quickly as possible to guard the return. Should he press upon yours, disengage and return as quickly as possible.
Make all your cuts with the wrist; never throw your arm out of line, but always keep it in front of you. ”

“ In cutting, the wrist should be well sunk, the upper knuckles turned up, and a firm grip of the sword maintained, particularly at the moment the sword strikes the lead.
The sword, with the edge leading, should not be turned in the slightest degree, but kept on a level line so that the cut will be perfectly horizontal.
When the lead is suspended, aim a little above, and when standing, a little below the middle.
It is dangerous for any one to stand on your right when you are practising this feat, as the pieces of lead sometimes fly to a considerable distance, and with great force. ”

“ To do this, make a false attack, that is, attack with a half longe so that you can the more readily recover and guard; thus, having drawn out and guarded his cut, instantly deliver a genuine one.
To prevent this being done upon you, draw back your hand as your adversary makes his false attack, and thus avoiding his sword, deliver a cut on his head with a longe (vide Plate XVII.) .
OBSERVATIONS ON FEINTING. When a man makes a feint on you and you foresee his intention, do not answer it, but wait and parry his last movement. ”

“ You should never attempt to do anything with a stick that you could or would not do with a sword.
You must remember that in an actual combat the sabres have sharp points and edges, and that a very light touch would probably place you hors de combat.
Hitting at your adversary when he is attacking 80you is almost as bad as cutting your own throat, for you are almost certain to be more or less seriously wounded; your chances of escape are very small indeed. You must, therefore, always endeavour to guard the attack and never counter except when you can avoid the hit by shifting. ”

“ As he hits, so he will guard; heaviness will pervade all his movements; therefore, if you deceive his guard, he cannot make a second one with sufficient quickness to stop a good attack, as he will throw too much force into the first.
Slowness is the natural result of heaviness, quickness that of lightness; therefore, if you wish to become a bon tireur, cultivate and practise light play.
In trying to play light, you must not get into the habit of making snatching hits by which you would only scratch your adversary. ”

“ After each hit, both men should go to their original ground, and form a fresh engagement before renewing the assault.
When a man leads off with proper quickness, the other should guard before returning. Should he not do so, the hit belongs to the one who led off.
When two men lead off together and both hit, neither hit is counted.
When the Remise or Redouble and Return are made together, the hit belongs to the one making the Return.
If the Stop Thrust is not made in sufficient time to prevent the attack being delivered, the hit counts to the one making the attack. ”

“ The man who holds the apple should have good nerve, and should keep his hand very steady. He must raise the palm of his hand as much as possible, and, keeping the four fingers close together, bend them back. The thumb must also be pressed back, and kept as far as possible from the forefinger.
Place the apple on his palm, and standing so that your sword will pass between his thumb and forefinger and point in the same direction, deliver a downward cut without the slightest draw and with sufficient force and no more than will cut the apple. ”

“ Always keep in front of your opponent, never more to your right or left; should he do so, keep 86on your own ground, turning only so much as to enable you to have your right toes pointed to his. Let him move round as much as he likes: he will only tire himself and gain no advantage.
Keep the head and body erect and quiet in all positions. [5] If you lean forward on the attack, a man much shorter than yourself can thrust you through the head by simply retiring and straightening his arm, while your attack would not reach him. ”

“ It is true that to many of those who learn how to handle the sabre this matter is not of much importance, inasmuch as what they seek is a healthy and interesting exercise, and as they are ixnot likely to have to wield the weapon in the defence of their lives. Considered, however, merely as an amusement and an exercise, sabre play is better when the conditions of the actual combat are followed as closely as possible in the mimic fight. ”

“ Are of my own invention, and I venture to say with confidence that any one possessed of a fair amount of strength, and accustomed to the use of xithe weapon, will be able, after some practice, to perform all the sword feats which are mentioned. ”

“ In making the horizontal or diagonal cut at the right side of the head, a man may be timed if his adversary, instead of guarding, gives a straight thrust with his hand opposite his right eye as the attack is being made. The opposition thus formed would guard the attack. ”

“ On the completion of the longe the body and head should be erect, the shoulders have their natural fall, and the right knee be perpendicular to the instep, left leg straight, and foot flat and firm on the ground, and the weight of the body equally divided between the haunches. ”

“ It should be made when a counter is expected, which it would most probably prevent, and should occasionally be used to check the adversary’s parry.
60In the advance and longe the right foot moves twice and the left once. They should move as quickly as it is possible to count “One, two, three.”
A short man ought to use this method of attack when opposed to a tall man, as otherwise he cannot reach him. He should advance very rapidly, with short steps, and be prepared to parry as he goes forward should his beat be deceived.
A tall man ought seldom or never to advance when attacking. ”

“ When you are making an assault with sabres or sticks, remember they are substitutes for sharp swords, and act as though every hit you would receive would either kill or disable you. All your movements must be governed by this idea. ”

“ It will not then be necessary to step forward with the left foot, as your parry will almost send his weapon into your left hand.
Some men when thrusting leave go of the rifle with the left hand. When your adversary does this and you get hold of it, a quick and sudden pull will draw it out of his other hand, or perhaps pull him on his knees.
Dress. The dress should be the same as that worn when practising with sabres, except that the man using the bayonet should have the pad on his left leg, and both should wear a well-padded fencing or boxing glove on each hand. ”

“ A good practice is also to place the lead at the distance your adversary would be from you were you having an assault, and make attacks upon it, or forming a guard, give the various returns in the manner you would on a real opponent. ”

“ The best sized sword for a man of average strength is one weighing 31⁄4 lbs., with a blade 13⁄4 inches wide and 31 inches long. The size and weight, however, depend a great deal upon a man’s strength. A weak man would cut better with a smaller one, and a very powerful man would find a larger one more suitable. ”

“ Pressing in the left haunch when longeing adds considerable quickness to the attack, it also causes the body to be upright on the completion of the longe, and therefore enables a man to recover to the guard with less effort and greater quickness. ”

“ Again, it may happen that the swordsman is disabled by a flesh wound sufficiently grave to incapacitate his sword arm, but not of such severity as to prevent his continuing in action should he have learned to use his left. ”

“ You must never hit after you are hit, as it is very doubtful if you would be able to do so with sharp swords.
The act of countering, so deservedly popular among boxers, is not admissible here. A blow with the fist will probably only shake you, but with a sharp sword the effect would be much more serious. ”

“ HOW TO ATTACK A MAN ARMED WITH A RIFLE AND BAYONET. A man thus armed engages in quarte or tierce, but standing with his left foot in front, his quarte will be your tierce and his tierce your quarte; that is, his right side is his quarte and your right side is your tierce, and vice versâ. ”

“ On taking guard, keep out of distance, and by feinting, endeavour to find out whether, if you attack him, he will parry or counter with a thrust, which some men, relying on the superior length of the rifle and bayonet, do when attacked. ”

“ The man on the defensive has the advantage of either guarding and returning or shifting and countering, and should he adopt the latter method and not shift his leg quickly enough to avoid the hit, he would have considerably the better of the exchange. ”

“ I prefer the cuts on the left side of the head, for the reasons that the extra turn of the wrist necessary for their execution adds considerable force to them, and that when the opposition is correctly formed the whole of the head is defended from a counter, which is not the case when the cuts are delivered on the right side. Then the opposition only covers that side of the head. This I think to be of great importance, as the head, as a rule, is the part at which men naturally and generally 32counter. The vertical is not an effective one. ”

“ Ditto at his right cheek and cut at his left.
All the above-named attacks may be preceded by a beat or an advance and beat.
The stop thrusts, time thrusts with opposition, remise, redouble, and reprise can be made upon you by a man armed with a gun and bayonet, and you can use them against him under the same circumstances as when opposed to a sabre.
110To avoid his stop thrusts, you must adopt the methods recommended when opposed to a man who engages in tierce or quarte (vide page 78) .
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. The bayoneteer has the longer weapon. You have the handier one. ”

“ It is true that one or two thrusts have been taught, but small reliance has been placed in them, and several of the fencer’s methods of attack and defence which are admirably suited for sword play have been altogether neglected. ”

“ It is more interesting and seems more real and practical, while the many varied movements which are required when every possible way of handling the sword is resorted to strengthen the whole frame as no other exercise can. ”