Intro to Italian Longsword - Part 3
Feb 24, 2010 1:09:24 GMT
Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2010 1:09:24 GMT
Introduction to Italian Longsword – Part 3
A Continuing Article by J.E. Sarge (Odingaard)
A Continuing Article by J.E. Sarge (Odingaard)
You can find Part 2 of the lesson by clicking here: /index.cgi?board=swordtraining&action=display&thread=14766
Beginning Notes
Welcome back to the Introduction to Italian Longsword for the third installment. Thus far we have covered the academic fundamentals, history, some basic terminology, and worked on the correct posture, positioning, gripping, and footwork – including forward, rearward, and lateral movements; as well as turns. That’s a pretty good amount to cover and retain; so continue to reflect back on the previous two installments for review if you need to.
I’ll not waste any time at all here and we will jump right back in to our lessons:
The Poste of Fiore
Fiore put forth twelve major poste (or guards) for fighting with the longsword. The purpose of a poste is to give a predetermined position for the longsword which may be good for defense, offense, or both.
Before jumping into the actual poste, I will tell you that there are three different types:
First, there are poste which are pulsativa (pron. pulse-ah-tee-vah). Examples of these poste are capable of generating great force in an attack. These are optimum for striking though an open defense, or in come cases, blasting a hole though to your target by circumnavigating their defense with raw power.
Secondly, there are poste which are good for waiting. In these cases, we call the poste stabile (pron. stab-you-lay). A stabile poste is good for defense, because it keeps the sword in a position which offers good defense and covering a swordsman’s centerline.
Lastly, there are poste which we call instabile (pron. in-stab-you-lay). The instabile poste are transitional poste, meaning that you may flow though them, but you don’t want to stay in them for very long. They do not offer a good defensive posture.
Now, a poste can be pulsativa and stabile, or pulsativa and instabile. Some may generate a lot of power, yet have a poor defensive posture. Others may have great defense, but no power whatsoever. As we go though the poste, you will see the differences become apparent.
Now, let’s continue to the actual poste of Fiore:
1. The Woman’s Guard - Poste di Donna
As discussed in the previous article, Poste di Donna is a good basic position. The sword is held up to the lead shoulder with the true edge of the blade facing your opponent. The blade angles back slightly over your lead shoulder, extending past your head. The hilt of the sword is held up at approximately sternum level and out from your body approximately 4”-6”.
Poste di Donna is both pulsativa and stabile.
2. Poste di Donna Sinestra (pron. sin-ess-trah)
This poste is the same as Poste di Donna except with the sword on your left hand side. The lead leg is also switched.
Poste di Donna Sinestra is both pulsativa and stabile.
3. Poste di Donna Soprana (pron. all-tar-uh)
In this poste, the sword is raised high over the head and tilted backward. The blade should be behind you, and may be tilted back as far as comfortably possible – but this will vary with different swordsmen. The elbows are raised high, you should be looking under your left elbow at your opponent. Depending on how hard you are preparing to swing the weapon, you may be moving your weight to your rear foot in order to bring the sword downward with tremendous energy.
This poste is also called Poste di Donna Altara. It is pulsativa, but lacks defensive posturing, so it is also considered to be instabile.
4. Poste di Finestra (pron. fin-ess-trah)
This poste is the only poste in which the wrists will be crossed. The best way to express this poste is that is you go into a poste di Donna, then bring the blade of the sword over your head and cross the wrists. The tip of the blade should be facing your opponent. Your elbows are high, but not so high in which you cannot see over them.
This poste is not pulsativa and it is considered to be instabile.
5. The Long Guard - Poste Longa (pron. lawn-gah)
In this poste, the longsword and arms are extended fully forward at shoulder level. The tip of the sword should be slightly higher than the pommel.
This poste is not pulsativa and it is instabile.
6. The Front Guard - Poste Frontale (pron. fron-tall-eh)
The sword is held up with the grip at nose level. It is held firmly about a foot out from your face, with both elbows bent to a 90 degree angle. The guard of the sword should be parallel with your chest, with the flat of the blade facing your opponent.
This poste is not pulsativa and it is instabile.
7. The Brave Guard - Poste Breve (pron. brev-uh)
In this poste, the pommel of the sword is held at waist level with the tip pointed at the nose of your opponent. The blade may be twisted slightly toward the right to give a speed advantage when attacking or if in preparation to go into poste frontale.
Poste Breve is stabile, but not pulsativa.
8. Poste Bicorno (pron. by-corn-oh)
The sword is held in front of you at chest level. The pommel should be approximately one foot from your chest. The tip of the blade should point at the chest of your opponent. Your lead hand grips the sword firmly, while the off-hand rests open at the base of the pommel. The point of this poste is preparing to make a thrust into your opponent’s chest, with the off-hand adding a strength advantage to force the sword though your opponent’s armor.
This poste is instabile, but not pulsativa.
9. The Boar’s Tooth - Dente di Chingale (pron. den-tay de chin-gaul-ay)
In this poste, you will switch lead legs – with your right leg forward. The sword is held downward, with the tip close to being even with the toe of your lead foot. The grip of the sword is tucked up and back. The sword is held close to you. In order to get it high enough up, you may have to relax your grip with your lead hand on the sword and grip more firmly with the off hand (which rests near the pommel).
The Boar’s Tooth is stabile, but not pulsativa.
10. The Half Iron Door - Porto di Ferro Mezana (pron. porto de fair-oh mess-on-uh)
In this poste, the sword is held out in front of you, aligned with your centerline. The tip is pointed downward at your opponent’s centerline. The hilt of the sword remains at waist level.
The Half Iron Door is stabile, but not pulsativa.
11. Tutta Porto di Ferro (pron. two-tuh port-oh de fair-oh)
The sword is held down, with the hilt at waist level and the blade angled downward. The tip will face the floor on your lead side. The true edge of the sword should face your opponent.
Tutta Porto di Ferro is pulsativa, but not stabile.
12. Coda Longa di Statza (pron. code-uh lawn-guh de state-suh)
In Coda Longa di Statza, the sword is behind you; with the grip at waist level and the tip angled downward. The point of Coda Longa is to hide the length of your sword from your opponent. You may use one or both hands on the sword; I personally only use my lead hand because it’s easier to move the sword completely out of view.
Coda Longa di Statza is not considered to be pulsativa and it is instabile.
That covers it for the 12 Poste of Fiore. The only way to master these is to practice them, so until the next lesson; I’d like you to work on these poste and commit them to memory. Additionally, I’d like for you to practice moving between the poste until you feel that they flow comfortably from memory.
Here is are some video examples of practicing poste together, doing transitions though them:
In the next lesson, we will get into actually using the sword though blows and thrusting. Until then, take care!