Pick a Guard, Any Guard: Sidesword Guard Positions

Swordplay from the Ground: Guards of the Sidesword

Our core weapon for Mounted Combat is the longsword, but we use it in one hand when mounted. For that reason it is useful to look at guard positions from the sword and buckler tradition. In the Blue spur we ask that you:

Demonstrate six core guards of the sidesword and describe their use.

There are of course more than six sidesword guards, but the core guards, cover the outside high, middle and low, and the inside high, middle, and low, are the following:

High Guards

Guardia alta (high outside) and sopra bracia (high inside) are useful for parrying, and delivering powerful blows from above. Guardia alta is more versatile, being able to divert through almost any cutting line in good tempo, whereas sopra bracia is typically used for roversi.

Low Guards

Coda longa e larga (low outside) and dente al cinghiara larga (low inside) are good for invitations, parries, deflections and counterattacks. Cinghiara is better for false-edge deflections because of the angle of the arm coming from across the body, whereas coda longa is good for collections followed by thrusts.

Stretta Guards

In both coda longa e stretta and dente al cinghiara stretta the point of the sword is already on line with the target. This makes the thrust the most obvious attack, but stretta guards are also very available for quick parries and counterattacks. As with the low guards, cinghiara works well for false edge plays, and stretta is useful for collections and counterattacks that cross the line with the true edge.