1.1 Grip

Parts of the Sword

[insert diagram of sword showing pommel, grip, guard,cross, forte, debole, false edge, true edge]

The Hilt:

The bit from the pommel to the start of the blade, and includes the pommel, the handle, the cross and quillons (if used).

The Pommel:

The lump of metal at the back of the sword that acts as a counterweight to the blade.

The Handle:

The bit you hold. Typically a wooden form over the tang of the sword, and may be wrapped with leather or wire.

The Cross:

The strong metal piece perpendicular to the blade at the start of the hilt. May be connected to extra rings etc that protect the hand in complex grips. (Many people call this the quillons, but that's not right.)

The Quillons:

Supplementary protective rings that extend forward from the cross to protect the hand. There are many different designs of rings.

The Ricasso:

The section of blade just in front of the cross. Generally kept blunt so that the fingers can hold this section of the blade for extra control.

The Blade:

The sharp pointy bit in front of the hilt that goes into the opponent.

The Forte:

The back third of the blade just in front of the hilt, and typically sed for strong parrying actions.

The Medole:

The middle third of the blade, used for either parrying or cutting actions.

The Foible:

The end third of the blade used for cutting or thrusting actions.

The True Edge:

The leading edge of the blade, which is the edge that faces down when you hold the sword comfortably with the cross vertical. If you were chopping wood, the true edge is the edge you would do it with.

The False Edge:

The trailing edge of the blade.

Holding the Sword

When people first pick up a sword, they tend to hold it like an axe. [insert picture of axe grip] This is a good grip for cutting blows, but not for a thrusting style like Italian rapier.

Exercise

hold your sword in the axe grip like the picture and then extend your arm in a full thrust [insert picture of thrust]. Is it comfortable at full extension?

For a thrusting style, you hold a sword like this [insert pics of one & two finger over cross]

Regardless of whether you prefer one or two fingers over the cross, there are a few critical things they both have in common. Firstly, the sword is held between the thumb and the first joint of the forefinger. This allows the point to be manipulated via finger pressure, which is very quick and energy efficient. It means the sword is balanced on the finger joint rather than held by the muscles of the hand. The thumb should be straight not bent, and pointing down the length of the blade. None of the fingers should be wrapped around the sword or it's furniture. Wrapped fingers engage your hand muscles, which in turn will fatigue quickly losing all your hard learnt point control.

Teaching Note:
It's very common for people to wrap the index finger around the cross in the two-finger grip. This is one of the classic reasons for a tense hand, and lack of fine point control.

Exercise

Hold your sword in the rapier grip, with one or two fingers over the cross as feels comfortable to you. Extend your arm in a full thrust. Is it comfortable at full extension?

One thing to note is that swords are heavy. So it is common for people to hold them very tight for fear of dropping them. The tighter your grip, the worse your control over the sword. It is important to relax your hand and learn to have the sword resting in your hand, rather than using strength to hold on tight. Learn to balance it using the joint of your finger as the balance point, with the grip resting against the meat of your thumb (the part of your palm just below the thumb) cunteracting the weight of the blade.

Exercise

Hold the sword in the rapier grip with two fingers over the cross. Relax your little finger and ring finger. Now lift them a little off the grip. Let the sword balance between your thumb and first two fingers, with the grip resting against the base of your thumb.[insert picture of sword held in relaxed hand with fingers clearly off grip]. Practice this until you can hold the sword with all fingers touching but the hand relaxed.

Failing to relax the hand is a very very common beginner mistake. Learn to look for a tense hand - an opponent with a tense hand is one who has little control and will be wild in their movements.

Teaching note:
A student with a tense hand will find the exercises difficult and their hand and forearm will soon tire. It is far better to start a student with a light weapon that they can readily manipulate. This way they learn to control the weapon properly, without tiring as quickly, and without learning bad habits due to fighting the weight of the weapon. The key principle here is that they must learn to manipulate the weapon with clean, smooth, precise movements.

Hand Positions

In the Italian system, the hand can hold the sword in four position.
[insert pics of positions]

Teaching note:
The positions can be described as, for example, "knuckles up" or "fingernails down" for seconde. Pick a way to describe each one, and use that as well as the names to help the students remember which is which.

For the moment, we will concentrate on the two most important - seconde and quarte.

These are important because they push the opponent's weapon away from you with the true edge of your blade which is the strongest way to do it.

Exercise

Hold the sword in terza, your hand in front of your right hip with the tip pointed in front of you at about head height. Get someone to push the debole of the blade with their finger horizontally across your body. Resist the push as hard as you can.

 

Then hold the sword in seconde and have them try again. Which position made it easier to resist?

Note that you must have the cross of the sword either exactly vertical or exactly horizontal. [pic of correct seconde] [pic of incorrect seconde]
The true edge of the blade must meet the opponent's steel squarely for full effect.

The Stuff That Is Really Good to Know

It is important:

• to know the strong and weak part of the blade
• to pinch the sword between your thumb and forefinger, not grip with the whole hand
• to relax your hand and arm
• to know the four hand positions and their names
• to keep the cross horizontal in seconde and quarte and vertical in prima and terza

It doesn't matter:

• if you use one or two fingers over the cross

Advice For Left-Handers

The same principles apply when the sword is held in the left hand, except that Seconde and Quarte are reversed. An easy way to remember this is:
Prima - True edge is towards the sky
Seconde - True edge is towards the outside
Terza - True edge is towards the ground
Quarte - True edge is towards the inside.

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