Parry (Sword)
Basic Level Single Sword term
Definition
see Parry
The nine basic positions of sword parry are:
Prime
Seconde
Tierce
Carte or Quarte
Quinte
Sesta or Quinte Alternate
Sixte
Septime
Octave
(See individual definitions)
Intermediate
It was not until well into the seventeenth century that parries were formally differentiated from positions and bottes (attacks). The reason is not difficult to find; earlier on, defense had been conducted largely by time-thrusts (covered stop-hits ), and even the much lighter transition rapier of the late seventeenth century was best adapted to simple parries, which are identical to the basic positions of the blade (quarte, sixte,etc). The increasing lightness of the smallsword and the introduction during the course of the eighteenth century of the light practice foil, allowed a much greater use of the semi-circular and the full circular parry. Parries today are of three types. First, here is the simple or instinctive parry, the blade moving in the most direct path to meet the attack (e.g. from sixte to quarte or vice versa). Secondly, there is the semi-circular or half-circular parry. Here the point of the weapon describes a semi-circle in the air, generally passing over the adversary’s thrust, from high to low line (e.g. sixte to octave). The semi-circular parry, according to the French school, must always terminate on the same side of the target, that is to say, starting from quarte, for example, the blade must finish in septime. Last, but not least in importance, is the circular or counter parry. In this case the defender, dropping his point and blade beneath the adversary’s weapon, collects the latter and deflects it safely outside the target. Counter of sixte is executed clockwise, counter quarte anti-clockwise. From the low-line positions of septime and octave, the direction is clockwise and anti-clockwise respectively and naturally, in both these cases, the parry goes over, not under, the attacking blade. The reason why the slightly misleading term ‘counter’ parry has for so long been regarded as synonymous with ‘circular’ parry, apparently stems from the fact that it is executed against (contre, or contra) the partner’s disengagement. Although the circular parry was generally considered to be one of the distinctive features of the classical French school, it was supposed by some, using the slightly heavier weapon of the seventeenth century, to involve a high degree of risk, and several prominent masters of that day, notably La Tousche and Liancour, eschewed its use.
See Also
Parry
Prime
Seconde
Tierce
Quarte
Quinte
Sesta
Sixte
Septime
Octave
