Kage Tatsu's Rapier Fencing 102

Rapier Style Fencing 201

Now you have learned the basics of my Rapier moves, and it is time to move on to more complex moves. These moves will be used much more rarely, but they are also much more effective.

1) BINDS

SNAKE BITE

This is one of my favorites. The goal behind Snake Bite is to attack your opponent in the leading leg, while at the same time rendering his blade useless.

From a PARRY-6, move your mid blade to catch your opponents feeble area.

Quickly (while maintaining blade on blade contact) push your opponents blade in a circle down and to the left.

Slide your blade foward to get more of your forte on their feeble during this maneuver, and when your blade has gone 50% of a circle, your blade should be pointing at their leg.

You should actually be pointing down more than in this photo, towards a knee.

Extend and lunge at the leg and give them the "Snake Bite". As you recover, retreat while doing a Parry-7. In this image, I am the one being "Snake Bit".
SNAKE BITE VIDEO (1.2meg wmv file)

BIND IN 6

The goal behind Bind in 6 is to attack your opponent in the torso, while at the same time rendering his blade useless. Your target point will be your opponents right rib cage area, as it is the closest body point to you.

From a PARRY-6, move your blade up and over the tip of your opponents blade, or disengage under your opponents blade tip.

Quickly (while maintaining blade on blade contact) push your blade tip straight at your opponents right rib cage, while pushing your guard out and up to the right. Your arm should actually put pushing out away from you at a 45 degree angle away from you. If you can, try to catch your opponents feeble area with your quillions. Now lunge while maintaining the angle and direction of your attack.

Since your blade is on top of theirs, if they are successfully able to disengage your attack, their repost will be to your 7. Use your parrying device or left hand to go under your blade and block their repost. After a sucessfull hit, retreat doing a Parry 7.

BIND IN 6 VIDEO (1.2meg wmv file)

BIND IN 7

The goal behind Bind in 7 is to attack your opponent in the lower torso or the leading leg/foot area, while at the same time rendering his blade useless. This is very usefull if your opponent has a low guard stance as well.

From a PARRY-6, or PARRY 7 position, move your blade tip to your opponents outside. Your blade and and the opponents blades should be pointing down at the ground, at an angle. Now push your blade straight at your opponents knee or foot area, while at the same time move your guard up and to the right. You are trying to catch your opponents feeble with your quillions. Your blade is under your opponents blade. Now lunge, continueing these angles and motions. At the end of the move, your blade will be at a 45 degree angle, with the point hitting your opponents leading lower area, and your guard out to your right. Your wrist will be cocked at an angle.

Because your blade is under your opponents, if he is able to do a sucessfull riposte, his blade will come high. Use your parrying device or free hand to block high over your right shoulder to prevent his reiposte or counter attack from succeeding. As your recover from your attack and retreat, your opponents counter attack will come from the upper to mid right, so a PARRY 6 or PARRY 3 should be used. A variation of this move is called "Snake Bite", which is explained in a later section.

BIND IN 7 VIDEO (1.2meg wmv file)

BIND IN 4

In a BIND-IN-4 attack, your are usually facing a left-handed opponent. You will cross his blade in your "Parry-4", push your blade up and over and you thrust your blade forward. Catch his feeble with your quillions, turn your hand over to hold fast your opponents blade as your push the point of your blade into your opponents chest area, or whatever target is the best. Your arm will be extended at a 45 degree angle over to your left front. Make sure you use your secondary hand or weapon to protect yourself from his attack with his secondary weapon, or for if you miss your attack.

2) OTHER MOVES

VOID

This one can be tricky, but if used well can surprise and defeat your opponent quickly. The goal behind this one is to let your opponent lunge, and while he lunges you move to the side and attack him from the right.

From a Parry-6 or similiar position, your opponent lunges at you. Use your left hand, buckler, dagger, etc. to parry his weapon away.

Quickly step (Balisteri) forward and to the right while keeping the side hand parry. From this new position you have moved to, extend and lunge while keeping your attacking arm to a 45% position to your right. This should allow you to get thru his side defenses. Retreat to the right and back, while going into a Parry-4, and preparing to go to a Parry-8 or Parry-1.

Your free hand/arm should be blocking your opponents attacking blade.

STOP THRUST

Impressive looking, this maneuver is rarely seen, but a good deterant to a forceful attack. The goal on this one is to do the unexpected during a forcefull attack by dropping down and letting the attacker impale himself. This maneuver works best if you are fighting with just one weapon in your primary hand. I will use a colored stick to help illustrate the movements.

From a Parry-6 or similiar position, your opponent lunges or advances on you.

Quickly put your left hand down on the ground to your left, and move your back left foot even further behind you. Raise your rapier up and extend towards your opponents chest, leg or even primary arm. You should almost be in a Parry-2, but your arm is extended. You are not lying on the ground, but you have just dropped a few feet in height, and protected most of your body from attack. This unexpted drop should surprise your opponent. Many times they will walk onto your blade.

If this maneuver did not succeed, go back to a Parry-2 as you spring up, and retreat.

You are now back where you started, and ready to try your next maneuver.

3) WALLS

WALLS OF STEEL

A Wall of Steel is a technique whereby your primary or secondary weapon sweeps your opponents blade(s) to one side, preventing your opponent for a moment of being capable of attacking your. During this brief moment you can attack your opponent in any number of locations, usually just one one side or another. There are many types of "Walls of Steel", both left, right, high and low. The basic concept is that you are using your blade to create a dimension in which your opponent has no real chance of attacking from. Below are the "left" and "right" walls of steel. Of course, if you are a right handed person fighting a left handed person, you would need to perform these walls in reverse, so a left would be a right, etc.

WALL OF STEEL - 4

This is an excellent maneuver to perfect to end a fight quickly, as it allows you to get in close, prevent your opponent from attacking you from an entire side, and very imporantly, if your opponent is about to receive reinforcements from your left side, this puts your opponents dead body in their way as they arrive in your combat area. (Here my friend Kenny, and our fencing instructor Robert demonstrate these moves)

In this move, you want to have the left side of the tip of your blade touch the tip of your opponents blade. This will allow you to glide your blade down to the mid-high point of your opponents blade with the middle or mid point of your blade when you start your move.

Once your tip is at your opponents tip, and while maintaining a contact pressure on your opponents blade, do a "Balestra", and turn your body slightly to your left while making the leap. While you are doing the "Balestra", slide your blade down a foot or so along your opponents blade, and make it about half way down your blade. The goal of this is to give you the bent arm strength to control your opponents blade.

Make sure that your blade is not horizontal to the ground, your blade should have a slight rise from the guard to the tip. This will make your opponent realize he has only three options.

Option 1) He can retreat. If he does so, use your parrying hand/weapon to maintain the block on your opponents primary weapon, do a lunge towards his head, and tag him. Be carefull not to "blast" your opponent hard, but also be aware that if he is retreating, you will have to compensate for his head moving backwards. It takes skill and practice, but this is the most common response your opponent will do.

Option 2) He will try to move his blade that you have put your "Wall of Steel" in front of. If he moves it down, trying to get past your quillions, use your hand or parrying weapon to block that move, and do a slash across your opponents throat with your primary weapon. Step back. Or, he will try to move his weapon up and over your weapon. If so, keep your main blade over his, and use your secondary weapon to strike the opponent.

Option 3) Realizing that his primary weapon is neutralized, he will start to bring his rear hand, probably with a dagger in it, forward to hit your right side or right back area. Very quickly, pop your primary sword into his face mask, and then put it back over the opponents primary blade, and then retreat into a parry 4. Sometimes it takes a few seconds for people to realize they have been "killed" and cannot continue their attack.

VIDEO OF THE WALL OF STEEL-4-NORMAL OPPONENT GUARD (1.5 meg wmv file)

Wall of Steel 4-Low Opponent Guard

VIDEO OF THE WALL OF STEEL-4-LOW OPPONENT GUARD (1.2 meg wmv file)

Wall of Steel 4-High Opponent Guard

VIDEO OF THE WALL OF STEEL-4-HIGH OPPONENT GUARD (1.2 meg wmv file)

WALL OF STEEL -6

This is an excellent maneuver to perfect to end a fight quickly, as it allows you to get in close, prevent your opponent from attacking you from an entire side, and very imporantly, if your opponent is about to receive reinforcements from your right side, this puts your opponents dead body in their way as they arrive in your combat area.

In this move, you want to have the right side of the tip of your blade touch the tip of your opponents blade. If you have to, do a disengage as shown below.

This will allow you to glide your blade down to the mid-high point of your opponents blade with the middle or mid point of your blade when you start your move. Once your tip is at your opponents tip, and while maintaining a contact pressure on your opponents blade, do a "Balestra", and turn your body slightly to your right while making the leap.

While you are doing the "Balestra", slide your blade down a foot or so along your opponents blade, and make it about half way down your blade. The goal of this is to give you the bent arm strength to control your opponents blade. You are also pushing in a bit against your opponents blade. You are trying to push his blade down, and angle the tip away from you, making his tip point away from you, as his blade is angled alongside his body.

Make sure that your blade is not horizontal to the ground, your blade should have a slight rise from the guard to the tip. This will make your opponent realize he has only the three options listed in the previous Wall of Steel-4.

Next, reach out with your left hand, with your palm open, place your hand over side/top of the guard of your opponents blade, and shove forcefully away from yourself. This will cause your opponents blade to sling to your opponents left, and away from you.

Be carefull not to do it too hard, as you can spin your opponent around and off his feet, possibly hurting him. But also do it with enough force that the move works. It takes practice to learn it well.

With your opponent now slightly spun a few degrees to his left, and his sword arm wrapped around his front from right to left, move slightly back and to your left as you bring your blade from where you had it in the "Wall" and drag your blade over your opponents throat. If because of movement, angles, etc, you cannot do this drag over your opponets thoat, drag it over his back, shoulders, or poke him in the side, etc. Almost everything available from your attack position is a kill shot.

Continue to move back a step or two, and this will place your now dead opponents body in the path of his newly arriving "reinforcements". This will give you a few moments to get your bearings, and prepare for the next engagement.

VIDEO OF THE WALL OF STEEL-6-NORMAL OPPONENT GUARD (1.3 meg wmv file)

If you have enemy reinforcements coming from your right, you can also do a "sling" action, where with your free left hand you can close in, do the wall of steel 6, push your opponents guard away from you, and then slash across your opponents chest/midsection. This kills your opponent, and puts your opponents corpse in front of you and your now arriving new opponents. It's also very flashy!

VIDEO OF THE WALL OF STEEL 6-WITH OPPONENT SLING (1.4meg wmv file)