{"id":3124,"date":"2011-06-24T17:33:13","date_gmt":"2011-06-24T22:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.playfighting.ca\/?p=3124"},"modified":"2012-02-16T23:57:23","modified_gmt":"2012-02-16T23:57:23","slug":"cutlass-drill-diagram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/stage-combat-2\/cutlass-drill-diagram\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutlass Drill Diagram"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nImage source: http:\/\/www.nmm.ac.uk\/collections\/images\/2000\/A1553.jpg<\/p>\n

Naval Cutlass Exercise – H C Angelo – 1813<\/p>\n

This diagram of the use of the cutlass actually cuts across both
\ntopics that I instruct (and blog about here): stage combat and
\nbartitsu. This main geometric shape shows the positions of our parries
\nand cuts, while the top band illlustrates proper posture and stance,
\nincluding the lunge. Bear in mind that this is not the “magic circle”
\nof Spanish rapier theory, but a simple memory aid for professional
\nnaval officers.<\/p>\n

Since it may not be obvious, here’s the interpretation of the central diagram:
\nCuts happen on any line that passes through the centre.
\nFrom 5: horizontal cut from the outside
\nFrom 6: horizontal cut from the inside
\nFrom 7: vertical cut to the head
\nFrom 1 or 2: diagonal descending cuts (usually slashes in stage
\ncombat). This corresponds to attack 1 from Escrima and other arts that
\nstart from the most common attack patterns. This is also Fiore’s first
\ndagger defence.
\nFrom 3 or 4: diagonal rising cuts (usually slashes in stage combat)<\/p>\n

The tricky part is the handle illustrations for the parries. Starting
\nfrom the bottom is easiest:
\nParry 3: outside guard. In bartitsu, we’d follow this with an outside
\nmoulinet and a cut from 3. In stage combat, we try to make this parry
\nvertical (on the line 3-1) because we won’t be parrying diagonal cuts.
\nParry 4: inside guard. In bartitsu, we’d follow this with an inside
\nmoulinet and a cut from 4. Same note as above for stage combat, we
\nfollow the 4-2 line.<\/p>\n

The guards at the top of the circle (point downwards) don’t follow the
\ntraditional numbering.
\nThe handle at number 1 is Parry 2, outside half-hanger.
\nThe handle at number 2 is Parry 1, inside half-hanger. The tilted
\nhandle at 2 labeled the “half-circle” is parry 8, as explained in the
\nlower portion of the image.<\/p>\n

Some fun things to notice:
\nIn the exercise at bottom-centre, the rising diagonal attack from 3 is
\nlabeled as a “wrist” target, and the corresponding parry is the
\n“half-circle” or parry 8, as previously mentioned; whereas the attack
\nfrom 4, a rising diagonal slash from the other side does not have a
\nparry, but rather the command “shift” which can be interpreted as our
\nlunging avoidance from Basic stage combat.<\/p>\n

St. George’s Guard is not numbered on the diagram (it is between 1 and
\n5 if the text is too small to read on your screen). Clearly, the tip
\ndescends on a shallow slope, which is exactly our goal in Bartitsu’s
\nhead parry because we want to keep the hand safe from a glancing glow.
\nFor stage, we insist on Parry 5 being horizontal to eliminate that
\nglancing motion entirely.<\/p>\n

To sum up, this diagram should not be anything revolutionary to my
\nstage combat or bartitsu students, but it is an interesting historical
\ncorollary and may solidify some of the angles and concepts in your
\nmind. Plus, it has an awesome top-hat-wearing fencer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image source: http:\/\/www.nmm.ac.uk\/collections\/images\/2000\/A1553.jpg Naval Cutlass Exercise – H C Angelo – 1813 This diagram of the use of the cutlass actually cuts across both topics that I instruct (and blog about here): stage combat and bartitsu. This main geometric shape shows the positions of our parries and cuts, while the top band illlustrates proper posture […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-3124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stage-combat-2","tag-historical"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t