We haven't met fouth ward yet. Fourth ward is basically like second ward or third ward, but the sword is held above the head, either centrally or above the right shoulder.
While it appears eight times in i.33, it only appears in three scenarios.
We find fourth ward go up against half-shield, 'priests special longpoint' (which is basically a derivative of first ward), and first ward itself, where it quickly gets turned into a half-shield (although this part in i.33 is unclear).
We've not met priest's special longpoint (PSL) yet, but it will be the focus of a future post. For our purposes below, I have assumed that PSL is simply a low ward from which you can launch a sweeping, upwards, false edge cut from the left. This is a staple of Fiore's longsword and Bolognese sidesword in later centuries. It is basically a universal parry that can parry a downwards strike from either side from any side.
So what can we glean from the plays featuring fourth ward? Here are my observations:
Fourth ward is a relative position of strength, allowing powerful strikes downwards. From fourth ward you can also easily transition into most counter-wards, particuarly hanging-ward, half-shield and reverse half-shield.
Fourth ward can strike straight down, but can also strike from the left or the right equally well.
The strike straight down, like in any other fencing system, can be 'blocked' with a horizontal blade such as in a hanging-ward. During the strike from fourth ward, the blade can also easily be pushed offline to the left or right. This could be acheived in a number of ways, and this is possibly what is happening in the PSL play (to be determined!).
Because fourth ward is similar to second or third ward, it can be treated the same. When opposing fourth ward, depending on your position relative to their blade, you may opt to counter with half-shield (if you are more to the left of your opponent) or reverse half-shield (if you are more to the right of your opponent). However, the fact that i.33 shows half-shield suggests either:
that you should be closing on your opponent with a step to the left, encouraging your opponent to attack your right so that you can bind them down to the right (generally this is a safer bind, and easier for you to shield-knock and Nucken from), or
particularly if you are holding your half-shield centrally, your opponent could attack to either side. From half-shield you can fairly easily bind down to the left or to the right, whereas it is harder to bind down to the right from reverse half-shield. As a personal preference, if I was in half-shield and my opponent attacked to my left from fourth ward, I'd probably drop into a hanging-ward, take the blow, and then step through with an attack from my right side.
That is about it. I.33 doesn't say anything else about fourth ward that I'm aware of. It is largely the same as second and third ward. However, we will revisit fourth ward when we get to the plays on priest's special longpoint.
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