In my last blog post, we found out that, although half-shield can be used to cover our left or right sides, it encounters a problem when used on the left (assuming you are a right-handed fencer) - namely the opponent can separate your sword and buckler with a powerful cut to the sword blade.
I.33 presents 'reverse half-shield' on folio 19R, in the first play against second ward (everything before this in the book, and after the 7 wards, is dedicated to plays against the first ward).
Note:
The text does not call this counter-ward 'reverse half-shield'; it calls it Schutzen, and it is not clear whether this is its name or whether a Schutzen is a generic term used to describe any action that forms a defence with the sword (Schutzen is also used to describe another counter-ward; some have therefore called this 'Left Schutzen' and the other one 'Right Schutzen', but I do not like this terminology as it assumes 'Right Schutzen' only defends the right).
Schutzen is a German term roughly meaning 'cover' or 'defence'. I take it to be a verb meaning 'a cover/defence used actively' and may describe any counter-ward. I also assume that it does not describe an exact position but is somewhat flexible depending on what type of attack my opponent can make.
The actual counter-ward, shown in the image below on the right-side, therefore does not seem to have an official name. I have taken it to be a variation of half-shield, and so have named it 'reverse half-shield' for what should be obvious reasons.
The illustration in i.33 does not show reverse half-shield accurately, but it conveys the important information:
It is used to protect the left-hand side of the body, because it is shown in opposition to second ward (which threatens a strike to the left of the person standing in reverse half-shield).
The sword hand is passed over the buckler hand in some way.
Taking into account the bulkiness of modern HEMA gloves, there are two possible ways to hold reverse half-shield.
Firstly, the hands can indeed be crossed over like depicted in the the illustration above. However, this is a little difficult, although easier if you hold the sword more horizontally with the blade pointing to the right (a bit like left Ochs in German longsword).
Alternatively, the way I prefer to do it is to simply turn the wrists of both hands in towards each other, with the knuckles of the sword hand resting on the back of the thumb or inner wrist of the buckler hand. This is easier to perform with bulky HEMA gloves on.
This is easy to do, and rotates the direction of the buckler a little more forward, and rotates the cross guard of the sword 90 degrees. The buckler and the cross guard are now aligned, meaning your buckler is basically acting like a big cross guard. This makes it much harder for your opponent to separate your sword and buckler, and if they do, it is now likely their blade will be caught on the cross guard of your sword.
In both versions, the blade of your sword should rest on the top edge of the buckler to provide stability to the counter-ward.
Just like with half-shield, if held on your centre line, reverse half-shield offers little protection (although the buckler does offer some passive protection on the left), but when you turn into your opponent's strike you form a strong defence.
Like half-shield, Reverse half-shield 'shields' half of your body (in this case the left half), and can be used defensively or offensively. In fact, everything that I wrote about half-shield is more or less true of Reverse half-shield, including using it at the correct time, distance, etc.
A key difference, however, is that if you are stepping offline to parry a strike to your left or to close distance with your opponent, you want to perform a triangle step to your right, not to your left! Step away from the strike, not into it.
A key downside of Reverse half-shield is that, because you have turned your wrist, you are weaker if the attack is made to your right side, therefore I do not recommend Reverse half-shield for use against attacks to your right.
Alternative interpretations
It is possible that Reverse half-shield/Schutzen isn't a counter-ward or defined 'position/posture' at all, but is an action of the sword, e.g. a block/parry made by bringing the sword over the buckler arm, and made independently of the buckler. However, the overall intent is, in my opinion, similar.
Next post
In the next post, we will look at Krucke and hanging-ward (Schutzen).
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