I.33 Sword and buckler: Four ways to attack half-shield

In my guide on i.33 I emphasised that counter-wards, such as half-shield, are defensive positions used offensively. This means that, although they can parry an attack, they are used as positions to attack from - or rather, they are positions that we attack through.

I.33 doesn't advocate hanging-out in half-shield and attacking your opponent from there. Instead, it seems to suggest (although I admit that this isn't explicit, this is just my interpretation) that we fight from a ward (e.g. second ward), briefly go into half-shield to cover our entry, and then attack our opponent from there (or defend if the opponent has counter-attacked into our half-shield). I justify this interpretation because i.33 says that if the person in half-shield hesitates to attack, then the opponent will attack them, suggesting to me that half-shield is not held for a long time.

However, in practice, many people 'hang out' in half-shield, and to good effect. Half-shield is a strong position. It has two main strengths:

1. It is relatively defensive. While it offers some protection when held in the middle, when we rotate it into an incoming cut, it provides a strong parry. I've written about this here: I.33 Sword and buckler - 101 - Part 6: The counter-wards - Half-shield (hema101.com)

2. It can launch quick attacks. Half-shield, almost by definition, is the half-way point between holding your sword in a ward (e.g. second ward), and longpoint (the end position of the strike). This means that, from half-shield, you can make very quick 'sniping' attacks to the opponent's sword arm, buckler arm, or leg, as you are already half-way there.

Then why would you not hang out in half-shield?

Remember what I said in nearly every i.33 post? The plays in i.33 can be read both ways: Person A is in a ward, and person B attacks them using a counter-ward, like half-shield. However, if we read it the other way around: Person B is in a counter-ward (like half-shield) and Person A attacks them from a ward.

I.33 encourages us to attack half-shield, and it provides at least four ways to do so. I will split this into attacking from the left (usually to their sword arm side), and attacking from the right (to the buckler side).

Attacking from the left side

Fall under! I wrote about this in I.33 Sword and Buckler - 101 - What is falling under the sword? (hema101.com). I.33 is very explicit about this. If the opponent has formed half-shield, if you are in a left-side ward (first ward or third ward) then attack their left side (this is called falling under as you will end up in an underbind). Act as if you are trying to attack their sword arm. It will force them to defend.

I.33 then gives us two options:

1. We perform the stichslach. I've written about this many times. The Stichslach is a thrust that 'bends around' their sword. I.33 suggests that we should use the Stichslach if the opponent tries to make an attack of their own from half-shield after we have fallen under. This is detailed here: I.33 Sword and Buckler - 101 - Part 9: Third ward vs. half-shield (hema101.com).

2. We disengage under their sword and attack their right side. If they have defended well against our initial attack by trying to bind us down (preventing the Stichslach), then we disengage out from under their sword, using our buckler to maintain a bind on their sword, and we attack them to their left side (our right side). This is basically a disengage and step though. There are multiple ways to perform the disengage.

Attacking from the right side

If we are in second ward, we might want to attack from our right side. I.33 gives two options:

1. Attack to their sword and attempt to separate their sword from buckler. I've written about this here: I.33 Sword and Buckler - 101 - Part 16: Second ward vs. half-shield (hema101.com). Our sword will slip in between their sword and buckler, potentially cutting their hands and allowing us to thrust though. Beware the danger, though. If the opponent is knowledgeable, he/she will perform a Stichslach while you attack and thrust you in the chest or face.

2. Bind against their blade with a reverse half-shield (Schutzen), and quickly step through. This sounds complicated but is really very easy. You rotate your sword so that the true edge faces to your left and you bind quite high up the inside (your right side) of their blade (this won't work if you bind their strong). You push to your left, even crossing your sword hand slightly over your buckler hand (I call this position 'reverse half-shield', but i.33 calls it a Schutzen). It also gets your sword slightly between their sword and their head. Now, you use your buckler to take over the bind on their sword (closer to their hilt) while you attack the right side of their head with the true edge of your sword, while stepping forward. This is called a step through. I've written about this here: i.33 Sword and buckler - 101 - Part 10: Second ward vs. Reverse half-shield (Shutzen) (hema101.com). While this play is aimed at countering reverse half-shield, it should work just fine against half-shield.

There you have it! Four ways to attack an opponent hanging-out in half-shield, according to i.33. Video below.

Four ways to attack half-shield

Video

A short video of the four techniques, done at low speed and intensity: