In part 1, I explained that Capo Ferro's rapier is largely based upon stringering. In fact, it is based on just two scenarios:
Stringering the opponent's blade (or being stringered by the opponent) on the inside.
Stringering the opponent's blade (or being stringered by the opponent) on the outside.
I'm going to cover these scenarios in separate posts, starting with the inside scenario:
Fencer A attacks fencer B
As shown in part 1, the basic scenario is this:
Step 1: the fencers are out of measure, in terza:
Step 2: fencer A attempts to gain a weak stringer on the inside of fencer B's blade, without touching (or only very lightly touching), stepping forwards at they do.
Step 3: fencer A steps forwards and attempts to get a strong stringer on the inside of fencer B's blade:
Step 4: fencer A extends their arm in quarta, leans their body forwards and lunges to thrust fencer B:
Using the images from Capo Ferro, step 3 and step 4 looks a little something like this, with the swords coloured like lightsabres so you can clearly see which sword is on which side:
You can see that this sequence lasts at least two, and probably three tempos: a step to gain a weak stringer, a step to gain a strong stringer, and lunge attack. For this to work, your opponent would need to do nothing and basically allow you to attack them - not impossible if you can do this in two tempos, highly unlikely if it takes three tempos. Put simply: your opponent will react and won't allow you to stab them quite so easily!
To get out of the stringer, fencer B has two main options:
They can try to regain the line - that is, they can try to get their strong on the fencer's weak and push fencer A's tip to the left so that they regain the inside line. Now they have fencer A stringered. This is viable in step 2, when they are only weakly stringered, but much harder at step 3 when they are strongly stringered. If fencer B has done this, then basically restart reading this scenario from step 2 but swap the fencers' places.
They can disengage under fencer A's blade. This is called a cavazione.
Fencer B counters fencer A with a disengage (Cavazione)
To disengage is to remove your blade from one side of your opponent's blade and put it on the other side. You do this either by dipping the tip of your blade under their blade and lifting it back up on the other side, or you can lift the blade up over the top (a 'cut over'). However, we will only cover the 'dip under' - the cavazione.
This is probably one of the most common actions taken in rapier, and beginners use this action way too much. It is not uncommon to see two people who have never used a rapier (or a smallsword, for that matter), and to start disengaging under each other's blades, trying to gain the centre line. There is never a need to disengage under your opponent's blade if you already have the centre line. You only disengage if your opponent is stringering you (or pushing your tip off to the side, which is the same thing).
When you are being stringered and you disengage to the other side, because the opponent's blade is slightly pointing offline (or more likely at your right shoulder), you now have them stringered. This is shown in the image below, where orange was stringered and so disengaged under and now has blue stringered on the outside. This was explained in part 1 by saying that the obliue line stringers the straight line, and the straight line stringers the oblique line.
Now orange (fencer B) can lunge and thrust fencer A:
This basic scenario is what Fencer A is counting on. They are assuming that Fencer B will try to counter the stringer in this way, and this in turn allows fencer A to counter the disengage in various ways, explored in the next post.
Variation
There is a variation of this scenario, and that is where Fencer B disengages but, instead of thrusting, decides to cut a riverso. I may look at this at a later date.
Exercise
Guy Windsor shows a game called 'Hunt the debole' as a way to teach students to stringer and disengage: https://www.swordschool.com/wiki/index.php/Hunt_the_Debole
Next
Part 3 shows how we counter the disengage from the inside: https://www.hema101.com/post/rapier-101-part-3-counter-actions-to-the-disengage-on-the-inside-line
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