Using paper-dolls, I have created my own variations of the plays of i33. These have been formed by following the principles laid out in the previous blog posts. I have done my best to illustrate the plays in a way that conveys the important information, such as which leg is forwards and who is taking the action.
Why did I use paper-dolls? Two reasons: 1) I wanted to explore purely 2D imagery, like i33 uses, to see if this gave me any insights into the plays (it did!). 2) I wanted a method that I could quickly use to form images of the plays.
My goal was not to re-create every single play in i33, but rather to start from some basic positions (i.e. a ward) and have one of the fencers attack that ward. The plays come out naturally by applying the basic principles of i33 as I've described it. I didn't look at the images in i33 when creating these plays, and only referred to i33 towards the end to check to see if I'd missed anything important.
I wanted the plays to reflect common situations, and I wanted to avoid repeating the same actions over and over again. (You will see that there is quite a lot of repetition in these plays already!). In total, I have 17 photographed plays, and I have given some written information on variations of these plays that you can make. There are a few actions omitted from the plays, namely the grapples that happen when you turn your back to the opponent. You can find information on these techniques in part 9 of this blog series.
Here are some tips to help you understand the images:
I decided to make the fencers hold weapons of the opposite colour as I thought this would show up better, however at some point I changed my mind. So, sometimes the weapons are opposite colours, sometimes not. This does not mean that the fencers have exchanged each other's weapons, it simply means that I couldn't bring myself to re-photograph everything.
The images show footwork - look at which leg is forwards from one image to the next. Also, if a fencer is clearly higher or lower than the other fencer, this shows an offline step. However, I have been a bit inconsistent about this so sometimes this isn't explicitly shown.
The images are purely 2D, so when the sword is towards or away from the 'camera', the sword will be pointing towards the floor or maybe pointing upwards. This seems to be how things are in i33 itself.
It can be difficult to tell who has the overbind in the images. Read the text. Often the person with the crown has the overbind, unless it says otherwise. Note that in i33 itself, convention is that the person in the overbind is always the person whose sword is at the front of the image (closest to the 'camera'). I do not follow this convention, so often the bind is happening away from the 'camera'.
The crown illustrates who is acting in each image. This could be an attack, it could be a parry, it could be another action.
Where an image shows a hit and the image below shows a parry, assume that the above hit didn't occur as it was parried.
The bucklers are not aways in the correct position. Generally, bucklers face each other during most actions (or the buckler faces the opponent's sword), however this is not always possible to show in this style of imagery.
If you have followed these plays, I'd love to include footage (e.g. a YouTube video link) below to show the play in action. Leave me a message if you want to share a video.
10.1 The plays of first ward
A defence with the buckler alone:
A defence with falling under followed by Stitchslach:
The Stitchslach could be performed as a counter thrust. Note: if Green was in second ward, he could 'feint' a missed cut into first ward in order to draw out Red's oberhau, and then counter thrust with a Stitchslach. (Perhaps this feint is what 'Falling under' really is, rather than the high parry I have suggested? Just a thought.)
Green disengages and steps through:
This is the same as play 4, but green makes an attack following the disengage.
Green disengages and re-binds:
This is the same as play 3, but when green disengages he re-binds with a hard bind to the left.
Variations: The above plays can be varied in two main ways. Firstly, Green could initiate an attack (e.g. an Oberschilt attack), and Red parries this with halpschilt. Secondly, Red starts in the counter ward of halpschilt and Green 'attacks' this with an Oberschilt, forming a weak bind.
Green defends against an unterhau with Krucke:
Note that in this play, Green ripostes from Krucke with a low thrust. Red could do the same, depending on who is stronger in the bind.
Green defends against an Unterhau or a Mittelhau with an Oberhau:
If the attack from Red is higher, Green can defend against this with an overbind.
Variations: The above plays can be varied in one main way: Red can approach under the cover of Krucke. Green counters this by forming Krucke or by making an overbind.
10.2 Plays of second ward
Red defends against an oberhau with the buckler alone:
Red defends against a high attack from the left with left Schutzen:
Note this play has several options. When the bind of Left Schutzen occurs, depending on who is strong in the bind and who acts first, both fencers can perform similar actions, with a direct riposte of a step-through or a thrust, or to cut around to the other side of the sword. (Forgive the change in colour of the weapons below)
Green defends against a mittelhau (or oberhau) with halpschilt:
Note that this play is the same whether red is cutting a mittlehau or an oberhau. This play is also the same as first ward vs. halpschilt, i.e. if first ward attacks and this is parried with a halpschilt, then this play applies. Play 6 demonstrates the shield-knock not shown in these images.
The same as above, but Red re-binds instead of making a direct riposte:
This is the same as the above play, but the fencers are a little further away from each other, making a re-bind safer than a step-through attack. The images start from the parry of halpschilt. You can make a smaller disengage to make the rebind than is shown in the image.
A parry of fiddlebow followed by a disengage, or a shield-knock:
A parry of fiddlebow followed by a grapple:
Variations: In my opinion, the play of first ward vs. Priest's special second (Walpurgis) ward (as covered in part 9), if just a variation of play 12, but where the 'hanging' parry is made underneath the buckler instead on top of it.
10.4 The plays of fourth ward
A counter thrust from Priest's special longpoint:
Variations: Most of the plays of second and third ward can be done from fourth ward.
10.5 The plays of fifth ward
A counter-thrust from fifth ward:
10.6 The plays of sixth ward
Drawing out a thrust while in halpschilt:
10.7 The plays of longpoint
A play showing the various binds:
Dealing with a high thrust:
