T.2. Two Lines

There are lines and then there are lines.  We tend to think of lines as high and low, inside or outside.  These lines define guard positions and parries and are commonly referred to by the number of the guard position that closes them.  However, there is a more fundamental set of two lines which define the essential geometry of the encounter, the line of direction or directing line and the line of attack or offence.

The concept of a line as a geometrical relationship between the two fencers appears in Paolo Bertilli’s Treatise of Fencing (1800, translated by Swanger).  Bertilli discusses a line in terms of the straight line that connects two fencers, without defining how that connection is made.  The advance may be made in line (on the straight line) or offline on one side or the other to gain a tactical advantage.

Fernando Masiello (Wright’s 1889 translation of an earlier text) defines the directing line as a straight line that connects the heels of one fencer with those of the other.  He emphasizes that this line must be adhered to at all times.

Friedrich Schneider (1887, translated by Steflik) uses different terminology and offers a new theoretical construct of interest.  His terminology for the directing line was the engagement line; there was a minor variation in the technical description of the line as a straight line passing along the insides of the front feet and the heels of the back feet.  This is a position slightly toward the outside when contrasted with the later heel-heel-toe alignment. 

Schneider introduces the concept of the engagement plane, a perpendicular plane directly above the line of the engagement plane.  He emphasized that foot movement should not move from the engagement line, and the movement of the weapon hand should not move from the engagement plane. 

Luigi Barbasetti (1932) describes the line of direction in a way consistent with Masiello, Salvatore Pecoraro and Carlo Pessina (1912), and Masaniello Parise (1884) – In 1936, this was restated as a straight line joining the points of contact of both fencer’s heels.  Thus fencer on the left’s heel of the rear foot and heel of the front foot connected in a straight line with fencer on the right’s heel of the front foot and finally heel of the rear foot.

The line of attack differs from the line of direction in that it is blade oriented rather than footwork oriented.  Masiello defines the line of offence is the line of the arm and the weapon that would touch the breast or flank of the opponent.  Maintenance of this line prevents a successful attack unless the opponent executes a movement to disturb it.

Barbasetti (1932) defines the line of attack as existing when the fencer’s point is directed at the opponent in a way that prevents an attack until the opponent has acted to remove the threat.  This is essentially the same as Masiello’s definition of the line of offence.

Julio Martinez Castello in his The theory and Practice of Fencing (1933) defined the line of attack in a different way.  Castello defined the lines of attack as regions of the target that are attacked based on the position of the guard.  This appears to be a marriage of the Italian approach to line of offence and the French concept of four lines defined by the guard position.  This may result from Castello’s use of French technique for foil and Italian technique for sabre in his text.

Thus, we have three key concepts which appear to originate in the Italian School about the lines joining the two fencers:

• The Directing Line (later termed the fencing line – see Vass 1965) – a straight line, joining the rear heel and front heel of one fencer with the front heel and rear heel of the other (with the front toes on that line), along which the feet should move.

• The Engagement Plane – a perpendicular plane directly above the directing from which the weapon hand should not depart.

• The Line of Attack – the line established by the fencer’s arm and weapon that presents a threat to the opponent’s chest or flank and that prevents an attack unless it is removed. 

Regardless of the school of origin these are useful concepts for teaching and for understanding footwork and bladework, as well as defining the spatial relationship between the fencers.

Copyright 2018 by Walter G. Green III

Two Lines by Walter G. Green III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.