0.2.1.b. The Hand Positions in French Foil Guards and Parries to the End of the Classical Period

This blog post follows up on our discussion of French hand positions prior to World war I (see 0.2.1.a. The Hand Position in French Foil Guards and Parries Prior to World War I),  It should be noted that this study draws from English language texts written by individuals trained in the French school.

Our earliest English language source from the period is Manrique's 1920 Fencing Foil Class Work Illustrated.  Manrique appears to have been a Cuban, probably trained as a Master at the Cercle d'Esgrime de l'Havana, active in Cuban fencing circles from 1888 to 1899, and then active in clubs in New York and New Jersey at least through 1907.  He described and pictured four hand positions which are very close to identical to contemporary Italian hand positions:

• First - thumb down, nails to the outside line.
• Second - thumb to the inside, nails down.
• Third - thumb up, nails to the inside line.
• Fourth - thumb to the outside, nails up.

Manrique states that the positions of First, Second, Third, and Fourth may be used in parries, but only First Second, and Fourth in attacks.  However, he does not indicated which hand position should be used in which guard or parry.  From his illustrations, based on the position of the lunette guard that:

• The center line guard - hand is in Third position.
• Fourth engagement - hand is Third position,
• Sixth engagement - hand is in Fourth position.

Eleanor Baldwin Cass was not a fencing master, but she appears to have either known or known of a wide range of people of the sport.  Her 1930 The Book of Fencing is a delightful collection of fencing knowledge.  She provides the essentially modern categorization of hand positions by guard or parry:

• First - hand in pronation.
• Second - hand in pronation.
• Third - hand in pronation.
• Fourth - hand partly supinated.
• Fifth - hand nearly pronated
• Sixth - hand in supination.
• Seventh - hand partly in supination.
• Eighth - hand in supination.

Cass makes an interesting note that pronation and supination are extreme positions.  She points out that there are 180 degrees in the half circle between those positions, with the implication that hand position can vary within that range.

Maitre de l'Academie d'Armes de Paris Felix Grave in his 1934 Fencing Comprehensive also embraces the emerging distribution of supination and pronation.  His significant differences lies in the hand positions for Fourth and Fifth:

• First - hand in pronation.
• Second - hand in pronation.
• Third - hand in pronation.
• Fourth - hand in medium position with the thumb up.
• Fifth - hand in medium position with the thumb up (based on a photograph in the book)
• Sixth - hand in supination.
• Seventh - hand in supination.
• Eighth - hand in supination.

Maestro de Armas Julio Martinez Castello, a graduate of the Sala de Armas Carbonel of Madrid in 1906 (note that Spanish fencing was largely divided into two camps, French and Italian), poses a challenge in his 1937 The Theory and Practice of Fencing.  He does not describe the hand positions for those guards which he considers to be impractical or ineffective.  However, based on his clear illustrations it is possible to make assignments of hand positions to all common French School guards:

• First - used seldom, based on illustration a pronated position.
• Second - fingers down.
• Third - fingers down.
• Fourth - based on illustration fingers up.
• Fifth - not recommended, based on illustration a pronated position.
• Sixth - fingers up.
• Seventh - fingers up.
• Eighth - fingers up.

Joseph Vince, a prior coach of the United States Olympic Fencing Team, writing in 1940 in his Fencing, admits to using the best of the French, Italian, and other schools.  However, his foil guards are clearly French in origin:

• First - turned thumb down (in other sources the same position is identified as pronated).
• Second - hand in pronation.
• Third - hand in pronation..
• Fourth - normal position with thumb up.
• Fifth - hand in pronation.
• Sixth - hand in supination.
• Seventh - hand in supination.
• Eighth - hand in supination.

In 1939 G. V. Hett, an experienced British international competitor, authored Fencing (Fencing is a common title for books about fencing, show a certain lack of imagination).  Hett describes guard positions primarily by finger position:

• First - nails turned downward and nearly outward.
• Second - finger nails downward and a little outward.
• Third - finger nails downward and a little outward.
• Fourth - finger nails up (in parentheses Hett says that the hand should actually be held thumb upward and finger nails outward).
• Fifth - finger nails downward
• Sixth - finger nails upward.
• Seventh - finger nails upward.
• Eighth - finger nails upward. 

Scott D. Breckinridge and Scott D. Breckinridge, Jr. were students of Maitre d'Armes Francois Darrieulat, a native of France who twice coached the United States Olympic Fencing Team, as well as coaching at Cornell University and the United States Naval Academy.  In their 1941 book Sword Play: Based upon the French School of the Foil, they describe three hand positions:

• Of attack - thumb is up and the nails are to the inside line.
• Supination - fingers of the sword hand are up.
• Pronation - fingers of the sword hand are down.

The individual guards are divided into two categories, supination and pronation:

• First - pronated.
• Second - pronated.
• Third - pronated.
• Fourth - supinated.
• Fifth - pronated.
• Sixth - supinated.
• Seventh - supinated.
• Eighth - supinated.  

Immediately after World War II, Belgian trained Maitre d'Armes Clovis Deladrier's 1948 Modern Fencing provides a final view of the classical period:

• First - pronated.
• Second - pronated.
• Third - pronated.
• Fourth - supinated.
• Fifth - pronated.
• Sixth - supinated.
• Seventh (described as Low Fourth) - supinated.
• Eighth (described as Low Sixth)- supinated.  

DISCUSSION

There is general agreement, with some variances as to use of the middle, normal, or thumb up position in the supinated parries, that the positions, guards, and parries first, second, third, and fifth are executed in pronation, and parries fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth are executed in supination.  Cass and Grave make significant contributions to our understanding of this range of French School parries.  Cass points out that supination and pronation are extreme positions with a range of possible hand positions in between them as required by the situation.

Grave, however, provides a theoretical insight that helps us understand the relationships between the parries.  He notes that there are parries that differ only in their hand position - third and sixth, second and eighth are his examples.  He also notes that seventh can substitute effectively for fifth.  

That sets the stage for a significant understanding of the French position-guard-parry system. There are actually two French sets of positions, guards, and parries, each of which forms a system based on hand position.  The supinated system is fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth.  The pronated system is first, second, third, and fifth.  These two systems each provide a complete coverage of the target area.  This relationship is not generally discussed in the available English language fencing manuals, and it would seem to be worth further historical and theoretical study.

Sources

Breckinridge, Scott D., and  Breckinridge, Scott D. Jr. Sword Play: Based upon the French School of the Foil; [book], A. S. Barnes and Company, New York, New York, United States of America; 1941.

Cass, Eleanor Baldwin; The Book of Fencing; [book]; Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America; 1930.

Castello, Julio Martinez; The Theory and Practice of Fencing; [book]; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, New York, United States of America; 1937.

Deladrier, Clovis; Modern Fencing: A Comprehensive Manual for the Foil - the Epee - the Sabre; [book]; United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, United States of America; 1948.

Grave, Felix; Fencing Comprehensive; [book]; Hutchinson and Company, LTD, London, United Kingdom; 1934.

Hett, G. V.; Fencing; [book], Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, LTD, London, United Kingdom; 1939.

Manrique, Ricardo Enrique; Fencing Foil Class Work Illustrated; [book], American Sports Publishing Company, New York, New York, United States of America; 1920.

Vince, Joseph; Fencing; [book]; A. S. Barnes and Company, New York, New York, United States of America, 1940.

Copyright 2020 by Walter G. Green III

The Hand Positions in French Foil Guards and Parries to the End of the Classical Period by Walter G. Green III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.