Re: [CFML] Rapier fought like Foil ???

on 2/8/05 6:57 PM, 1@msfencing.org at 1@msfencing.org wrote:

>> Now cavazione/disengages require far less
>> momentum change and while slower than with a foil, are faster
>> in relation to a rapier parry than a foil disengage is to a
>> foil parry. Hence simple parries aren't the best option.
>=20
> Refresh my memory: Are Cavazione's corkscrew like over/under disengages?
> If so then they are faster than rapier parries.

In the context of early 17th century Italian rapier, a cavazione is best
understood as a change of line in response to an adversary covering a
specific line. Giganti, Capoferro, and Fabris don't take engagement in the
modern sense; they seek to cover the likely line of assault offered by the
adversary's blade by "covering" it stronger near weaker, but without
contact. (Capoferro and Fabris are quite specific on this point; I'm less
familiar with Giganti's discussions.) From here begins a whole series of
potential actions, one set of possibilities stemming from a cavazione (or
change of line) by the adversary. But the essential point is that since yo=
u
don't have an "engagement" in the classical (or even late 17th century)
sense, you can't have a "disengagement".

Note that "cavazione" does NOT literally translate as "change of line", but
that in the context of the actions described by the above masters "change o=
f
line" is a good rendering into English of the Italian word. "Cavazione"
didn't literally mean "disengage" in the 17th century and only came to mean
that by the 19th, and then only in the context of fencing. It's rare to
find a non-fencing Italian, even today, who will quickly reach for
"disengage" when attempting to translate "cavazione" into English.

Best-


Sean Hayes
Maestro d=B9armi
Northwest Academy of Arms
http://www.northwestacademyofarms.com/

"Popular is a tricky word. People in large numbers don't always have the
best taste." - Richard Thompson



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