Sword and Buckler
Taught by Sigmund von Danzig

Lesson 1: The first three guards
"For sword and buckler combat," Sigmund said, "the guard positions are different than in other sword styles. You do not merely stand in a position and wait for an attack to come. Rather, both you and your opponent transition through the 'guard' positions as the prelude to and result of your attacks and defenses. What I mean will become clear. What this means, though, is that you should NOT stand in a guard position more than an instant before one or the other of you attacks," Sigmund tried to think of an analogy. "It would be as if for the game 'rock, paper, scissors', you threw your choice before your opponent. This would allow them to adjust their choice to take advantage of your weaknesses."

"That being said, here are the guards. Note the position of the buckler in each of these, it is of critical importance, Most of these guards have right-foot forward and left-foot forward versions. Your feet are always about shoulder-width apart, and your lead foot faces your opponent."

"The first guard is called 'the plow', for it looks as if you are plowing a field. Hold your sword and buckler about waist-level, sword pointing to your opponent's eyes. The buckler should be edge-on to your opponent and it should be next to your sword hand, shielding it from attacks." Sigmund adopted the stance. (OOC: The Plow) "Adopt it now, and I shall correct you if needed." Sigmund walked around his class, critiquing the students. "The second guard is called 'wild boar'. This one is like the plow. Your sword is held waist-level again, but this time it points towards your opponent's middle and it is held back. Your buckler is held beyond the point slightly, facing the opponent. When in wild boar, your left foot must be forward." As he described the stance, Sigmund adopted it. (OOC: Wild Boar) "Now, you try." Once again, Sigmund walked around to critique his students.

"The third guard is called 'the ox'. I shall describe the right-foot forward version. The left-foot forward version is just the mirror image. Hold your bucker so that the edge faces the opponent again, and hold both your sword and your buckler just below your shoulders and to the left of your body. Your sword should be angled up and forward. Perform the stance with me." (OOC: This one is hard to describe. Ox) Sigmund went around to critique his students.

"I will teach the other four guards in the next lesson," he smiled. "Then we shall get to the fun part. Once you understand the guards, the combat is easy."

Lesson 2: The other guards
"This next guard has obvious application," Sigmund said. "When you stand with your left foot forward and your buckler-arm straight and hold your sword by your right ear, this is called 'the roof'. It's called this because it is obviously directed towards cuts from above." Sigmund assumed the guard. (OOC: The Roof) "Now, you can also drop the sword back behind your back slightly, so the sword is pointing down. The strike from here is called the cut of wrath, for it is powerful but leaves you a little vulnerable. Thus, the guard itself is called the guard of wrath. You may perform both of these with either foot forward, but the right foot forward versions are less common because they force you to use back-handed blows, which are not as powerful."

"Next, you can assume the plow as I taught you before. If you simply drop the sword a bit and aim the point at the ground, you are in the guard of the fool," Sigmund demonstrated. (OOC: The Fool) "It is called the fool because it appears as if you cannot defend your upper body, however you actually can. It makes your opponent a fool if they attack your torso. Assume it for me."

"The last guard is the near guard," Sigmund said, "it looks differently on the left or right side. If you stand with your right foot forward, hold your buckler straight out and hold your sword under your left armpit, blade pointing backwards." Sigmund assumed the guard. (OOC: Near guard) "If you stand left foot forward, still hold your buckler straight out but this time hold your sword down by your hip. The blade is pointing down and slightly forward." Again, Sigmund assumed the guard. (OOC: Near guard)

"Make sure I have a chance to see you in each of these guards so I may critique them. Any questions?"

Lesson 3: The Use of Guards
"For sword and buckler combat," Sigmund lectured, "there are really four types of strikes: cuts from above, middle cuts, cuts from below, and thrusts. The guard you pick determines what strikes you can make and what strikes you can defend against," Sigmund said. "The whole trick of sword and buckler swordplay is to judge your opponent's likely action based on his guard and decide on your actions based on it."

"Lets go in order. The Plow is good for defending against mid-level strikes. It can quickly transition into Ox if your opponent pulls his strike higher or into the fool if your opponent strikes lower," Sigmund lectured. "Unfortunately, the plow is mostly defensive. It threatens a thrust, but it must transition into a different guard to threaten a strike." "Wild Boar threatens a much more powerful thrust. Note, when you thrust, make sure your buckler protects your sword hand at all times, or it will be vulnerable and cut off. Wild Boar does not lead into displacements very well."

"Ox," Sigmund continued, "is excellent for defending against cuts from above on the side you adopt it. That is to say, if you adopt Ox on the right, you can easily defend against cuts from above coming on your right and similarly for the left. It threatens both a high thrust and a cut from above. However," Sigmund lectured, "Ox is rarely the position you take at the start of the fight. Rather, if you are on the defensive, you would start in the Plow and then transition into Ox to defend. Alternatively, you may start in The Roof and transition into Ox if you decide to thrust."

"The Roof and the Guard of Wrath are obviously oriented towards strikes from above. These guards primarily cut, but can also displace blows if used carefully. However, cutting can also be used defensively."

"The Fool is used to defend against strikes from below. It threatens nothing until it transitions into another guard," Sigmund stated simply.

"The Near guard," Sigmund finished, "obviously threatens both cuts from below and middle cuts. It also provides protection from middle cuts."

Sigmund paused a moment to allow his students time to digest all of this information. "Now, lets assume you were on the defensive in a fight. Your opponent steps into distance (OOC: Being "in distance" means that he can hit you if he takes one step with his strike.) in The Guard of The Roof. What stance do you take? What if he adopts Near Guard?"

Lesson 4: Defense against thrusts
"You may have noticed that in my last lesson, I did not talk about how to defend if your opponent adopts Wild Boar," Sigmund pointed out. "I teach you a defense against that now."

"Remember I mentioned how cuts can be used defensively?" Sigmund asked. "If your opponent steps into range in Wild Boar, adopt the Guard of Wrath with your right foot forward. When your opponent thrusts, simply pass back (OOC: A pass is when you step back with one foot) and move your buckler in to push their point aside. This will encourage your opponent to overextend themselves, exposing their sword arm. Then you cut it off," Sigmund grinned wickedly. "Pair off and try it now."
OOC: Basically, you transition from here.

Lesson 5: Elaborated defense against cut
"If you see your opponent in The Guard of Wrath or The Roof, you can adopt the left-side Near Guard. When opponent cuts at you from above to your left side," Sigmund began, "deflect their blow with both your sword and your buckler together, like this:" Sigmund stood in the proper stance.

"Cuts are powerful, blocking with just the buckler may not be strong enough," the Master of Training explained. "The buckler should be at an angle so that their blow is deflected to the side. As their sword falls harmlessly to the side, drop your sword out of the way and wrap your left arm around their sword arm, trapping it. Then thrust your sword into their gut, like this:" Sigmund demonstrated again. Thrust
"Pair off and try it now."

Lesson 6: Another variation
"There are many possible defenses for most actions," Sigmund continued his lecture, "this is one of those cases. Once again, your opponent is adopting the Guard of the Roof. Instead of adopting the Near Guard, you could adopt The Plow. Once again, block their strike with both your sword and your buckler. This time, it will look like this." Sigmund demonstrated the deflection.

"Note that the sword blade is on top of your left wrist this time. From here, you once again wrap your arm around your opponent's sword arm, this time cutting to their head, like so:" Sigmund demonstrated once again. Cut

"The guard you chose at the beginning drastically restricts the combat you take. Practice this technique together now."