_Of Pushing Quart._
To push _Quart_ within, besides the Precautions of placing yourself to
Advantage, and of pushing properly and swiftly, which is to be acquired
by Practice and nice Speculation, It is necessary that the Parts, in
order to assist each other in making the Thrust, should be so disposed
and situated, as that the Wrist should draw with it the Bend of the Arm,
the Shoulder, and the upper Part of the Fore-Part of the Body, at the
same time that the Left Hand and Arm should display or stretch
themselves out smartly, bending one of the Knees and extending the
other, which gives more Vigour and Swiftness to the Thrust; and the Body
finding itself drawn forward by the swift Motion of the Wrist and other
Parts, obliges the Right Foot to go forward in order to support it, and
to give the Thrust a greater Length; the Left Foot should, at the same
Instant, turn on the Edge, without stirring from its Place; whilst the
Right Foot coming smartly to the Ground, finishes the Figure, Extension
and Action of the Lunge. This is the Order and Disposition of the Parts
in making the Thrust, which see in the second Plate. At the Instant when
the Wrist moves forward, it must do three things, turn, support and
oppose.
To turn the Wrist in _Quart_, the Thumb Nail must be up, and the inside
Edge equal in Height with the other, for if it were not so high, the
Thrust would not be so swift, for want of Motion enough, neither would
the Body be so well covered, because the Edge, instead of being directly
opposite to the Adversary's Sword, would fall off with a Slant; and if
it were higher, it would make a Quint Figure, which, by the excessive
Turn of the Wrist, would weaken the Thrust, and by the unequal Turn of
the Edges would uncover the Body.
The Wrist ought to be of a Height sufficient to cover the Body without
contracting the Arm, which cannot be fixed to a particular Height; for a
short Man against a tall one, should raise it as high as the Head, which
People of equal; Stature, or a tall Man against a short one, ought not
to do.
When the Opposition is accompanied with such a Turn and Support of the
Wrist as will cover the Body, it is good, but if the Wrist be carried
too far in, you not only lose Part of the Length of the Thrust, but also
uncover the Outside of the Body, which are two very great Faults.
The Thrust must be made on the Inside of the Right Shoulder, in order to
take the Feeble with your Fort, and that you may be covered, bearing on
the Adversary's Sword, by which Means, the Thrust will be well planted,
and you less liable to receive one, which Advantages you lose by pushing
otherwise.
In order to make the Thrust perfect, it must have its proper Strength
and Support when planted: The Strength, is the Vigour with which the
Thrust is made, and the Support is the Consequence of the Motion of the
Wrist, turning and bearing upwards, which makes the Foil to bend
accordingly, fixing itself 'till you retire.
The Foil may bend upwards in two Manners; the best Way for it to bend,
is from the Middle towards the Button; the other Way is, when almost all
the Blade makes a Semi-circle. The first has a better Effect, the Feeble
being stronger, the other makes a greater Show; but the Point being
feeble, there is not the same Advantage in the Thrust.
In all Thrusts, the Button should hit before the Right Foot comes to the
Ground, and the Left Hand and Arm be stretched out smartly, to help the
Body forward, and give more Swiftness to the Thrust: The Left Hand
should always be conformable to the Right, turning to _Quart_ or
_Tierce_, according to the Thrust. The Left Hand and Arm should be on a
Line with the Thigh, and their Height a little lower than the Shoulder.
The Body must lean a little forward before, to give the Thrust a greater
Length; the Hips must not be so much bent as other Times; which weakens
and shortens the Thrust, by the Distance which the lowering the Body
causes from the Height of the Line which must come from the Shoulder;
besides 'tis harder to recover, and you, by that Means, give the
Adversary an Opportunity of taking your Feeble with his Fort, your
Situation being very low. The Front of the Body should be hid by turning
the two Shoulders equally on a Line.
The Foot should go out strait; in order to preserve the Strength and
Swiftness of the Thrust, it must have its proper Line and Distance. The
Line must be taken from the Inside of the Left Heel to the Point of the
Adversary's Right Foot; If it turn inward or outward, the Button will
not go so far, the strait Line being the shortest; besides the Body would
be uncovered, for by carrying the Foot inwards, the Flank is exposed,
and by carrying it outwards the Front of the Body, and the Body is
thereby weakened; the Prop and the Body being obliged to form an Angle
instead of a strait Line, from the Heel of the Left Foot to the Point or
Button of the Foil.
In order to know the Distance of the Lunge, the Right Knee being bent,
must form a perpendicular Line with the Point of the Foot; if the Foot
were not so forward, the Heel would be off the Ground, and the Body
would have less Strength, and if it were carried farther the Body could
not easily bend it self, and consequently could not extend so far;
moreover, it would want Strength, being at too great a Distance from the
perpendicular Line of the Foot and Leg, which are its Support, and its
Recovery would be more difficult.
The Foot should fall firm without lifting it too high, that the Soal of
the Sandal, or Pump, may give a smart Sound, which not only looks better
and animates more, but also makes the Foot firm, and in a Condition to
answer the Swiftness of the Wrist.
Care must be taken not to carry the Point of the Foot inward or outward,
because the Knee bending accordingly, as part of the Thigh, goes out of
the Line of the Sword, and consequently, of the Line of Defence, besides
'tis very disagreeable to the Sight.
The Feet sometimes slip in the Lunge, the Right Foot sliding forward, or
the Left backward; the first is occasioned by carrying out the Foot
before the Knee is bent, whereas when the Knee brings it forward, it
must fall flat and firm; the other proceeds from the Want of a
sufficient Support on the Left Foot.
The Head should follow the Figure of the Body; when this is upright,
that should be so to; when the Body leans, the Head must lean; when you
push within, you must look at your Adversary on the Outside of your Arm,
which is done without turning the Head, by the Opposition of the Hand
only.
That every Thrust may carry with it it's due Extent and Strength, the
Opposition of the Sword, the true placing of the Body, and a Facility of
recovering; you are to observe that the two first are for Offence, and
the others for Defence.
Every Thrust must have it's just Length, and carry with it a good Air, a
regular Situation, Vigour, and a due Extension; _See the 2d. plate_.
_Of recovering in_ Guard.
As soon as the Thrust is made, you must recover in _Guard_, which is
done either by retiring out of Measure, or only to the Place from whence
you, pushed; if out of Measure, 'tis done by springing back, or by
bringing the Right Foot back behind the Left, and the Left behind the
Right; and if to the Place from whence you pushed, you must parry if
there's a Thrust made; and if not, you must command the Feeble of the
Adversary's Sword, in order to cover the Side on which it is, without
giving an Open on the other Side, which is done as you recover, by
drawing back the Body on the Left Foot; which should bring with it the
Right Knee, drawing the Foot, with the Heel a little raised from the
Ground, to prevent any Accident that may happen by the Badness of the
Terrace.
By this Recovery, commanding the Adversary's Sword, you either get Light
if he not stir, or Time if he does, which instead of being dangerous, as
has formerly been thought, it is, by the Help of Art, become
advantageous.