_Of_ Disengagements.
There is nothing more nice, or more necessary in Fencing, than
Disengagements; the nicest Motion, being the smoothest and finest, and
the most necessary, there being but few Thrusts where you ought not to
disengage, and to several more than once; and there is no better Means
of avoiding the Advantage that a strong Man has when he presses on your
Sword.
If we confine ourselves, strictly, to the Meaning of Disengagements, we
shall find it to be of three Sorts; which are, upon the Blade, over the
Point, and under the Wrist: But as this might be too intricate in
Lessons, and a Learner mistake one for another; none should be called a
Disengagement, but that which is made on the Blade; and though the
others are, in effect, Disengagements, especially that over the Point,
which is done closer than those under the Wrist, yet they are
distinguished from Disengagements, by calling them Cuts over the Point,
and under the Wrist, according as they are used.
In order to disengage and push from the Outside to the Inside, being in
Guard towards half _Quart_; the Wrist must be raised a little at the
Time that you lower the Point and raise it again, which should be done
as close as possible, by a smooth and quick Motion, that you may be
covered and lose no Time, and be able to push with your Fort to the
Adversary's Feeble.
Some People, in pushing _Quart_ and _Tierce_, keep the Wrist in
_Tierce_, in order to push _Quart_ the swifter, which is a Fault;
because they accustom themselves to a Situation, which, when they come
to assault, is unsafe and dangerous, for want of being in the Guard of
Defence.
In disengaging from the Inside to the Outside, the Wrist should turn a
little more towards _Quart_, than in the Guard which I have recommended:
The Point should fall and rise and the same Instant, and the Hand should
turn insensibly in _Tierce_, as the Thrust goes forward.
Some Masters teach to hold the Sword in Guard between _Quart_ and
_Tierce_, and to disengage in that Situation; whereby the three
Advantages which the Disengagement in _Half-Quart_ gives you, are lost;
that is to say, first, a good Air, secondly, the being covered with the
Fort of the Sword, and thirdly, the Swiftness of the Thrust; because the
Hand has not a sufficient Freedom of Motion.
The knowing how to disengage barely is not sufficient; it is necessary
that you be acquainted with the Time, and with your Adversary's Play, in
order to disengage to Advantage. The Time is when the Adversary comes to
your Sword; and when your Adversary, depending on his Strength, comes to
your Blade, in order to guide his Thrust to your Body, is what is meant
by his Play or Manner. You may indeed disengage without taking the Time,
but with less Success.
When the Adversary engages swift, 'tis good to keep your Point a little
low, or distant from his; by which Means he requires more Time to engage
you, and gives you more to prevent him, unless you suffer him to touch
your Sword; which would not only make you lose the Time of hitting him,
but would also expose you to receive a Thrust, it being certain that
when you go to the Blade on one Side, you cannot defend the Other; for
you cannot do two opposite Actions at one and the same Time; and by the
same Rule, if you miss the Time of disengaging, and disengage too late,
you expose yourself to his Thrust; for you cannot, at the same time,
quit his Blade and parry.
Though it is necessary that every Fencer should understand the
Disengagements, it is more especially so to tall and weak Men. To the
first, that they may keep their Adversary at a Distance; which by Reason
of their Height, is an Advantage to them; and to the others in order to
prevent closing; in which Case, their Weakness would be a Disadvantage
to them.