"It is evidently impossible to enumerate in the course of conversation
all the situations that may occur, or to describe all the traps that
you may set for your opponent or that he may set for you. These things
are matters of instinct and inspiration, the happy thoughts of the
moment, and depend on character and individual temperament, physical
and moral. The art of fighting cannot of course be learnt in a day; it
grows upon you gradually, as you learn by experience to combine the
various elements scientifically into a well-ordered whole.
"Picture for yourselves two men fighting.--You see them at one moment
standing their full height, the next bent double, swerving to right
and left, colliding violently, and entangled in a furious encounter;
suddenly they break away, recoiling from each other with a bound,
rest for a moment, panting and glaring, till suddenly they renew the
struggle. Do you suppose that all these intricate evolutions, and
the subtle application of muscular force that they imply, can be
systematically analysed and taught? Of course not.
"In every art proficiency can only be obtained by persistent and
intelligent application. Practice alone makes perfect. It is by
studying combinations, by trying to adapt the means at his disposal to
the object in view, that the artist tests the limits of his art and
discovers its hidden secrets, fashions it at will, and makes it his
obedient slave.
"These remarks would not be complete, if I failed to caution you
against a very pernicious habit, which one is apt to contract in the
fencing-room, and which in a duel may easily lead to a fatal issue.
I mean the habit of stopping after you have made a hit, instead of
immediately recovering your guard and putting yourself out of distance.
Never forget this important point; if you do, you may after wounding
your opponent receive a mortal wound, for which you will have only
yourself to blame.
"Every fencer knows how commonly it happens in an assault, that a man
ripostes automatically after he is hit, and strikes his opponent almost
simultaneously, especially when the latter has not taken the trouble to
attend strictly to his recovery.
"Remember that a sword-thrust, even though it be mortal, does not
take effect immediately. There is always a momentary interval before
the wounded man falters, or drops his sword, or falls to the ground
unconscious. The moment you think you have made a hit,--for you may
be mistaken,--get back as smartly as you can, and be ready to go on
fighting.