Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my rapier. It is an elegant weapon, that encourages a certain coolness of thought and a tactical approach to combat, and in the end, a disdain for your opponent as you leave them to die whilst you turn your back and walk away.
Yesterday, however, after four hours of our usual rapier workshop, we began our studies of Alfred Hutton’s Cold Steel : A Practical Treatise on the Sabre, which takes a typically Victorian, methodical and scientific approach to the art of cutting somebody into small pieces. Fighting with a sabre is a very different kettle of the piscine variety compared to the rapier. You start in a close measure and set to with a variety of different cuts at a rapid pace. Footwork is limited to slipping the leg, or maybe taking half a pace back, and the parry is of supreme importance in preserving your skin.
It is fast, noisy and supremely satisfying as the blades clash with enough clout to raise sparks. I think I’m going to enjoy this … :-)
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