You Need Never Be Exposed
The first thing to say is that you should always be able to block. If you swing with one hand then you need to block with the other. So if you throw with your left hand then your right hand moves left in order to be able to block for that arm as you swing. Most of the time this is safe to do because your body isn’t in danger due to being out of range relative to the threat range generated by your arms. It’s important not to cross your body completely however as your right hand is the next closest target to their threat range. The goal with that block is to cut off the angle of a possible counter strike by closing out the left lane with your right hand. As with all blocks it’s best to avoid overblocking or cross too far. It’s also important to note that once your left hand returns to guard you want to move your right hand back to its neutral guard position on your right side. I have in the past seen people who simply start crossed with their guard and stay crossed. That’s a bad idea because it means that instead of having both lanes closed off you’re only protected along the left side. Similarly if you throw a shot with your right hand (like a wrap) then you shift your left hand guard to center so you can cover a counterstrike to that hand. This is mostly true against a person who can easily strike that side. If I’m fighting a sword and board fighter I may opt to leave my left hand where it started, prepared to strike at my opponent if they so much as flinch because of my first throw.
You don’t have to cover yourself only by blocking off shots or by getting a guard into place. You can also bait with an opening so long as you are aware that it’s there. There is nothing wrong with throwing a block in response to a shot that’s thrown rather than pre-emptively closing off the angle that would allow for such a shot. I’ve found that if people can’t see the block you throw they’re more likely to bite on the same block repeatedly. In some ways it’s more dangerous to block reflexively, in other ways it’s actually safer. By blocking reflexively you’re less likely to fall for feints, you’re less likely to over block and you’re going to be harder to read when it comes to another person trying to play you. On the other hand if guess wrong then you’re toast. If you block pre-emptively by cutting off the angles a person can swing into you’ve got a higher rate of success at getting the block… assuming they throw it into the area that you’ve cut off. By moving your other hands passive guard you expose that arm to being hit. But it also means that you’re telegraphing what you anticipate your opponent to do, which in turns means you’re easier to play because you’ve become predictable.
There is also such a thing as throwing a shot that’s just safe in the first place. If you’ve done enough block strike or you just have a good understanding of lanes you should be able to throw swings that don’t leave you super open. By throwing safe strikes with one hand you can negate the need to cover that hand with your other hand. If you do this effectively it means that you can throw a strike with each hand instead of just throwing a strike with one hand and then having to block with the other hand. This is generally done by 1) throwing a shot that isn’t overextended and 2) tweaking your wrist to cut off the angle that you left open when you bypassed one of your opponent’s lanes.
Don't Get Stabbed
Part of the defensive game is also not falling prey to stabs as a florentine fighter. Since you don’t have an entire plank of foam/wood between you and your opponent's weapons learning how to make your body small so that it’s less of a target, and learning how to block stabs correctly is hugely important. A good standard defense involves keeping one arm in front of your body to hand match their primary point of offense, this becomes your primary point of defense. The next piece is to keep your torso tilted so that the area that’s closest to their point of offense is matched with your primary defensive line. This then lets you keep the rest of your torso pulled back and away from their primary offensive line. When a person goes to stab for your torso the front hand should give you plenty of time to deflect the stab off its target, either to the outside of your defensive line or past your body if they’ve managed to break your defensive line. If the front hand fails to get the block then you’ve got the second hand to be able to also catch the block. In most cases you’ll only have enough time to cut off the gap between your left and right defensive lanes. Many times this will wind up becoming a punch block put you could also still theoretically guide the stab past your body. Whenever possible getting your opponent to miss by sliding a stab past your body is preferable. The further out you can draw an opponent's weapon out the more time you’ll have to hit them and the longer it will take them to return to guard. In many cases having a person fail to stab you is one of the best setups you can get.
Opening Them Up
Assuming that your defensive game is on point you also need to have some kind of offensive game. In most cases your opponent will not have any immediate openings in their defense (or at the very least you should not rely on them being there). That means that in order to hit them you’ll have to find a way to circumvent the guard that they presently have up. Depending on the gear that they’re using there’s a number of different openings that are often present or at least target zones that are easier to hit. When fighting against a larger, heavier board like a door shield that you’d see on a line your go to shots will be trying to beat their arm or getting wrap shots around their board. Typically you’ll be looking for either a side wrap or a high wrap. These kinds of boards are usually not vulnerable to stabs as they’re typically held in front of the person. Instead, use the closing 45 degree angle step 2 in order to engage their shield side which will give you a good wrap. Alternately if they’re aggressive, simply wait for them to move their shield off their body and use a side wrap to bypass their guard. This is also effective if that person tries to run you over. In order to beat their hand (assuming a right handed fighter vs a right handed fighter where you are in neutral stance) use your left hand to break the line of their sword arm either by moving your hand out or by taking a stutter step (short half step) to get your body out of line. If they throw for your arm in response, block with your left hand and then counterblow immediately with your right. If they don’t respond then throw a shot with your left hand. Assuming they go to counterblow without blocking then block with your right hand as your left hand follows through. Assuming that they first pull their guard out to block then throw with your right hand for that target zone while immediately bringing your left hand back into a guard. I’ll get more into chess matches of that type later.
If a person is using a round shield your best target zones are going to be wrap shots coming in at 45 degree angles rather then at vertical angles. So instead of swinging 1 to 5 you’d instead swing 2 to 8. (Take a look at the nearest clock to set those angles in your head). Wraps thrown at these angles are more likely to bypass their guard. Round shields are additionally vulnerable to left handed stabs (low and high) as well as a right handed hip-wrap. In most cases deliberately trying to beat their main hand is going to end poorly because they’re 1) less likely to actually have it leave guard and 2) trying to get a shot that’s not there is more likely to get you killed instead. These are often strap shields but aren’t required to be… the shots still work regardless. Hunt the shoulders and hips.
Punch shields tend to be more vulnerable to manipulation in ways that a giant board or a strap shield are not. The easiest way to bypass this defense is to use your weapons for offensive shield manipulation. Simple stab at a section of the shield that would be marked by a compass (N, S, E, W). A properly placed stab at any of these locations will open the target up to a follow up shot. An stab to the East side of the shield will pop it open, leaving the torso region exposed, this stab is done with the right hand. A stab to the West side will close the shield on your opponent making it harder for them to swing since the board is in their way. This also move is away from covering their side making a follow up half wrap possible. A stab to the South section of a shield will tip it forward, allowing a person to follow up with a shoulder wrap on that side. This can be completed with either hand though keep whatever hand is more useful for throwing that followup wrap shot should be saved for the wrap. A stab to the north side of the board (which is more dangerous, make sure not to just ramp off their shield and stab them in the face) can be used to open up the bottom of their shield, letting you get a hip wrap. The shot is safer to throw with your right hand, and then followed with a left handed hip scoop under their guard. You can throw the reverse, but unless your positioning is on point that’s an excellent way to get yourself railed in the side. Fighters who use punch shield also tend to move them around a lot, so look for those moments to exploit a weakness when they move. Fighters who use punch shields are also, often, more willing to put their arms out to strike, so look for opportunities to hit their arm when they are throwing or returning from a shot.
When fighting a polearm the main difficulty is simply getting close enough to hit them. Once you’re in range just make sure you keep the striking part of their weapon away from you as you throw for torso shots. In generally I’ve found that you’re better off striking at opposite sides / heights in rapid succession in order to prevent them from blocking as you close. So throw right side high then left side hip. Avoid throwing right side high then left side high as it’s easy for a polearm to simply shift their weapon back and forth with that defense.
When fighting another florentine fighter look for the common errors to see if you can exploit them. If they lean over when they fight, go for a shot to the back. If they over aggress and don’t bother to watch their footwork, wait for them to commit then outmaneuver them and get in a counterblow. If they swing with both hands wildly then play defense and snipe out their arms. If they have a wide guard then go for a stab, most florentine fighters are terrible at blocking stabs to the chest. In particular if you can get some angle on it, so instead of coming straight in, it comes in off angle you’re more likely to get it to stick.
There's plenty more to go over from a fundamental set of shots to have decent shot selection, to combos, feints and mind games. But this is already a long enough read. I'll put together some more of it later and have updates next week. I may also try to inject images into this later. Failing that you can always check back with the work in progress this is coming from (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JiWh4fvJK-3p-GQTWFiwSS098yJ2ZN0cvZIo_A9siGc/edit?usp=sharing). See you all next week.
If a person is using a round shield your best target zones are going to be wrap shots coming in at 45 degree angles rather then at vertical angles. So instead of swinging 1 to 5 you’d instead swing 2 to 8. (Take a look at the nearest clock to set those angles in your head). Wraps thrown at these angles are more likely to bypass their guard. Round shields are additionally vulnerable to left handed stabs (low and high) as well as a right handed hip-wrap. In most cases deliberately trying to beat their main hand is going to end poorly because they’re 1) less likely to actually have it leave guard and 2) trying to get a shot that’s not there is more likely to get you killed instead. These are often strap shields but aren’t required to be… the shots still work regardless. Hunt the shoulders and hips.
Punch shields tend to be more vulnerable to manipulation in ways that a giant board or a strap shield are not. The easiest way to bypass this defense is to use your weapons for offensive shield manipulation. Simple stab at a section of the shield that would be marked by a compass (N, S, E, W). A properly placed stab at any of these locations will open the target up to a follow up shot. An stab to the East side of the shield will pop it open, leaving the torso region exposed, this stab is done with the right hand. A stab to the West side will close the shield on your opponent making it harder for them to swing since the board is in their way. This also move is away from covering their side making a follow up half wrap possible. A stab to the South section of a shield will tip it forward, allowing a person to follow up with a shoulder wrap on that side. This can be completed with either hand though keep whatever hand is more useful for throwing that followup wrap shot should be saved for the wrap. A stab to the north side of the board (which is more dangerous, make sure not to just ramp off their shield and stab them in the face) can be used to open up the bottom of their shield, letting you get a hip wrap. The shot is safer to throw with your right hand, and then followed with a left handed hip scoop under their guard. You can throw the reverse, but unless your positioning is on point that’s an excellent way to get yourself railed in the side. Fighters who use punch shield also tend to move them around a lot, so look for those moments to exploit a weakness when they move. Fighters who use punch shields are also, often, more willing to put their arms out to strike, so look for opportunities to hit their arm when they are throwing or returning from a shot.
When fighting a polearm the main difficulty is simply getting close enough to hit them. Once you’re in range just make sure you keep the striking part of their weapon away from you as you throw for torso shots. In generally I’ve found that you’re better off striking at opposite sides / heights in rapid succession in order to prevent them from blocking as you close. So throw right side high then left side hip. Avoid throwing right side high then left side high as it’s easy for a polearm to simply shift their weapon back and forth with that defense.
When fighting another florentine fighter look for the common errors to see if you can exploit them. If they lean over when they fight, go for a shot to the back. If they over aggress and don’t bother to watch their footwork, wait for them to commit then outmaneuver them and get in a counterblow. If they swing with both hands wildly then play defense and snipe out their arms. If they have a wide guard then go for a stab, most florentine fighters are terrible at blocking stabs to the chest. In particular if you can get some angle on it, so instead of coming straight in, it comes in off angle you’re more likely to get it to stick.
Plenty more to do...
There's plenty more to go over from a fundamental set of shots to have decent shot selection, to combos, feints and mind games. But this is already a long enough read. I'll put together some more of it later and have updates next week. I may also try to inject images into this later. Failing that you can always check back with the work in progress this is coming from (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JiWh4fvJK-3p-GQTWFiwSS098yJ2ZN0cvZIo_A9siGc/edit?usp=sharing). See you all next week.
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