Category Archives: Theory

Danet on the Demi-Volte

Posted on May 27, 2021 by S

Patrick MorganHead Instructor, Columbia Classical Fencing, LLC. Scott A. WrightInstructor, QueenCityClassicalFencing.comCurator, SmallswordProject.com In 1766, Guillaume Danet published the first of two volumes of L’Art des Armes. Volume I was Danet’s attempt to reassert the supremacy of the French school of … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on the Double-Touch

Posted on December 20, 2017 by S

“To touch and not be touched” Attributed to Molière, “toucher et ne pas l’être” is the axiom of classical fencing, and the CCF motto. It is avoiding the dreaded double-touch by putting theory of self-preservation into practice. This is in … Continue reading →

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Crawley’s Five A’s of French Fencing

Posted on September 23, 2017 by S

Phil Crawley, Provost with the Black Boar Swordsmanship School and administrator with the Smallsword Symposium, has gleaned these 5 themes of French fencing from a number of 18th and 19th Century texts.  They are presented here with his permission, and … Continue reading →

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Tactical Wheel

Posted on February 14, 2015 by S

Thanks to Nason for creating a digital copy of the Fencing Tactical Wheel.  A version in PDF format can be found via the link on the attachment page here.

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The Cavé in French Swordsmanship

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Patrick

French fencing masters wrote about the cavé (pronounced cahv-ay) as a distinct fencing action. In French, caver means to cave in or collapse. The cavé thus described how a fencer would change or position his wrist or body to create a sharp angle—“caving in” from, … Continue reading →

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