Thibault’s Counter-Postures: Dealing with Guards that Deviate from the Straight Line

Introduction

Near the beginning of his Academie de l’Espée, Gérard Thibault extols and demonstrates the superiority of his favorite guard position: the posture of the straight line. Unsurprisingly, most of the book is dedicated to using the posture of the straight line against another fencer in the same guard. However, Thibault does provide enough guiding principles and concrete examples to extrapolate a system for facing opponents who use different guard positions.

A Note on Naming

The only posture Thibault names is his own posture of the straight line; the others receive only lengthy procedural descriptions. As such, when discussing these alternate postures, I will use names taken from the German longsword tradition. This provides a simple, broadly understood way to refer to the guards, although it should not be taken to mean that the rapier postures are identical to their longsword counterparts. As a brief overview:

• Ochs: hilt high, point low
• Pflug: hilt low, point high
• Vom Tag: hilt high, point even higher
• Alber: hilt low, point even lower

So when I say “ochs”, it should be taken to mean “ochs-like” rather than “ochs as described in the Liechtenauer glosses”. Also bear in mind that “high” and “low” are relative to each other; the blade should never approach vertical. In short, although I’m using longsword guard names for convenience, the actual positions should remain fairly rapier-ish.

Counter-Postures

The basic rules for forming counter-postures are as follows:

• Form your counter-posture upon entering the First Instance
• Block the opponent’s point’s most direct line of attack by interposing your hilt
• Threaten the opponent’s closest body part with your own point

If the opponent’s point is high, their most direct line of attack will be from above; therefore, your hilt should be high. If their point is low, then it’s the opposite; your hilt should be low to intercept an attack from below.

The closest part of the opponent’s body will almost always be their wrist (their hand, while technically closer, is protected by their hilt). Your point should be positioned so that if the opponent advances an assault, this part will be impaled on your blade. If their hilt—and therefore their wrist—is low, your point should be low to intercept; if their hilt is high, so should your point.

With these two rules, we can assemble specific counter-postures:

These counter-postures are especially useful when dealing with opponents who avoid blade contact (e.g., Italian styles). Thibault wants to control the opponent’s sword, and the best way to do that is through the bind since you can directly manipulate it while simultaneously collecting information through tactile feedback; but this is obviously impossible against an opponent who refuses their blade. Thibault’s counter-postures solve this problem by placing virtual constraints on the opponent’s actions: the most direct line of attack is too dangerous, so they must take a more indirect and longer route. This gives you an opportunity to safely act against them.

Using Counter-Postures for Defense

Once you’ve adopted the appropriate counter-posture, defending against the opponent’s attacks is simple:

1. If the opponent is especially quick and foolish, they will impale themselves on your point
2. Otherwise, as the opponent’s attack comes in, bend your wrist so that your point crosses the opponent’s blade
3. The opponent’s point will be drawn to your hilt, granting you full control of their blade
4. Your point will remain free to execute a counterattack

Attacking the Opponent’s Postures

When it comes time to attack the opponent’s posture, the rule is simple: apply pressure toward the opponent’s point. Their point is the weakest part of their blade, and acting against it allows you to more easily control their entire sword. Furthermore, when their point is off-center, it creates a ramp that will funnel your blade in one direction or another; by applying pressure toward their point, this ramp will naturally guide your blade into their weakest part.

This basic rule can be broken down into two parts:

• The opponent’s point’s lateral position determines the side on which you bind and the direction in which you step:
  • If their point is centered, bind on and step to your inside
  • If their point is to the left of their hilt, bind on and step to your left
  • If their point is to the right of their hilt, bind on and step to your right
• The opponent’s point’s vertical position determines where you aim your thrust:
  • If their point is centered, thrust over their arm to their face
  • If their point is above their hilt, thrust over their arm to their face
  • If their point is below their hilt, thrust under their arm to their flank

Notice that if the opponent’s point is centered, you should default to binding on your inside and thrusting to their face. This is because a perfectly centered posture of the straight line offers no weak points, so you must instead rely on the approach that maximizes your own strengths. Most right-handed fencers using Thibault’s system can more easily apply pressure toward their left (and the opposite for left-handers), and the sword will most naturally want to incline upward when delivering a thrust.

A simple way to remember these rules is that you should try to push the opponent’s blade in the direction it’s already pointing. The goal is to force their point offline so you can close the distance safely, and they’ve already done part of your work for you!

It should be noted that these attacks only represent your “Plan A”. A skilled opponent will resist you, forcing you to switch to a Plan B, C, and so on. Fortunately, Thibault provides several rules for controlling and responding to the opponent’s reactions, which I have outlined in a separate article.

Summary of Counter-Postures and Attacks

With these basic rules in mind, we can now assemble the following chart for dealing with the opponent’s guard position:

A final point to make is that, although for simplicity’s sake the guards and counters have been presented as if at the beginning of a duel, these principles are applicable to any stage of the fight. If at any moment the opponent transitions into an “ochs-like” posture, you can immediately subject them in pflug, step toward their point, and thrust to their flank.

Resources

• The Academy of the Sword by Gerard Thibault d’Anvers, translated by John Michael Greer
• Destreza Lecture Series, Episode 26: The 2nd Howden Lecture by Matthew Howden