Guard Two.—Turn the knuckles up, draw the elbow nearer the right side and let the edge face to the right, and let the blade be parallel to cut 2. In this guard the forearm will be more directly pointing towards the target.
Guard Three.—Turn wrist and edge to the left, the hand being rather below the left shoulder, and the blade following the dotted lines marked “third guard.”
Guard Four.—Bring the wrist and hand across the body to the right, edge to right and blade following dotted line marked “fourth guard.”
Guard Five.—Wrist and edge to the left, with blade pointing vertically downwards.
Guard Six.—Wrist and edge to the right, with blade pointing vertically downwards. [It will be observed that these two guards, five and six, are but extensions of guards three and four, the difference being merely in the height of the hand and inclination of the blade.]
Guard Seven.—Raise the hand well above the level of the eyes, so that the target can be seen under the wrist; let the arm be extended, the point of the sword dropped forward to the left and parallel to dotted lines marked “seventh guard,” and let the edge face vertically upwards.
It may be here again mentioned that with all guards and parries in actual practice, the “forte,” or half nearest the hilt, should be the portion of the blade which meets the opponent’s sword when the attack is made.
Left Parry.—Let the wrist be drawn back to within eight or ten inches of the right shoulder, the blade pointing in the direction of the perpendicular line on the target, and let the edge be turned to the right. Now, by a second motion, turn the wrist so that the point drops to the left and forms a circle from left to right and then returns to the former position.
Right Parry.—Drop the point to the rear and form the circle from right to left of your body, the sword returning to its position as before.
Both these circular parries should be learnt and practised for the sake of adding to the strength and suppleness of the wrist; but for actual use it is better to turn the point aside by one of the simple guards, remembering not to let the hand wander far from the line of attack. In other words, you should let your “forte” catch the “foible” of the adversary’s blade just sufficiently to turn aside the point, and then instantly give your point or come back to whatever guard you may have assumed in the first instance.