To prevent him from giving you a straight thrust as you advance to attack, beat his blade either in tierce or quarte.
Should he avoid the beat by disengaging and thrust upon you, make a beat before you move the feet, then, as you advance, change quickly and beat on the other side of his blade, and instantly deliver your attack.
The beat will probably draw his disengagement, and the change will parry it.
To change is to pass your sword under that of your adversary, and rejoin the blades on the opposite line.
OBSERVATIONS.
On Countering and Hard-Hitting.
When you are making an assault with sabres or sticks, remember they are substitutes for sharp swords, and act as though every hit you would receive would either kill or disable you. All your movements must be governed by this idea. You should never attempt to do anything with a stick that you could or would not do with a sword.
You must remember that in an actual combat the sabres have sharp points and edges, and that a very light touch would probably place you hors de combat.
Hitting at your adversary when he is attacking you is almost as bad as cutting your own throat, for you are almost certain to be more or less seriously wounded; your chances of escape are very small indeed. You must, therefore, always endeavour to guard the attack and never counter except when you can avoid the hit by shifting.
You must never hit after you are hit, as it is very doubtful if you would be able to do so with sharp swords.
The act of countering, so deservedly popular among boxers, is not admissible here. A blow with the fist will probably only shake you, but with a sharp sword the effect would be much more serious. There is no such thing as give and take with that weapon, and I question if there is much in a serious encounter with sticks, as a well delivered blow on any part of the head would in all probability cause a cessation of hostilities.