The bayonet must be withdrawn immediately after the Point has been delivered, and a forward threatening attitude assumed by the side of or beyond the dummy.
To guard against accidents the men must be at least five feet apart and the bayonet scabbard should be on the bayonet.
The principles of this practice should be observed when pointing at dummies in trenches, standing upright on the ground or suspended from gallows. They should be applied at first slowly and deliberately. No attempt must be made to carry out the Final Assault Practice until the men have been carefully instructed in and have thoroughly mastered the preliminary lessons.
Lesson No. 2
The Parries
Being at the position of Guard: The right or left parry is executed by vigorously straightening the left arm, without bending the wrist or twisting the rifle in the hand, and forcing the piece to the right or left far enough to fend off the adversary's weapon. The eyes must be kept on the weapon that is being parried and not on the eyes of the opponent as indicated in our bayonet combat training.
The common faults in the execution of the parries consist of:
1. Making a wide, sweeping parry, with no forward movement of the bayonet or body in it.
2. The eyes are taken off the weapon that is being parried.
The men should be taught to regard the parry as a part of an offensive movement, namely of the Point, which would immediately follow it in actual combat. For this reason, as soon as the movements of the parries have been learned they should always be accompanied by a slight forward movement of the body.