Gran Simulacro plate 8

Facsimile
	Plate 8 illustration and description. Click image to enlarge.

Figures that demonstrate how much measure is lost by attacking the legs.

Translation

Figures that demonstrate how much measure is lost by attacking the legs.

The sword of the figure C being gained by the figure D, this same figure C turns a riverso to the leg of the figure marked as D. D is able to strike him during the turning of the riverso, with a stramazzone to the arm or a thrust to the face, as a consequence of his leaning too far forward; as the figure shows, the said figure D moreover draws his right leg back during the attack.

Always, I say, that when D was stringering the sword of C, had C been a shrewd person, he would have given a riverso to the face followed by a mandritto fendente to the head and thus he would have been safer.

Interpretation

Simple reaction

One fencer sees his opponent moving to constrain his blade and knows that such a motion will inevitably open his opponent's outside line. Therefore, he attacks in the tempo of that constraining with a reverse cut to the leg.

Basic Play

Sequence

The agent is in fourth, the patient in third.
The agent gains the sword of the patient on the inside.
In the tempo of the gaining, the patient cuts over the sword of the agent to deliver a reverse cut to the leg of the agent.
The agent withdraws their leg and delivers either a cut to the arm or a thrust to the face of the patient.
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Videos


Video of cut to the arm response.	Video of thrust to the face response.

Key Points

For the cut to be a sensible action, it must be delivered early as the agent moves to gain the sword.

If it is done later the play makes no sense as the patient is far too exposed to attempt such an action.

The cut to the leg is delivered deeply and suggests that it must undergo a large rotation to generate sufficient power.

This suggests that Capo Ferro is expecting a fair bit of force to be applied for a cut to be effective.

This play demonstrates how proper order of the attack -- where the sword moves first followed by the shoulders and then the hips and body -- allows the agent to easily adapt their attack should the opponent choose to attack on a low line.

An interesting drill is to combine plate 7 and plate 8. Sometimes have the opponent attack high on the outside, sometimes low. The upper body can conduct essentially the same action in response to either scenario, the only difference is whether you remove the leg or conduct a lunge.

It is important to move the leg sufficiently behind you to counter-balance a throwing forward of the torso. Your weight should not shift onto the back leg at all, and thus the agent will not lose any measure for the attack.

Patient's Error

Attacking to the leg brings your arm and head closer to your opponent's weapon than your intended target is to your own. This allows the opponent to make a counter attack in half-tempo.
The large tempo of the attack also gives the opponent time to remove their leg before the cut has time to land.

Demonstrated Principles

Proper forward guards through a passive and active voiding of the leg make low line targets very dangerous to pursue.
Taking the tempo that is given when you move to gain the sword.