Lafayette C Curtis wrote: |
While we're at it, I have two questions about the montante and its techniques in general. The first is about the initial position with the sword resting in a guard. We don't really have any sources with a clear explanation or illustration of what the guards look like, do we? The video interpretations I've seen so far tend to favour lower guards like the tail guard, which (I think) can be rationalised by positing that the weight of the montante at rest would be more easily borne in such low positions, but I can't help wondering if any Iberian texts also describe higher guards (perhaps the equivalents of the Vom Tag and the higher Hengen) that might be worth inserting into our interpretations. |
The montante doesn't really have guards - positions from which the rules are started are described, but that's just a starting point in a cycle of continuous motion. The notable exceptions are the postures in Figueiredo's rule 14 against polearms and thrown weapons (where you wait for the attack), possibly the right angle posture in rule 1 where he explicitly tells you to stop, and the nails-up and nails-down postures from Godinho's rule 1 about montante-on-montante action. The idea is that you are continually in motion and attacking, and the exception is against a single opponent with the same or longer reach, or a thrown weapon.
The montante is a completely different animal from the longsword - like the difference between an elephant and an elephant seal. They weren't used in the same context, so the training is very different, and looking for equivalencies will frustrate you.
Tim