Rapier Tip of the Month
July 2000
The rapier is a double-edged weapon with a flat blade. The blade possesses considerable flex when bent in the direction of the flat of the blade, but is quite strong in the direction of the edge. This suggests several techniques to take advantage of the properties of the weapon.
The cut
The edge of the blade is aligned with the quillons and parallel to the knuckles. To ensure that your cuts always hit with the edge, push or pull the blade along the line of your knuckles. Keep the back of the wrist even with the arm, with the knuckles making a line in the direction you want to go. Then draw the arm using the hinge of the elbow joint, while using the wrist to press the edge against the target. Because the cut uses circular motion (torque) and is delivered with the mass of the blade, it can be a particularly strong move.
The parry
The parry must be delivered with the edge. When the edge of the attacking blade is parried with the flat of the blade, the force of the parry is negated by the flex of the defending blade, and the attacker may "power in" the attack. A parry with the edge against the flat of an attacking blade will easily put it by. A flat parry against the flat of the attacking blade may succeed, but should not be used, since in this circumstance, the edge parry against the flat is a stronger choice. The edge of the attacking blade may be opposed by the strongest parry using the principles of forte and foible. Deliver the parry with the edge of the base of the blade.
The thrust
Seeing that the attacker has no advantage in allowing the defender to oppose the flexible flat of his blade, the attacker should deliver the thrust in a manner that opposes the parry with the edge. Considering that most parries have horizontal (right to left or left to right) motion, the basis of the preference for palm up or palm down attacks is clear, since these place the edges of the blade where it may meet the parry. This way, particularly if the defender's parry is executed improperly, the attacker may negate the parry by applying counter-pressure with his edge, and deliver the blow.
Extrapolation
These factors imply that the flexibility of the blade may not be as large a factor as it might seem, since the usage of the edge determines the strength of the technique. Perhaps a stiffer blade is more forgiving of imperfect technique. Similarly, epee technique requires less precision, since the blade has a triangular cross-section, effectively having three edges.