Punching and Rapier

by David McCormick

Although Bartitsu does not draw from the Italian traditions, the four hand positions clearly match. Especially for the rapier students at Academie Duello who are also Bartitsuka, I present “Boxing Interpreted as Italian Sword” without further commentary:

Prima

Capo Ferro's First Guard

This pairs with what I call "over-pronated" punches, and what some mistakenly call "the chopper".
prima-punch

Seconda

Capo Ferro's Second Guard

This is the common pronated cross:
seconda-punch

Terza

Agrippa's Third Guard

Our favoured punch, featured in most bare-knuckle boxing instructions:
terza-bare-knuckle-fighter

Quarta

Capo Ferro's Fourth Guard

Palm-up straight punching and uppercuts:
quarta-punch

Head of Stage Combat at Academie Duello and certified Instructor with Fight Directors Canada. Head of Bartitsu at Academie Duello, the longest continuously running Bartitsu program in the world.
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