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  BROAD-SWORD
  AND
  SINGLE-STICK


  R. G. ALLANSON-WINN,
  AND
  C. PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY.




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  BROAD-SWORD
  AND
  SINGLE-STICK.


  WITH CHAPTERS ON

  QUARTER-STAFF, BAYONET, CUDGEL SHILLALAH, WALKING-STICK,
  UMBRELLA, AND OTHER WEAPONS OF SELF-DEFENCE.


  BY
  R. G. ALLANSON-WINN,
  AUTHOR OF "BOXING,"

  AND

  C. PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY,
  INNS OF COURT SCHOOL OF ARMS.


  LONDON:
  G. BELL & SONS, LTD.,
  AND NEW YORK.
  1911.



  PRINTED BY
  WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
  LONDON AND BECCLES.




PREFACE.


The favour with which my little _brochure_ on boxing has been received
induces me to put together a few ideas on the subject of attack and
defence with weapons other than those with which nature has endowed us.

A glance at the table of contents will suffice to show that the scope of
the work has been somewhat extended, and that, though there is of course
a vast deal more to be said on the wide subject of self-defence, an
attempt has been made to give practical hints as to what may be effected
by a proper and prompt use of those common accessories which we may find
in our hands at almost any hour in the day.

Not having leisure to take in hand the whole of the work myself, I asked
my friend Mr. C. Phillipps-Wolley to make himself responsible for that
portion of the treatise which deals with single-stick play. This he
kindly consented to do, and those of my readers who wish to make a
special study of stick-play, I refer to p. 50 to p. 85 inclusive. The
illustrations in this portion of the work are from photographs by the
London Stereoscopic Company; all the other illustrations are from my own
sketches.

THE AUTHOR.




CONTENTS.

  CHAPTER                                      PAGE

    I. INTRODUCTORY                               1

   II. THE QUARTER-STAFF                          4

  III. THE BROAD-SWORD                           17

   IV. SINGLE-STICK                              50

    V. THE BAYONET                               85

   VI. THE CUDGEL, SHILLALAH, WALKING-STICK,
       UMBRELLA, AND VARIOUS ACCESSORIES        100




BROAD-SWORD AND SINGLE-STICK.




CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.


Our neighbours on the other side of the English Channel have been
accused of calling us a "nation of shopkeepers." No doubt the definition
is not bad; and, so long as the goods supplied bear the hall-mark of
British integrity, there is nothing to be ashamed of in the appellation;
still, with all due deference, I think we might more appropriately be
called a nation of sportsmen.

There is not an English boy breathing at this moment who does not long
to be at some sport or game, and who has not his pet idea of the channel
into which he will guide his sporting proclivities when he is a man.
There are not many grown Englishmen who don't think they know something
about a horse, would not like to attend a good assault-at-arms, or who
are not pleased when they hear of their sons' prowess with the oar, the
bat, or the gloves.

I may be quite mistaken, but it always seems to me that the
well-brought-up little foreign boy is too unwholesomely good and gentle
to fight the battle of life. Still, such little boys _do_ grow up brave
and clever men, and they _do_, taken collectively, make splendid
soldiers.

Then, as to sports, foreigners seem to put too much pomp and
circumstance into their efforts in pursuit of game; the impedimenta and
general accoutrements are overdone; but here again I may be wrong.

Of one thing we may be quite sure, and that is that the majority of
Englishmen are devoted to sport of _some kind_. One of the prettiest
little compliments you can pay a man is to call him "a good old
sportsman."

When, in addition to the advantages of a national sport or collection of
national sports, such as boxing, sword exercises, wrestling, etc., you
recognize the possibility that the games you have been indulging in with
your friends in playful contests may at almost any moment be utilized
for defeating your enemies and possibly saving your life, you are forced
to the conclusion that there are some sports at least which can be
turned to practical account.

Unfortunately there are individuals, possibly in the small minority, who
regard anything like fighting as brutal or ungentlemanly. In a sense--a
very limited sense--they may be right, for, though our environment is
such that we can never rest in perfect security, it does seem hard that
we should have to be constantly on the alert to protect that which we
think is ours by right, and ours alone.

However this may be, let us be men _first_, and aristocrats, gentlemen,
or anything else you please, _afterwards_. If we are not men, in the
larger and better sense of the word, let there be no talk of gentle
blood or lengthy pedigree. The nation is what it is through the pluck
and energy of individuals who have put their shoulders to the wheel in
bygone days--men who have laid the foundation of a glorious empire by
sturdy personal efforts--efforts, unaided by the state, emanating from
those higher qualities of the character, relying on itself, and on
itself alone, for success or failure.

From the earliest times, and in the most primitive forms of animal life,
physical efforts to obtain the mastery have been incessant.

Whether it is in the brute creation or the human race, this struggle for
existence has always required the exercise of offensive and defensive
powers. The individual has striven to gain his living, and to protect
that living when gained; nations have paid armies to increase their
territories, and retain those territories when acquired.

The exact form of weapon which first came into use will always be
doubtful, but one would think that stones, being hard and handy, as well
as plentiful, might have presented irresistible attractions to, say,
some antediluvian monster, who wished to intimate to a mammoth or
icthyosaurus, a few hundred yards distant, his readiness to engage in
mortal combat.

Are there not stories, too, of clever little apes in tropical forests
who have pelted unwary travellers with nuts, stones, and any missiles
which came handy?

Then, coming nearer home, there is the lady at an Irish fair who hangs
on the outskirts of a faction-fight, ready to do execution with a stone
in her stocking--a terrible gog-magog sort of brain-scatterer.

When man was developed, no doubt one of his first ideas was to get hold
of a really good serviceable stick--not a little modern masher's
crutch--a strong weapon, capable of assisting him in jumping, protecting
him from wild beasts, and knocking down his fellow-man.

To obtain such a stick the primitive man probably had to do a good deal
of hacking at the bough of a hard oak or tough ash, with no better knife
than a bit of sharp flint. Having secured his stick, the next thing was
to keep it, and he doubtless had to defend himself against the assaults
of envious fellow-creatures possessed of inferior sticks.

Thus we can imagine that the birth of quarter-staff play--not much
_play_ about it in those days--was a very simple affair; and we
recognize in it the origin and foundation of all the sword exercises,
and all the games in which single-stick, lance, and bayonet play a
prominent part.

As the question of who picked up the first stone and threw it at his
fellow-man, or when the first branch of a tree was brought down on the
unsuspecting head of another fellow-man, are questions for learned men
to decide, and are of no real importance, I shall not allow myself to go
on with any vague speculations, but shall turn at once to an old English
sport which, though sometimes practised at assaults-at-arms in the
present day, takes us back to Friar Tuck, Robin Hood, and

  "Maid Marian, fair as ivory bone,
   Scarlet and Much and Little John."




CHAPTER II.

THE QUARTER-STAFF.


According to Chambers's "Encyclopaedia," the quarter-staff was "formerly
a favourite weapon with the English for hand-to-hand encounters." It was
"a stout pole of heavy wood, about six and a half feet long, shod with
iron at both ends. It was grasped in the middle by one hand, and the
attack was made by giving it a rapid circular motion, which brought the
loaded ends on the adversary at unexpected points."

"Circular motion" and "shod with iron" give a nasty ring to this
description, and one pictures to one's self half a barge-pole,
twirled--"more Hibernico"--with giant fingers, bearing down on one.

Whether the fingers of our ancestors were ever strong enough to effect
this single-handed twirling or not must remain a matter of doubt, but we
may rest assured that in the quarter-staff we have, probably, the
earliest form of offensive weapon next to the handy stone. If Darwin is
correct, we can easily imagine one of our gorilla ancestors picking up a
big branch of a tree with which to hit some near member of his family.
This, to my mind, would be playing elementary quarter-staff, and the
game would have advanced a step if the assaulted one--possibly the lady
gorilla--had seized another branch and retaliated therewith.

The modern quarter-staff is supposed to be rather longer than the six
and a half feet prescribed by the above-quoted authority, and I imagine
it originally derived its name from being grasped with one hand at a
quarter of its length from the middle, and with the other hand at the
middle.

Thus, in the diagram (Fig. 1), if A E represents a quarter-staff eight
feet long, divided into four equal two-foot lengths at the points B, C,
and D, the idea would be to grasp it with the right hand at D and with
the left hand at C; or, if the player happened to be left-handed, to
grasp it with the left hand at B and with the right hand at C.


[Illustration: Fig. 1.]


This method of holding the quarter-staff may be well enough in certain
cases, but it seems to me that, for rapid attack and defence, the hands
should be about three feet apart: at D and M, half way between B and C;
or at B and N, half way between C and D.

Of course a great deal depends upon the height and strength of the
player, but, with the hands at a distance of three feet or so apart, it
stands to reason you have a greater command over the ends of the staff
than you have if they are only two feet apart, and that you can
consequently come quicker into "hanging guard" positions, and more
easily defend yourself from short upper strokes and from "points" than
you can when you have less command over your weapon.


[Illustration: Fig. 2.--On guard.]


Before proceeding to the more technical portions of quarter-staff play,
let me say that it is better to bar "points" in a friendly bout, for the
weight of a stick, if only a bamboo cane, of eight feet long, is so
great, that it is an easy matter to break a collar-bone or rib with a
rapid thrust. In any case, remember to be well padded and to have a good
iron-wire broad-sword mask on before engaging in a bout.

In dealing with the cuts and thrusts which may be made with the
quarter-staff, we cannot do better than consider the ordinary
broad-sword target.

In the accompanying diagram are marked the ordinary broad-sword cuts 1
to 4, 2 to 3, 3 to 2, 4 to 1, 5 to 6, 6 to 5, and 7 to 0, the centre of
the target.


[Illustration: Fig. 3.]


Now, we observe that the guards for these cuts must be such as to ward
off the blows in the easiest manner and with as rapid return as possible
to the attacking position.

With the quarter-staff in the hands of a right-handed man, the first cut
would be from 2 to 3, and the guard for this would be with the staff
held in the direction of _c_ to _d_. Similarly, for cut two, from 1 to
4, the guard would be from _a_ to _b_.

It must be borne in mind that this second cut, from 1 to 4, is generally
delivered with what I shall call the _butt_ of the staff, _i.e._ with
that end which is nearest the right hand, in the case of a right-handed
man; and that cut one, from 2 to 3, would be delivered with the butt in
the case of a left-handed man.

The two guards above illustrated will _almost_ cover any attack, but
_not quite_.


[Illustration: Fig. 4.--First Hit.]


On examining Fig. 8 it will be seen that the guard for the first cut,
viz. that from 2 to 3 on the target, is indicated by the position of
the staff _cd_ or _c'd'_. The guard _cd_ meets the three cuts 6 to 5, 2
to 3, and 7 to 0, but is not sufficient to protect you against cut 4 to
1.

Similarly the guard _c'd'_ answers the purpose as far as cuts 4 to 1, 6
to 5, and 2 to 3 are concerned, but fails to ward off cut 7 to 0; and
the same remarks apply to the other side of the target, where _ab_ and
_a'b'_ represent the staff.

Of course the two guards in Fig. 5 _may_ be so used as to meet all
requirements, but it is, to my thinking, far preferable to thoroughly
master the four as represented in Fig. 9. So doing will give increased
command over the staff, and will not in any way detract from speed or
general efficiency.


[Illustration: Fig. 5]


It will be observed that in the sketches of guard 1 and guard 2, Figs. 6
and 7, the staff is, in each case, too perpendicular for cut 7 to 0;
they represent the positions of the combatants when using guards _a'b'_
and _c'd'_ in Fig. 8.

I would therefore advise attention to the following diagram, which
includes the guards, four in number, which are really sufficient for all
hits which can be made with the quarter-staff.

The lines intersecting the circumference of the circle show the
inclinations of the staff for guarding all the cuts which can be made.

We now turn to the question of position. In quarter-staff play it is
usual for a right-handed man to stand with his left foot in advance of
the right, as in boxing or bayonet exercise, and with his toe pointing
straight in the direction of his adversary, as in Fig. 2. It is,
however, often very advisable to advance the right foot suddenly to the
front when bringing the butt of the staff to play on the left side of
the enemy's head or body. As regards "points" it is well to lunge out,
as one does when making a left-handed lead-off in boxing, so as to gain
somewhat in the reach.


[Illustration: Fig. 6.--First guard.]

[Illustration: Fig. 7.--Second guard.]

[Illustration: Fig. 8.]


Points, which, as before hinted, should be used with care in friendly
bouts, are generally made with the point of the staff, but may also be
effected with the butt; and this is the case when the combatants have
come to rather close quarters.

At quarter-staff play the men should be started by the Master of
Ceremonies at a distance of ten or twelve feet apart, and when they get
to close quarters, or at rough play, they should be immediately
separated, as this is a game at which feeling is apt to run somewhat
high--occasionally.

Always remember, when guarding points, to do so with that portion of the
staff which lies between your hands. This portion really corresponds
with the "forte" of a sword or stick. If you have learned fencing with
the foils it will be of the greatest possible advantage to you, for you
will then understand how slight an effort brought to bear on the foible
of your opponent's staff--in this case it will be somewhere within two
feet of the end--will suffice to turn aside the most vigorous thrust.


[Illustration: Fig. 9.--Second hit.]


It may not be out of place to add that any man who has gone through any
sort of apprenticeship in fencing--either with foils or
single-sticks--will not fail, when a quarter-staff is put into his
hands, to know what to do with his weapon. He may, at first, feel
awkward, and the length of the staff may hamper him and its weight
fatigue him, but he will, with his knowledge of general principles, very
soon get into the work and enjoy it.


[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Point.]


Though the staves used are often made of light bamboo cane, one may get
very severe hits and <DW8>s, so it is as well, before engaging in an
encounter, to have (_a_) a good mask, such as broad-swordsmen wear;
(_b_) a thick jacket of stout leather, with a high collar; (_c_)
boxing-gloves on both hands; (_d_) a good pad for the middle of the
body, from waist to knee; and (_e_) cricket pads for both legs, which
are apt to come in for nasty jars on or about the knee. Never _on any
account try to dispense with the pads_--they may save you from permanent
injury; and do they not add to your good health by promoting a
beneficial opening of the sweat-glands?

In quarter-staff, as in stick-play, broad-sword exercise, fencing, etc.,
it is better to sink down with the knees bent, for in this position you
present a smaller area for your opponent to strike at than you do when
quite erect.

In leading off it is better to slide the hand which is at M or N (see
Fig. 11) down to the hand which is at D or B; you then gain several feet
of reach added to your lunge out; only be careful to recover quickly,
and get the hand you have thus moved back to its former position.

Advancing and retreating are effected much in the same way as in bayonet
exercise; viz. for the advance, move the left foot swiftly forward in
the direction of your opponent for a distance of, say, eighteen inches
or two feet, following this up with the right foot _for the same
distance_, so that the same relative positions are maintained; for the
retreat, move the right foot back the required distance and follow up