termined to strike, or else if he come not so farre forwardes that he encountreth the sword, yet he may be safelie stroken, with the encrease of a streight pace: to which pace, hauing suddenly ioyned a slope pace, a man must returne and increase againe though the enimie were strooken at the first increase of that pace: For if at the first stroak and increase, the enimie were not hit in the eye, it shall be to small purpose. Therefore as soone as he hath vsed the croked or slope pace, he must presentlie encrease an other streight pace, the which doth so much gather vpon the enimie, that if he would strike him in the brest, he may thrust his sword vp to the hiltes.
Now for the loftie edge-blowes, both right and reuersed, the rules aforesaide may suffice: To witte, the edge-blowe fectheth a compasse. The blowe of the poynt or thrust is the shortest, & in this blowe, he that is nearest hitteth soonest: So then he must thrust vnder any of these edgeblowes. And farther, for asmuch as it is naturallie giuen to euerie man to defend himselfe, he may encounter the right edge-blowe after an other waie, and that is, to encounter it with the edge of his sworde, and presentlie, to driue there withall a thrust at the enimies face, and to compasse his hinderfoote, towardes the right side behinde, to the ende, that the thrust may be lengthned and his bodie thereby couered, considering he shall then stand right behinde his sword.
This manner of defence, may serue to warde all right blows of the edg, deliuered from the high ward, and it is the best waie of all other, because it doth not onely warde, but also in one and the selfesame time,
both