Italian School

5 points

Italian fencing originated in the 16th and 17th centuries,
and revolved around the teachings of such masters as
Camillo Agrippa, Ridolfo Capo Ferro, and Girard Thibault.
The main weapon was the rapier, with a knife, a cloak, or
occasionally a second rapier (the two constituting “a case of
rapiers”) held in the off hand. The Italian School empha-
sized counterattacks in “one time,” meaning a combination
defense/riposte instead of a parry-and-counterattack
rhythm. This strategy sacrificed some defensive surety for a
chance to strike back.
Fighters of this school make extensive use of the Riposte
(pp. 124-125), and follow up this gambit with an Attack or
even a Committed Attack, but only rarely with a Defensive
Attack. Italian stylists seek to counter the foe quickly, forgo-
ing some defense for a good offense. Defensively, Italian
School fencers are more likely to dodge, or to parry with a
secondary weapon, than to parry with their main blade
while pressing the attack. This aggressive counterattacking
can get a fencer in trouble; the Overconfidence disadvantage
definitely fits!
Grappling was very much a part of the style. Some
schools taught throws in addition to grapples and locks, and
even instructed students in catching an incoming blade with
the off hand. Such schools would substitute Judo for
Wrestling.
Cinematic fencers frequently augment this style with
Acrobatics and Jumping to gain additional mobility. They
Stickfighting
Stickfighting is one of the most ancient forms of com-
bat – only slightly more recent than unarmed grappling
and striking. A primitive ancestor of man armed with a
thighbone and an Escrima guro doing sinawali with rattan
sticks are both stickfighters; Escrima is but one of hun-
dreds of stickfighting styles known to the world through-
out history. Adventurers will encounter stickfighting
across Africa, Asia, Europe (Ireland, Portugal, Russia . . .),
and the Americas, from prehistoric times to the present
day.