A few days ago, a Facebook thread by the legendary Martin Fabian lead me down the rabbit hole of interpreting Fiore’s first two plays of zhogo largo again. These two techniques are meant to be applied when two swords meet with the points high, both crossed roughly at the first third of the blade.

This peculiar punta crossing is seldom seen in free sparring, and has already been the subject of multiple online discussions. However, a consensual interpretation has yet to found, and I’m no longer satisfied at all by my past article on this topic. Three years later, it is more than time for an update.

My goal in this article is to keep the fencing actions described simple and reasonable, while staying as close as possible to Fiore’s original material, sourcing each fencing action with appropriate quotes.

It’s all about thrusting

A crossing is not an end by itself. In order to understand how one can end up in such a bind, one has to study’s Fiore technical and tactical framework, starting from the most important fencing action: the attack. It turns out that Fiore explictly favours the use of thrusts, lauding their lethality and superiority over cuts:

[Novati 13A-b] Thrusts we are, of greatest offense

And we make our dispute to all strikes;

Venomous we are, more than a serpent,

And we kill more people than any strike;

And our thrusts to the blows do say:

So little do you cut that we sew like a needle. (tr. by Michael Chidester)

The current HEMA tournament scene tends to support Fiore’s point of view: indeed, many successful competitors often engage their opponent with a strong thrust, only using cuts as later follow-on attacks once the gap between the two fencers has been closed.

Fiore’s take on thrusting mechanics should be familiar to anyone with prior rapier or épée fencing experience: don’t thrust with the arms shortened, but extend your weapon. In the master’s own words:

[Getty 22r] With point guard against point guard, the most extended guard will reach the opponent first. (tr. by Tom Leoni and Greg Mele)

And the most extended guard of all is the long position, posta longa. In Fiore’s tactical framework, the guards are more than mere postures you hold; they determine your game plan and should be chosen carefully depending on your own strengths and weaknesses. In posta longa‘s case, one can probe the opponent’s guard and thrust opportunistically:

[Getty 24r-a] She can probe the opponent’s guard to see if she can deceive him. If it is possible to strike with a thrust, she knows how to do it. (tr. by Tom Leoni and Greg Mele)



A fairly simple offensive strategy, all things considered, and one that may even be more intuitive and efficient that starting with one’s sword on the shoulder in posta di donna and trying to hit an opponent standing in a similar guard with a cut and a passing step.

Extend, then retract

Before going any further, it may be worth mentioning that Fiore is well aware of the ways one can use leverage in a crossing, in a similar manner to Liechtenauer’s strong and weak. In the very first sword crossing shown in the Morgan, Fiore warns us that:

[Morgan 6r-a] But crossing is of three categories (that is, from the full of the sword to the tip of the sword), and whoever is crossed at the full of the sword can withstand a little, and whoever is crossed at middle of the sword can withstand less, and whoever at the tip of the sword can withstand nothing at all. So the sword, as such, has three matters—that is, a little, less, and nothing. (tr. by Michael Chidester)

Assuming both fencers are standing with their point online, and one fighter advances, extends their blade, and threaten their opponent with a thrust, the latter is likely to react by lifting their sword and retract their arms in order to deny their punta and instead cross with the tutta of the sword. This is a common reaction that leads to a posture close to Fiore’s posta frontale, a guard that Fiore explicitly recommends to cross and counter thrusts:

[Getty 24v-c] This is good for crossing the opponent’s sword, as well as against thrusts. (tr. by Tom Leoni and Greg Mele)

Once the threat of the incoming thrust is countered, the quickest way to riposte is to extend directly the blade to longa from the crossing, and let the opponent deal with this new threat.

These precepts can eventually lead to a cycle when one fencer extends their sword to attack, the other retracts to parry, then the roles switch as the latter fencer ripostes. It’s a fairly common sight in thrust fencing with lighter weapons such as foils or épées.

Breaking the cycle

Retracting and leaving the crossing can be a perilous move, as it leaves one open and non-threatening: this opportunity to strike is called nachreisen by Liechtenauer, and mezzo tempo by later Italian authors such as the Bolognese school. What is Fiore’s take on this particular issue?

[Paris 14v-b] He who holds back the sword in the crossing can indeed deceive.

Leaving the bind outright is therefore a bad idea, and one should instead try to stay in the crossing but make it neutral in terms of leverage. To do so, we can lift the point of our sword while keeping the arms slightly extended. Both fencers will then end up in a close, equal bind at the mezza or the punta, points up, one with the arms extended, the other with the arms shortened. The sooner this neutral crossing is reached, the less vulnerable to a direct riposte the extended fencer is.

This crossing makes a direct riposte with a thrust harder by virtue of denying the opponent favourable leverage and providing direct tactile feedback. Obviously, any safety found in a bind is at best ephemeral, but breaking the expected cycle by choosing not to retract too far after having one’s point displaced is a deceptive move.

Let’s play

Fiore’s two canonical plays can then unravel. From this shallow crossing, any lateral pressure can be punished by cutting around to the outside line:

[Getty 25r-c] When I am crossed at the point, I quickly turn my sword and strike the opponent on the other side with a fendente that comes down to the head and arms. (tr. by Tom Leoni and Greg Mele)

If, however, one of the two fencers releases pressure, maybe because they try to leave the bind or don’t want to trigger a strike on the outside line, then they open themselves to a direct attack on the inside line:

[Getty 25r-d] I have given you a thrust to the face, as the Master before me has said. (tr. by Tom Leoni and Greg Mele)

If the crossing is properly set up, then the technical executions of these two plays should be rather straightforward. After all, hasn’t Fiore said that armizare is made of:

[Getty 1r] Things that are very true as they are extremely effective for defense and offense; things that are so effortless to perform, they cannot fail. (tr. by Tom Leoni and Greg Mele)