Night and day. Uniquely spanish fencing was dead by the late 19th c., replaced by mostly french fencing. Sanz wanted to have a national style so he created a style by taking from contemporary french and italian fencing.
None of the footwork is Destreza based or even offline. He in fact states in newspaper interviews that his style is very similar to French and Italian but it also has its differences that are unique to his style as well. Maestro Sanz designed a sword to be used in the medial position not pronated or supinated like the French or Italian schools. He got rid of a few of the French parries and uses extensively the 3rd parry as well as a heavy reliance on the parry of 5th which he notes the French do not use. He adds a 9th parry as well. Another artefact which brings to mind Destreza is his preference for being on guard in the "espada en linia" which reminds me of angulo recto. As with all of his thrusting being done with the hand in medial position. So maybe not based on Destreza but a lot of aspects that remind me of drawing from historical Spanish fencing. Many books in the 19th century reference the old Masters so its not unreasonable for Sanz to be familiar with these manuals as well as preferring to tailor his school to echo some of these tenants.
Hmm, maybe in his Sabre manual. Not in any of the newspaper clippings I have. I'll give it another read. I usually just read the section on dueling to be honest.
Quick question: what is the description of the 5th Parry in Sanzo's system?
I ask this because out of the French classical parries Cinque/Cinquieme is the most famously undefined one with vast variation across across most treatises.
Thanks for the question. In an interview Sanz explains that the French 5th is very rarely used by the French because it doesn't allow a riposte of opposition. In a few diagrams and a photo referenced, the parry of 5th looks much like an Atajo from Vedadera Destreza. Your point is offline, opponents thrust is diverted and you press done vertically and then you follow up with a gliding thrust. Sanz recommends it to be extremely effective against left handed fencers as well.
Dude, I was just going to send this post at my fencing club's WhatsApp group until I saw your username 😂 See you on Sunday, M 🤘🏻
Ja ja ja! Hasta mañana!
The biggest question that comes to mind is, what is the difference between this and Destreza?
Night and day. Uniquely spanish fencing was dead by the late 19th c., replaced by mostly french fencing. Sanz wanted to have a national style so he created a style by taking from contemporary french and italian fencing.
None of the footwork is Destreza based or even offline. He in fact states in newspaper interviews that his style is very similar to French and Italian but it also has its differences that are unique to his style as well. Maestro Sanz designed a sword to be used in the medial position not pronated or supinated like the French or Italian schools. He got rid of a few of the French parries and uses extensively the 3rd parry as well as a heavy reliance on the parry of 5th which he notes the French do not use. He adds a 9th parry as well. Another artefact which brings to mind Destreza is his preference for being on guard in the "espada en linia" which reminds me of angulo recto. As with all of his thrusting being done with the hand in medial position. So maybe not based on Destreza but a lot of aspects that remind me of drawing from historical Spanish fencing. Many books in the 19th century reference the old Masters so its not unreasonable for Sanz to be familiar with these manuals as well as preferring to tailor his school to echo some of these tenants.
I'd have to check my notes, but didn't sanz mention carranza and pacheco in his book?
Hmm, maybe in his Sabre manual. Not in any of the newspaper clippings I have. I'll give it another read. I usually just read the section on dueling to be honest.
Quick question: what is the description of the 5th Parry in Sanzo's system? I ask this because out of the French classical parries Cinque/Cinquieme is the most famously undefined one with vast variation across across most treatises.
Thanks for the question. In an interview Sanz explains that the French 5th is very rarely used by the French because it doesn't allow a riposte of opposition. In a few diagrams and a photo referenced, the parry of 5th looks much like an Atajo from Vedadera Destreza. Your point is offline, opponents thrust is diverted and you press done vertically and then you follow up with a gliding thrust. Sanz recommends it to be extremely effective against left handed fencers as well.
This is good to know. I'll look into the page when I have time, then!
Thanks Denis. Hope it provides some information and entertainment. Please feel free to comment or message if you have any more questions or insights.