The art of defence on foot, with the broad sword and sabre: Adapted also for the spadroon, or cut and thrust sword.

Weapon: Sabre/Broadsword/Spadroon/Hanger/Cutlass

Source: The Art of Defence by Charles Roworth, 1804 edition

In the time I have I would like to give an introduction to my understanding of the fencing as described in the 1804 edition of the Art of Defence by Roworth. The Art of Defence is a universal system for fencing with all British military swords of the napoleonic era. This makes it rather flexible in how it translates into movement, which means that two people fencing after the art of defence can look quite different doing so. This flexibility makes it an interesting and fun source to work with and a great jumping off point to work forward or backwards in the history of British fencing. As part of this introduction we will also go through at least some of the “10 Lessons” by Taylor, that are part of the “Art of Defence”.

Skill level of Participants: Any skill level
Needed Equipment: Minimum: a training sword (something fitting, like a sabre, broadsword or spadroon etc.),
Recommended: Cup, gloves, mask and gorget.

About the trainer – Peter Frank

Peter has been involved with historical fencing since around 2009, primarily focusing on what is generally referred to as “British Military Fencing”. His main sources are Alfred Hutton’s books on the light infantry sabre and Roworth’s “The Art of Defence,” which covers all military swords used during the Napoleonic era. He has also occasionally dabbled in other disciplines, such as bayonet fencing, dagger or fencing with the spear. He has also been a trainer at the Freifechter in Cologne since around 2011. He primarily teaches sabre and similar disciplines on Tuesdays, but also fills in on Thursdays for Messer and related topics.