Verdadera Destreza
The art of fencing turned into science.
Our school mainly trains with the cup-hilted rapier, based on the tradition of «Verdadera Destreza»: a historical martial art – sometimes referred to as a science by its authors – applicable to various weapons, and which was very popular during the XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries throughout the lands under the Hispanic Monarchy.
The Practice
Verdadera Destreza could be translated as «true art» or «true skill».
Characteristic of this style is that the diestro (a person who studies Destreza) fights in a mostly upright position, light-footed and in continuous movement.
The system is philosophically and scientifically influenced by the teachings of Aristotle, Plato and Euclid. Explanations are based on mathematics or geometry.
Destreza was considered a form of self-defense, which is why self-protection plays a major role.
In addition, based on Christian thought, the intensity of the attacker’s violence should be responded to appropriately and proportionately. Disarming the opponent (Movimento de Conclusion) and being able to grant them mercy was the greatest goal that a diestro could achieve in battle.
The fencing approach of Verdadera Destreza is to control the opponent’s weapon by overbinding (atajo) it in order to deliver the safest possible attack.
In theory, the aim is to make it impossible for the opponent to hit the diestro by controlling the fencing line (called the first vertical plane). This is achieved through non-linear footwork and a constant search for favorable angles for attack and defense.
Furthermore, the Diestro should try not to make any extreme movements. For example, an extremely long lunge would not be in the spirit of the system, although smaller lunges are depicted in Rada’s work (see sources).
Another interesting point is the mindset required, in which patience plays an immensely important role. If the diestro is too focused on scoring their own hit, experience has shown that they will often get hit themselves.
The Styles & Periods
The Verdadera Destreza tradition originates in the middle of the 16th century and during the three centuries in which it is active we can see an evolution, both of the tools (swords, daggers, etc.) and of the styles, the theory and even the body positions described in the sources.
In Academia da Espada we define three great periods, to be studied with the appropriate weapons. The boundaries between each period are diffuse, and differences we highlight in them actually involved different interpretations of the broader Verdadera Destreza tradition (for instance, Carrancistas vs. Pachequistas). However, this demarcation is helpful to understand Destreza’s evolution, and to realize a correct martial practice.
The Initial Period
The first author writing about Verdadera Destreza is Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, in 1569. He is considered the founder of the tradition.
One of the main characteristics of this period are swords with limited protection for the hand: rings that leave large holes through which a thrust may pass.
The sword is held with both index finger and thumb inside the ricasso, which makes it easier to control the opposing blade (the atajo), and the positions described are always very upright .
The other exponent of this period is Luis Pacheco de Narváez, in 1625, royal master at arms and Maestro Mayor, in charge of regulating fencing teaching in all the relevant kingdoms. While he began following Carranza, with the passage of time diverged from the theory of the first master, developing his own strain of the art.
Other authors are worth mentioning, such as Octavio Ferrara, Diogo Gómes de Figueiredo or Gérard Thibault, all of them with great differences but also with great points in common.
The Modern Period
The development of better protection for the hands (large shell guards and the famous and characteristic cup hilt) during the 1630s favored a small but important evolution in the school.
Swords are now held with both the index and middle fingers in the ricasso, together with the thumb, affording more strength and control in the atajo, and perfecting the characteristic straight angle stance of the fencer.
The relevance of this choice is stressed in the work of master Luis Díaz de Viedma, published in 1639. Cristobal de Cala, in 1642, shows how this way to hold the sword helps to control the opposing weapon (atajo), even when our blade is under theirs.
This kind of atajo inferior will be explored in great detail by the most important master of this period, Francisco Lorenz de Rada, who published his first treatise in 1695 and, in 1705, wrote what amounts to the most profuse and detailed description of theory and techniques for Verdadera Destreza, Nobleza de la Espada.
In addition, the contact with foreign schools and the evolution of weapons promote the occasional use of lower, less upright stances, such as the famous Bella Española, as described by Rada, or a similar stance previously described by Álvaro Guerra de la Vega in 1681.
This era is the most prolific in treatises and authors. Some will remain more or less orthodox within the tradition, such as Francisco Antonio de Ettenhard or Miguel Pérez de Mendoza. Some will instead hail back to archaic tendencies, such as as Nicolás de Tamariz, who insists on wielding the sword with just the index finger in the ricasso. Still other masters will develop clearly heterodox tendencies, like Juan Antonio de Arrieta whom, in 1688, rejects cutting with the sword altogether.
This period ends with the admirer and defender of Rada’s theses Nicolás Noveli writing his Crisol especulativo, in 1731.
The Period of the Mixed Doctrine
Further development of the weapons, the arrival of fashions from the new great European power (France) and, finally, the change of reigning dynasty to the Bourbons — all propitiate the introduction of foreign schools that, little by little, will take over from Verdadera Destreza.
The first reaction of many masters, however, will be the creation of a new style they will label Escuela Mixta (mixed school). Its main exponent is the Maestro Mayor Rodríguez del Canto, with his 1735 work El Discípulo Instruído, covering the use of the rapier, alone and with a dagger, but also expounding on the weapon that will replace it: the smallsword.
This mixed school is characterized by a blending of the Iberian, Italic and French styles. It presents several body stances, as opposed to the traditional single right angle, and adapts many techniques of the traditional Verdadera Destreza to a lower position (desplante).
Beyond Rodríguez del Canto, relevant authors are Manuel Antonio de Brea (Principios Universales y Reglas Generales de la Verdadera Destreza del Espadín, 1805) or the Mexican Simón de Frías (Tratado Elemental de la Destreza del Sable, 1809).
These and other authors represent an final attempt to adapt to the new weapons, especially the smallsword and the sabre. Eventually, however, this period will see Verdadera Destreza extinguish little by little, during the 19th century, displaced by other schools.
The Tools
The Early Rapier
While it can take multiple forms, its main characteristic is that the protection for the hand is provided by a more or less complex cage made of metal bars. It is also heavier, overall, than its later evolution of the modern period.
The Cup-Hilt Rapier
The cup or shell guards, very common in Spanish swords, offer great protection to the hand. They also tend to be lighter, compared to the previous ringed rapiers, thus becoming the perfect tool to fully develop Verdadera Destreza.
The Dagger
In the initial period the dagger is an indispensable accessory for the discerning gentleman, both as a tool and as a weapon to support the early rapier. Normally the sword and dagger fittings have a similar construction.
The Sail Dagger
With an evolution similar to the sword, the sail (as shown in the photo) or shell dagger develops more complete protection for the hand while its blade tends to lengthen.
The Defences
The buckler of the Middle Ages became larger and continued to be used as a complement to the sword, as were the round shields known as rodelas, or even capes, or bracers. All of these elements fall within what are known as defensive weapons.
The Polearms
Pole weapons are part of the contemporary panoply, from the extra-long pike to the more manageable, but still imposing, halberd or partisan. Even something simple as a long staff was in use, for instance, by fencing masters to mediate and control classes and bouts.
The Montante
The great, 167 cm tall two-handed sword was a symbol of Iberian baroque fencing masters, bodyguards and elite soldiers. It demands highly developed biomechanics and spatial awareness, since it was often used against several opponents at the same time.
The Smallsword
We also study the smallsword according to the «Spanish Mixed Doctrine», developed contemporaneously with the late days of Verdadera Destreza, when french and italic influences were becoming dominant in Iberian fencing.
The Sources
Over 100 texts related to Verdadera Destreza are known to have survived until today.
Their authors were mostly noblemen who did not make a living through teaching fencing, although several were soldiers and had military experience.
It can be assumed that full access to this system was, at least initially, only available to this social class. Full understanding required a high standard of education, for example in philosophy and geometry, that was not available to everyone at the time.
The contemporary writer Francisco de Quevedo also made fun of Destreza fencers in one of his works (El Buscón), calling them fools because they seemed to want to learn and practice this system but were unable to understand it.
Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza is considered the founder of this fencing system with his book De la Filosofía de las Armas y de su Destreza y la Agression y Defensa Cristiana from 1569. Carranza was a captain in the Spanish military, courtier as well as governor of Sanlúcar de Barremeda and governor and captain-general of Honduras in New Spain.
One of the most important Destreza authors was his presumed student Luis Pacheco de Narváez with one of his most important works, Nueva Ciencia, y Filosofía de la Destreza de las Armas, which was written in 1625, but published around 1672. Pacheco was chief fencing master and was in charge of certifying new fencing masters, which he used to spread the Verdadera Destreza.
In his early works he promoted and published many of Carranza’s teachings, but later became increasingly critical of him. This was probably done with the intention of consciously distancing himself from Carranza.
Another interesting author is Francisco Antonio de Ettenhard y Abarca, (~1650-1701). He served both King Carlos II and King Philip V and was captain of the king’s German guard. He is considered one of the four great masters of the Verdadera Destreza (alongside Carranza, Pacheco, and Rada).
Ettenhard elaborated on how to counteract the «Italian» style of fencing. One of his most famous works, entitled Compendio de los Fundamentos de la Verdadera Destreza y Filosofía de las Armas, dates from 1675 and was published in Madrid. In addition to the compendium, he wrote El Diestro italiano y español, printed in 1697. His works continue the teachings of Pacheco, of whom he considered himself a follower.
The last important representative of the classic Destreza canon was Francisco Lorenz de Rada: soldier, knight of Santiago and governor of Veracruz.
Along his life, Rada produced many increasingly more complex texts on Verdadera Destreza, in which he shows deep undersanding and elaborates on this tradition. Chiefly important are Crisol de la verdadera destreza, y Filosofía Matemática de las Armas (1695), and Nobleza de la espada (1705) — a three-tome treatise in which he builds up the art of fencing from philosophical, geometric and theological principles.
Outside Verdadera Destreza
The authors of Verdadera Destreza present it as opposed to the Esgrima Vulgar or Comun (so-called ordinary fencing), which was of older origin.
The Destreza authors never tired of showing that they rejected this way of fencing, but this was mainly a theoretical effort. Even though there were some attempts to curb normal fencing on a training basis (especially during Pacheco’s time as royal master of arms), it was ultimately suppressed completely.
The most important surviving author on the Vulgar tradition is the Portuguese Domingo Luis Godinho, whose unpublished manuscript Arte de Esgrima (1599) records how a master from outside the Destreza canon would approach fencing.
After Verdadera Destreza
There were other authors after Rada, but they were now increasingly influenced by French and Italian influences.
Last but not least, the French Bourbons replaced the Spanish Habsburgs on the Spanish throne at the beginning of the 18th century, which also had social consequences and caused French fashion, customs and customs to spread.
The last sources related to Verdadera Destreza will reach into the XIX century, in military manuals which try to apply the principles to new weapons (sabres and bayonets) and context.
