[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

That said, time to <B>Defend</B>!<P>Parries - <BR>Well you can just stick your sword out randomly and hope it a) Connects with what's coming at you and b) Doesn't just deflect it to someplace worse. Or you can know exactly what to do.<P>Three things are important -<P>Your grip. <BR>Your stance. <BR>And of course height, putting your sword high or low according to what's attempting to deprive you of your life.<P>Since everything's coming at your left anyways, let's defend the left!<P>Grip: left hand on top, by the hilts. Right hand by the base.<BR>Stance: balanced, right knee forward, slightly bent.<P><I>Explaining the grip</I><BR>Time to hold that pencil again. Put your left hand on top, right hand below, and defend your left. <BR>See how your left arm is perfectly set to brace for a blow? And the pencil is angled away from you. <P>Now let's do the incorrect grip. Right hand on top, left below. Hold it up to defend the left. <BR>Weak as a noodle, isn't it? Your right arm is awkwardly stretched across you, unbraced, easily bent, and yiiiiiiii your sword is angled toward you. A hard enough blow, and it could chop your own head off.<P><I>Explaining the stance</I><BR>Why is this important? Because Wham! someone's gonna hit you with all they've got, and you want to keep your balance.<P>The knee's <I>bent</I> as a shock absorber.<BR>You have your <I>right</I> knee forward to balance the chunk of metal you're holding to your left.<BR>You have your bent knee <I>forward</I> because you want your weapon closer to their face. Heh. And having it back leans your whole body back, off-balance.<P>This move at shoulder height defends from someone trying to slice you like a pizza, 'left-eyebrow-to-right-cheek'. Lower, defends from the 'head chop' from the left. Way up high, protects from those axes of Lanniae's, or a vertical chop aiming to slice you in half.<P>Personal note: defense is good for two things - keeping life and limb intact, and giving you time to plan. But you want to defend as little as possible, unless you think you can wear your opponent out by sheer stamina. While you defend, that brick of metal weighing down your arms is getting heavier and heavier.. and you're getting slower, your breath is coming in gasps. And you've made no progress in winning.