right ankle, your left leg
straight, your chest square to the front, and your head well up. If you
can get yourself into this position, you will have no difficulty in
recovering yourself if your lunge fails, and you will gain nothing by
bending your body forward from the waist. On the contrary, you will
spoil your balance.

This lunge will do for every cut and every point.

To recover after a lunge, throw your weight well back upon your left
leg, and use the muscles of the right thigh and calf to shoot yourself
back into position. If the knee of the right leg has been kept exactly
over the ankle, the impetus necessary to regain your original position
will be easily obtained. If, however, the right foot has been protruded
too far, and the caution as to the knee and ankle disregarded, you will
find yourself unable to return quickly from the lunging position, and
will consequently be at your opponent's mercy. It is in the operation of
returning from the lunge that the player realizes to the full the
advantage of keeping the shoulders well back and head erect.

[Illustration: Fig. 30.--Cut 3 and guard.]

The illustrations should speak for themselves, but perhaps I had better
explain them.

In cut 1 (Fig. 28), lunge out and cut at the left cheek of your
opponent, straightening the arm and turning the knuckles down.

To stop this cut, raise the engaging guard (hanging guard, Fig. 26)
slightly, and bring the hand somewhat nearer the head, as shown in the
illustration, or stop it with the upright guard, with the elbow kept
well in and the right hand about on a level with the left shoulder.

In cut 2 (Fig. 29), lunge out and cut at your opponent's right cheek,
with your arm straight and knuckles up. The natural guard for this is
the high upright guard, with the elbow well in to the right side, the
arm bent and turned slightly outwards, and wrist and knuckles turned
well to the right.

In cut 3 (Fig. 30), make free use of the wrist, bringing your blade
round in the smallest space possible, and come in on your man's ribs
with your arm straight and knuckles turned downwards.

To stop this cut you may either use a low hanging guard, brought across
to the left side, the right hand about on a level with the left
shoulder, or a low upright guard, with the hilt just outside the left
thigh.

The hanging guard is the safer one of the two, as it is difficult in
practice to get low enough with the hilt in the upright guard t