(High) Ladies guard

This is the high guard called Posta di Donna (Guard of the Lady). Hold the sword with both hands raised above your head, positioned as if wielding a poleaxe. This high position gives your sword exceptional force and leverage, allowing you to stop attacks from lighter weapons. The guard's deceptive nature is its primary tactical advantage: from this high position, opponents expect a descending cut, but you can quickly deliver a thrust instead by simply extending your arms forward and down without changing grip. The thrust is immediately available and fast to execute.

I am sword and axe combined in one. My heavy blows crush what lighter weapons have begun. I am the High Lady's guard, supreme above the rest. With cunning tricks, I fool the others; I am the best. You'll think I strike with a cutting blow, but thrust instead is what I'll throw. I need only lift my arms high, and then my point comes swiftly as I fly.

This guard creates uncertainty in your opponent. The high position naturally suggests a powerful descending cut that opponents will prepare to defend. This expectation creates an opening for a thrust, which arrives faster than a cut from this position. The guard is particularly effective against opponents using lighter, faster weapons, as the high position and heavy commitment signal power they must respect. The tactical core is misdirection: showing one attack to deliver another.

• ✦ Hold the sword with hands raised fully above the head as if holding a poleaxe - this creates the perception of an impending descending cut.
• ✦ Practice the deceptive transition: begin as if chambering for a fendente, then, instead of cutting downward, extend the arms forward and slightly downward to deliver the thrust.
• ✦ The thrust should require minimal preparatory movement - the deception works because the thrust is delivered from what appears to be a cutting chamber.
• ✦ Emphasise speed in thrust delivery: the point should arrive before the opponent can react to the transition from an expected cut to an actual thrust.
• ✦ Train partners to react to the high guard with defences against cuts, then exploit this expectation with the thrust.
• ✦ The 'sword as axe' concept suggests strikes from this guard should be committed with full body weight and leverage when you do choose to cut.