The five Thrusts
Thrusts - Verse 11
Five thrusts targeting the center-line
Translation
The thrusts are deadly strikes that target the body's centerline, from the groin to the forehead. There are five types of thrusts: two from high guards (one from each side), two from low guards (one from each side), and one from a centerline guard, such as Middle Iron Gate, Long Guard, or Short Guard. Thrusts are more lethal than cuts, penetrating like a serpent's venom, where cuts only slice the surface.
Fiore's Words
We are the cruel and deadly thrusts. Our road runs straight down the body's centre, from groin to forehead; we strike where we enter. We thrusts are five in number: Two from high, left and right, without blunder, Two from low, each side the same, And one from centre guards that claim our name, Middle Iron Gate, Long Guard, or Short. We are more venomous than any serpent's sport, And kill more men than any cut can boast. To all the blows we say, as host to host: You cut so little that we sew like needles through, Piercing deep where slicing cannot do.
Combat Context
This is foundational instruction on thrust classification rather than a specific technique. Understanding these five thrust types provides the framework for all subsequent thrust-based plays. The emphasis on centerline targeting reflects the concentration of vital organs and major blood vessels along this anatomical plane. The comparison with cuts establishes thrusts as the primary killing technique in armoured combat, where penetration defeats protection more effectively than slicing.
Training Notes
- ✦ Practice thrust delivery from all five positions to understand the classification system: high left and right, low left and right, and centerline.
- ✦ Focus on centerline targeting from groin to forehead. This vertical line represents the most vulnerable anatomical targets.
- ✦ From centerline guards (Middle Iron Gate, Long Guard, Short Guard), the thrust already threatens this line directly.
- ✦ From high guards, the thrust must descend toward the centerline; from low guards, it must rise toward it.
- ✦ Emphasise point alignment and penetration depth rather than edge orientation, distinguishing thrust mechanics from cutting.
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Le punte [23r-d] ¶ Noii semo le punte crudele e mortale. E lo nostro camino si'e per mezo lo corpo cominzando alo petenichio in fin ala fronte. E semo punte de ·Ⅴ· rasone, zoe doii soprane una d'una parte l'altra del'altra. E doii de sotta simile mente un d'una parte e l'altra del'altra. E una di mezo che esse di meza porta di ferro overo di posta lunga e breve.
We are the cruel and deadly thrusts. Our target is the body’s center line, and we can strike anywhere between the groin and the forehead. And we thrusts can be made in five ways: two of us can be made from high guards, one from each side, and two can be made from low guards, also one from each side. The fifth one comes from a center line guard, and can be made from Middle Iron Gate, the Short Guard, or the Long Guard.
[13a-b] Ponte semo de grandissima offensione E a tuti colpi façemo questione Venenose semo piu che serpente E piu che tuti colpi alczidemo zente E noii ponte a'li colpi si disemo Tanto no taiaret, che noii cusiremo.
Thrusts we are, of greatest offense And we make our dispute to all strikes; Venomous we are, more than a serpent, And we kill more people than any strike; And our thrusts to the blows do say: So little do you cut that we sew like a needle.