Applying the Assaults  Practicing and memorizing assaults are an
essential part of learning the Bolognese tradition of fencing.
But rote memorization can be tedious and easily forgotten. (I
say this as someone who has forgotten both his Marozzo and
Manciolino assaults.)  So lets make them more interesting. For
this experiment we used Giovanni dall’Agocchie’s First Assalto.
Place your opponent in a stretta guard a couple spaces away from
you. Perform the first step, which involves two cuts and a step
into coda lunga stretta. Your first cut may him him or his
sword, but either way the second should land a wound.  Try a few
variations. Allow your partner to parry the first strike. Then
allow him to throw the first strike, so that the cut from the
sheath is a parry.  Once you are comfortable with that take a
step back. This time your first two cuts will be in the air.
That’s ok, it unsettles your opponent and makes it harder to
predict where your blade will be when you take the second step
into measure. That sec