Embodying Swordplay at Queen’s: Bolognese, Destreza, & Fabris

Last week I had the pleasure of teaching at Queen’s University’s Training the Heart conference, a rare chance to dive into historical fencing with professors of English, medieval studies, and linguistics with a focus on Shakespeare, his works, and his world.

My workshop brought ~30 participants (most brand new to swords) through fencing actions from three distinct historical schools: Bolognese sidesword, Spanish La Verdadera Destreza, and Fabrisian Italian rapier.

Shakespeare’s Stage, Three Systems, One Experience

We set three clear goals:

1. Show that multiple fencing systems coexisted in Shakespeare’s time.
2. Explore how those styles signaled social and political meaning to an audience.
3. Give everyone an embodied experience of each style’s distinct movement language.

From the Bolognese tradition we worked a deflection from Cinghiale Larga (“Wide Boar,” a forward-bearing guard) with an emphasis on noble blows, moving forward while defending, and using invitation and provocation to shape the opponent’s choice.

With Spanish Destreza, we stepped on the circle, adopted right-angle postures (upright, poised line relationships), and used the system’s characteristic spiral to control approach and line.

From Fabris, we focused on highly optimized posture, oppositional thrusting (controlling the opponent’s line as we strike), and the girata (a turning action that shifts the body off-line) with the offhand supporting defense.

Elevating Stagecraft and Swordcraft

Participants did brilliantly. They had fun, asked sharp questions, and shared insights connecting movement, rhetoric, and stagecraft, including how a character’s “fencing dialect” can communicate class, education, and moral posture. My hope is that this session meaningfully informs future research and teaching. Special thanks to Professor Jade Standing (Queen’s), also an Academie Duello member, who co-taught and championed the idea from the start.

Check out this video to explore the Bolognese deflection as well as a few footwork options used in the system.

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