I.33 Natural and Unnatural
It seems to me that to be trained in the system of I.33 is to be trained to do that which is 'unnatural'.
Ordinary fencers (i.e. those not trained in the system) mostly do what is intuitive, what is 'natural'. They adopt the six guards because these correspond to natural, intuitive blows from each of the four quarters, directly above and a thrust.
Students of the Priest do something different. Students of the Priest boldly attack in a way that closes down the possible options of the ordinary fencer. Students of the Priest boldly step in towards the enemy's sword when the natural, intuitive thing to do is to stay as far away from it as possible.
This is a way that learning and interpreting the system can be challenging. We must overcome our 'ordinary' intuition, trust the system and step boldly towards danger.
Ordinary fencers (i.e. those not trained in the system) mostly do what is intuitive, what is 'natural'. They adopt the six guards because these correspond to natural, intuitive blows from each of the four quarters, directly above and a thrust.
Students of the Priest do something different. Students of the Priest boldly attack in a way that closes down the possible options of the ordinary fencer. Students of the Priest boldly step in towards the enemy's sword when the natural, intuitive thing to do is to stay as far away from it as possible.
This is a way that learning and interpreting the system can be challenging. We must overcome our 'ordinary' intuition, trust the system and step boldly towards danger.