Translation
This cover, either in armour or without armour, is very good. And against any strong man is as good to cover from below as much as above. And this play enters the midle bind, namely to the third play of the first remedy master of dagger. And if this is done as a low cover, the scholar puts the player in the lower bind, which is the strong key that is the sixth play of the third remedy master of dagger.
Interpretation
The 7th scholar demonstrates applying Posta Tutta Porta di Ferro Dopia as an aggressive defence. In this instance, it is shown acting against a grab and stab style attack, which is the theme of the 5th master. As the scholar tells us, however, this also works well in other contexts.
As your opponent chambers their dagger, drop your weight and step through into them. Use your left forearm to jam the attack, and brace the forearm with your right hand as shown.
Fiore shows the cover being made by sliding your right hand over your opponents left arm. You could just as effectively go under their arm, using the angle of your right forearm to slide past. Whether you move over or under the arm is more dependant on where the grab allows you space. Against a short opponent who holds you close, it will be easier to go over the top. Against a taller opponent who holds you at arms length, you will be better going underneath.
Regardless of the detail, the quality of your technique is to lunge into your opponents space, driving them up and back. Like so much of armizare, it works best at very close range. You need to really push yourself into your opponents right arm.
Having jammed the weapon, let go with your right hand and circle your left hand around your opponents dagger arm in an anticlockwise direction. This puts them in a middle bind, as best described by the 1st scholar of the 1st master of dagger.
The 7th scholar also tells us that this play can be made as a low cover. If your opponent holds their dagger using the hammer grip and goes to make a sottano attack, you can also use the same concept of pushing into your opponent to jam the attack with your forearm.
A lower cover from Posta Tutta Porta di Ferro Dopia is best decribed by the 1st scholar of the 8th master of dagger. Such a cover will naturally flow to a lower bind as shown by the 5th scholar of the 3rd master of dagger. There are a number of other examples of entering the lower bind throughout armizare. You can see them in
- Dagger – Counter to 1st scholar of the 1st master
- Dagger – 3rd scholar of the 6th master
- Sword in two hands – 1st counter to 13th scholar of the 3rd master
- Armour – 4th scholar
- Armour – 5th scholar
- Pollaxe – 4th scholar