Translation
I am Full Iron Gate with the arms crossed and doubled. And I am in a strong fortress, and in I am Tutta Porta di Ferro Incrosada e Dopia (Full Iron Gate, crossed and doubled). And I am in a strong fortress, and in armour I am good and strong. And without armour I am not enough because I cannot make long covers.
Explanation
With the arms crossed at the wrist, this posta appears at first glance to be the same as Middle Iron Gate, Crossed and Doubled, except without the dagger. The principle difference is that by having two hands to grab at your opponent, it possible to perform a number of manipulations. The 2nd Master of Dagger fights from this posta.
Don’t think of the doubled hands as a means of bracing against a heavy attack. It is better considered a single blocking hand (usually the bottom one) with the other hand acting as an outlying grabbing potential. Again, it is a ‘sticky hands’ approach. Don’t use it to snatch at things. The attacking aspect of this is applied once you have grabbed hold of two points on your opponent. By then uncrossing your hands, you create a twisting or turning motion.
This allows you to apply leverage in a variety of different situations. Some examples from the First Master of Dagger include
- a disarm and strike – 8th scholar
- a break – 7th scholar
- a lock – 2nd scholar
- a throw – 3rd scholar
The above list gives us our ‘five things‘ which Fiore states you should always do. Because any one of the five things can roll on to one of the others, gaining leverage allows a swift and smooth transfer into a complete attacking sequence.
These principles of applying leverage work best when the hands are held in close to the body. The further you extend the hands, the weaker your structure, and the less effective your technique, leading to the statement ‘I cannot make long covers.’ The need for close covers means that armour is required to maintain your own safety.