André Hajjar Sesé has released his English interpretation of de Brea’s 1805 destreza manual, Principios Universales Y Reglas De La Verdadera Destreza Del Espadin… on his blog, Destreza Nova. La Verdadera Destreza refers to the Spanish school, a school of rapier uniquely rooted in geometry, philosophy, and an amazing use of footwork. For the uninitiated, it may appear somewhat like a geometric alchemy.

Some may argue that Destreza is tangential to the study of the smallsword, and there is some merit to that argument. However, one can consider Destreza somewhat as an ancestral cousin of the smallsword. Regardless of where you fall in this argument, there is no doubt that a smallsworder of the French or English school could easily have crossed swords with a Spanish practitioner. To that end, I offer you Angelo’s plate 43 from his 1783 publication: