Practical Destreza (Spanish rapier) - Part 4: Basic Atajo 1 techniques
- HEMA 101 admin
- Jun 6
- 7 min read
Atajo 1 is a bind over the opponent's sword with your sword in the Obtuse angle (hilt low, tip high), made from the inside, and with a step to the left.
To gain the Atajo, at middle distance you angle your blade over theirs while simultaneously dropping your hilt a little but raising your tip. You get the 3rd of your blade over their 2nd (i.e. your mid-strong over their mid-weak). Rada says we should shift the weight onto our right foot, then drop the hilt even lower to lock in the Atajo more firmly as we step to our left, remaining at middle distance.
Rada tells us that the opponent may try to free his/her sword, perhaps with a backwards step. In this case we shouldn't try to attack them or bind their sword more strongly, we should instead shift into a defensive posture (whatever is best) and form a virtual Atajo. In other words, we form an Obtuse or Acute Atajo without touching their sword, but nonetheless presenting a defence that they need to go around.
Rada says we should never step into the circle unless we have the Atajo.
Rada describes 10 first intention (i.e. try to hit with the first attack) techniques from Atajo 1 done from afar, 3 second intention attacks from afar, 8 first intentions from up close, and 5 second intention attacks from up close. Each of these is described in painful levels of detail, making reference to the 'pyramid', which is actually a cone. Now, although the cone seems to be described by the fencer on the right's sword, the numbers around the cone seem to be from the perspective of fencer from the left, so the numbers go clockwise. If I point my sword up then I am on the 2nd line, down is 6, up and left is 9, up and right is 4, etc. 1st line is straight at the opponent.
In this post I will cover the 10 'first intention from afar' techniques, plus a few bonus ones.
First intention techniques from afar
1) A high thrust in opposition in Atajo 1
When we form Atajo 1, we are instructed to have our sword in the line of 2-6 in the pyramid; hilt is low, point is high, and we point our sword over theirs (3 on 2) towards the 9th line of the pyramid, meaning we are no longer pointing our sword at their body.
Continue pointing in the same direction and take a 3-foot step to your left with your left foot. Keep contact with the sword.
Lastly, you step forwards or diagonally-left and you thrust the opponent while gliding up their blade with yours. The thrust is made above their hilt.
Then retreat with a diagonal step away to the left (not shown in the image).
A broad lesson here is that, in Atajo 1, although your sword is pointing offline initially, the act of moving left gets your sword online again.
2) A low thrust in opposition in Atajo 1 (Quarter circle)
Also called the 'quarter circle', this is very similar to the flanconade in French smallsword. Do as you would do for the high thrust, but if the opponent's hilt remains high so that you cannot easily thrust over it, as you deliver the thrust you will drop the tip of your sword over their blade to the outside, and you will thrust underneath their blade in an Acute angle.
In Figure 5, notice how the thrust is delivered with orange's blade above blue's blade, but orange's tip below blue's hilt.
3) Another low thrust in opposition in Atajo 1 (Half circle)
This is basically the same as above. I think the difference is about how far around your opponent's hilt you are thrusting. Directly under? Half circle. More to the left side? Quarter circle.
4) Estrechar, or to tighten: A full circle back to Atajo 1 (inclusion, or envelopment)
Atajo 1, step to the left as before, now make a rotation around the weak of their sword with your hilt, in a spiralling-outward motion applying continuous pressure to the opponent's sword.
When done in Atajo 1, this brings the opponent's sword back to your left side, and you can take a step forwards and thrust in opposition.
5) Weak under the strong
in Atajo 1, if you perform an envelopment like in the previous technique but only as a semi-circle, your opponent's sword is now on your right side, and has escaped the bind. This allows you to make a free thrust with another step to the left (rather than a thrust in opposition) underneath their hilt, raising your own hilt high enough (into the 3rd line of the pyramid, i.e. top right) to provide some protection.
The broad lesson here is that in Atajo 1 a full envelopment keeps your opponent's sword trapped on your left side, but a half-envelopment frees it.
6) A reverse cut
Perform the Atajo and the half-envelope as above. Once their sword is on your right side, drop your blade and perform cut from above-left at their face with a rotation of your wrist (i.e. a moulinet or tramazzone). You need to relax the sword in your hand to free it from underneath their blade. Perform this vigorously and with a step to the left, and retreat with a step away and left as normal.
7) A half cut
This one is a little hard to understand from the description, but I believe it is a full envelopment from Atajo 1, and as you are completing the evelopment and coming back to having the opponent's sword on the left of your sword, turn your point towards the 3rd line of the pyramid (about 2'oclock, or upper right) and, while continuing to step forwards-left and putting pressure on their blade, cut to their head while sliding down their blade.
Basically, form the Atajo with a step to the left. Now try to perform an evelopment of their blade. When the evelopment is nearly finished, cut at their head while stepping forwards/left and maintaining control of their blade. Now retreat. It took me a few attempts for it to click.
It is a half cut because you do not perform a moulinet, unlike in the previous technique.
The variation in the video below is made more as a supression on their blade rather than a cut to the head, but it is similar.
8) A diagonal thrust - or an expulsion and thrust
This is simply a very vigorous half-envelopment. It could also be done as a beat. The beat is a little more straight forward to understand.
From Atajo 1. If they disengage under your sword and attempt to thrust at you, then forcibly drop the tip of your weapon down in an anti-clockwise fashion while raising your hilt, and beat their sword to your right. Now give them a free thrust with a diagonal step to your left.
You can also do the same thing but as an envelopment (or a semi-envelopment).
9) A diagonal cut - or an expulsion and cut
I'm not sure I understand what Rada means for this one. I believe it is simply an expulsion as above, but instead of attacking with a nice quick thrust, you instead attack with a full cut (a rotation of the wrist). Indeed, Rada writes that people think this attack takes too long compared to the thrust, but Rada thinks they are safe to do if done from the Atajo.
10) A vertical cut to the wrist or arm
This is the same as technique 6 but made to the arm instead of the head.
Bonus techniques
The movement of conclusion
The movement of conclusion is effectively a disarm or perhaps more accurately a grapple that allows you to wound your opponent at will or - ideally - force a surrender.
Start by forming the Atajo on the inside as before.
Now step to the left with your right foot in front of the left, keeping to the diameter of the shared circle.
Now step with your left foot once more along the circle and turn towards the opponent and
grab the hilt of their sword, or their arm, or even their blade close to their hilt.
You should now have control of their sword and can do whatever you want with your own sword, such as dropping it over and under their blade in order to try to disarm them or thrust the lower right of their body.
Figure 6 isn't perfect but hopefully gets the general technique across.
There are variations of this that might result in your delivering a cut or a different type of thrust.
A change from Atajo 1 to Atajo 2
When forming Atajo 1, the opponent may try to escape by disengaging under the blade, or cutting around over the blade. Your response is to change from Atajo 1 to Atajo 2, simply by redirecting your blade to the right in the Obtuse angle, and perhaps taking a small step to your left.
A change from Atajo 1 to Atajo 5
Atajo 5 is formed with the hilt high and tip low. It is a sort of hanging guard where you are blocking the opponent's sword but from below. Your hilt needs to be high enough to protect your head.
Start in Atajo 1. If your opponent disengages under your blade, drop your tip, raise your hilt and reorient your body so your sword is now facing to the right side underneath theirs.
This might sound odd at first. In the last image, orange is now standing like the fencer on the right in Figure 9.
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