La Verdadera Destreza
Spanish fencing that Jerónimo de Carranza and Luis Pacheco de Narváez built on geometry and philosophy. Scholars say the tradition lasted until the 19th century.
Quick Facts
SpainCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for La Verdadera Destreza
About La Verdadera Destreza
La verdadera destreza, the true art of arms, was according to Charles Blair (Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 2015) the prevailing way of handling weapons among Spanish noblemen of the 17th century. It was regarded as a liberal, not a mechanical art, and according to Blair it rested on Aristotle's philosophy, Euclid's geometry and other liberal arts. The Diccionario Biográfico Español considers Jerónimo Sánchez Carranza de Barreda of Seville the main creator of the Spanish school of fencing. His book on the philosophy of arms was, according to the colophon, completed in 1569 and printed in 1582 in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in the author's house, by order of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. According to Blair, the first great systematizer of the doctrine was Luis Pacheco de Narváez, who taught King Philip IV and, according to DBE, published the book Libro de las grandezas de la espada in 1600. DBE adds that Pacheco later became the most determined opponent of Carranza's method. The main weapon was according to Manuel Valle Ortiz (2018) the sword, alone or with, among others, a dagger, buckler, rotella or cloak, and the principles were meant to suit any weapon. According to Blair, the maestro mayor granted licenses to teach. According to Valle Ortiz, the tradition lasted deep into the 19th century and then fell into oblivion.
History
Jerónimo Sánchez Carranza de Barreda, called Commander Jerónimo de Carranza, was born in Seville in the first half of the 16th century, according to Diccionario Biográfico Español. He studied philosophy and geometry, took a law degree at the University of Osuna, served as a captain and lived in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the service of the seventh Duke of Medina Sidonia. From 1589 to 1594 he was governor of the province of Honduras. The colophon of his book states that it was completed in 1569 and printed in 1582 in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The DBE considers the 1569 edition doubtful, because the 1582 print contains an approval from 1571 and a royal license from 1582.
Read more
Luis Pacheco de Narváez was born around 1570 in Baeza and died on 5 December 1640 in Madrid, according to the DBE. He taught King Philip IV to handle weapons as maestro mayor del Rey. His name first appeared in print in 1600 in the book Libro de las grandezas de la espada, which the DBE gives with the printer Varez de Castro. Darío Sánchez García (Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 2022) cites an edition from 1605. According to Charles Blair, he composed his last major work, Nueva ciencia, in 1635, and it was published posthumously in 1672. The tradition lasted deep into the 19th century, according to Manuel Valle Ortiz (2018). Manuel Antonio de Brea signed himself in 1805 as maestro mayor and examiner of all in the kingdom, Simón de Frías published in Mexico in 1809 a treatise on sabre fencing according to Destreza, and José Cucala y Bruño in 1854 a manual including sabre fencing for infantry.
How it differs
Diccionario Biográfico Español contrasts Carranza's system based on mathematics with the earlier system, which could largely be summed up as handling weapons by force. Gérard Thibault d'Anvers based his system on Destreza and described it in the work Académie de l'Espée, written in 1628 and first printed in 1630. From the second half of the 17th century, according to Charles Blair (2015), the Italian school that the Spanish increasingly encountered was the Neapolitan school of sword and dagger. Authors such as Pérez de Mendoza, Guerra de la Vega, Arrieta, Tamariz, Ettenhard and Rada reacted to it. Pacheco discussed Italian fencing in his Nueva ciencia.
Technique
Charles Blair (Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 2015) claims that la verdadera destreza was not so much a system of fencing as a systematic approach to self-defense in the manner of a science. According to him, the basic principle is to break symmetry with the opponent (desigualdad), for example when one fencer is turned sideways and the other faces front. According to Blair, Antonio Yuste Tuer names four general techniques corresponding to the two edges and two flats of the blade. Pacheco's book Libro de las grandezas de la espada explains footwork, according to Darío Sánchez García (2022), through many figures made of lines and points around two swords. Later authors describe a common circle, whose radius is usually counted as four Castilian feet. Gérard Thibault, a Dutch master who based his system on Destreza according to Majár and Várhelyi (2015), builds on the so-called mysterious circle and derives the length of the sword from the height and proportions of the fencer. The main weapon was, according to Manuel Valle Ortiz (2018), the sword, alone or among others with the dagger, buckler, rotella or cloak. According to him, the principles were meant to suit any weapon, and the montante, flail and polearms are explicitly mentioned.
Training
According to Diccionario Biográfico Español, Carranza taught in Castile and Portugal. He reportedly was fencing master to the Duke of Medina Sidonia and taught King Sebastian of Portugal. Often in public he demonstrated, with theoretical commentary, the strikes, steps, stances and evasions of destreza. Rada, according to Charles Blair (Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 2015), defined la verdadera destreza as a habit acquired by science-based practice, for defense and attack in combat between two opponents.
Ranks and progression
The maestro mayor of Spain had, according to Charles Blair (Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 2015), the authority to grant licenses to teach and to permit the publication of books. Juan Caro de Montenegro, for example, challenged parts of Ettenhard's treatise from 1675 before it could be published. Blair also mentions regional deputies of the maestro mayor, for example Nicolás Tamariz for Seville. Pacheco de Narváez published, according to Diccionario Biográfico Español, in 1625 the book Modo fácil y nuevo para examinarse los maestros en la destreza de las armas, about the examination of fencing masters. Green (2001) states that in 1478 the royal court established a special category of examiner masters. Leguina (1904) writes that Spanish fencing masters were organized from 1478 and that, under a regulation of 24 June 1478, they paid two Castilian doblas for the examination.
Today
The Destreza tradition, according to Manuel Valle Ortiz (Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 2018), fell into oblivion in the 19th century and was replaced by other schools of fencing. Today researchers study it. Darío Sánchez García (2022) states that his analysis of footwork diagrams lets the techniques of Pacheco's book be put accurately into practice. According to Blair, critical editions of Destreza sources are published by AGEA in Santiago de Compostela. The HEMA census in Acta Periodica Duellatorum (2021) states that rapier was practiced in Germany at 41 of 124 venues, but it does not distinguish between Destreza and Italian rapier.
Did you know
According to the Diccionario Biográfico Español, the characters of Carranza's dialogue are encrypted members of the Seville intellectual elite, and Cervantes praises Carranza in La Galatea. According to the DBE, Pacheco was mocked by Quevedo in Buscón and other works, and they remained lifelong enemies. Green (2001) states that the Spaniards carried Destreza to America and the Philippines and that an opinion has appeared according to which present-day Filipino martial arts mix native systems with Spanish techniques. According to Charles Blair, Rada mockingly described Diego Rodríguez de Guzmán in the title of his reply as a fencing master, a graduate of the university of deceit.
Styles & Branches
Frequently asked questions
Who founded La Verdadera Destreza?
The Diccionario Biográfico Español considers Jerónimo Sánchez Carranza de Barreda of Seville to be the chief creator of the Spanish school of fencing. According to the colophon, his book was completed in 1569 and printed in 1582. According to Charles Blair, the first great systematizer of the doctrine was Luis Pacheco de Narváez, who later became, according to the DBE, the most determined opponent of Carranza's method.
Why is Destreza described as a science?
Charles Blair states that it regarded itself as a liberal, not a mechanical art and was built on Aristotle's philosophy and Euclid's geometry. According to him, it was rather a systematic approach to self-defense in the manner of a science than a system of fencing.
How long was Destreza taught?
According to Manuel Valle Ortiz, the tradition lasted deep into the 19th century. As late as 1854 José Cucala y Bruño published a manual as an examiner in Destreza, after which the tradition fell into oblivion.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.