Revez
Revez
Literally: backhand cut
Revez is a backward cut with the two-handed montante sword, made bottom-up on the edge opposite to talho, documented in Figueyredo in 1651.
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Revez is a cut with the two-handed montante sword, rendered in modern reconstructions as backhand cut, that is a backward or reverse cut. It is made bottom-up (de baixo para cima) on the edge of the blade opposite to talho, a direct cut, and is accompanied by the corresponding step. The cutting edge distinguishes the two techniques from each other. It is documented in the treatise of Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo, Memorial da Prattica do Montante, from 1651, already in Rule I: „hũ revez cortando de tras com o outro fio do montante… de baixo para cima". It also appears in others of the treatise's 16 simple and 16 compound rules (regras). In Rules II and XIII it stands in the combination revez cingido, circling revez, where cingido is merely a qualifier, not an independent technique name. Revez serves as an attacking cut and regularly alternates with talho in step sequences. The treatise's conclusion sums this up in the principle that revezes give rise to further revezes and talhos to further talhos.