ABSTRACT
Being "on guard" is a notion that has greatly changed throughout history. Nowadays, we say a fencer is on guard when they are in a position that enables them to deliver every possible attack and come to every possible parry while expending the least amount of energy. Prior to the seventeenth century, however, the guard was far less comprehensive. Even the term "guard" is relatively new to the science of swordplay. Prior to the Age of Transition, swordsmen used the term ward to describe their stances assumed with the sword.2 A ward was thought of merely as the preliminary stance for an attack, it was not intended to protect any part of the body as much as it was supposed to threaten the enemy.* "The best defense is a good offense," is a strong way to sum up the old philosophy of the ward.
