Decresere is essentially stepping back, retreating. In Italian Decresere literally means to decrease, and so it can also refer to moving your arms back or out of the way as well. When you retreat it’s often to keep a distance and measure, measure is the distance you want your opponent at to actually reach and strike them. One of the tools we have as swordfighters is committing to actions even when retreating. That means not only can we parry, but riposte and attack as well. It can be difficult as you must keep good footwork so you don’t lose balance or strength, the timing must be perfect. You can move into an action as you’re stepping backward, but the bind, strike or parry (contact) must be executed when both feet are on the ground. This gives you the strength to actually carry out the action. Practice fendente’s and thrusts, as you retreat, to interrupt or even take down your opponent. This video shows an aggressive thrust from me that got effectively defended, however then as the opponent in red pushes forward and applies pressure with a cut, I (the fencer in black) turns my parry into a cut, which then turns into a thrust! When contact with the opponent is made, I then stood my ground, ended the Decresere and the fencer in red ran himself through my blade. Practice action in your retreat slowly, controlled, then go faster. Understand you need to have these moves memorized in your body, otherwise you may have a tendency to flail or lose control during the retreat. Retreat is not losing, it’s resetting, and even in a retreat, you can set your opponent up to lose!

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