The Ultimate Sottano (Upward Cut) Training Tip

[@ianhathaway602]

Thank you, great instruction! I was really impressed by your sottani in the last sparring video. Glad to see I was not the only one :)

[@FedericoMalagutti]

You are welcome! And thank you ;-)

[@mushus001]

C'est un régal de vous visionner ^^. Bonne continuation.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Merci!

[@Druid_Ignacy]

Thank you very much for that video. I already started training this action, but now I know how to add important details and if I do it correctly, and also I am encouraged to train it from parry too :)

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Good!! You are welcome!

[@TurulHEMA]

My favorite colpi from posta longa is the mandrito sottano. I notice here that you use primarily the reverso sottano. A key difference is that I begin the action from longa without pulling my sword back towards my body. I have had difficulties landing the reverso sottano, so I am interested in trying out your method in sparring.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Try it out. The problem of the sottani is that, for our brain, is counter intuitive to move backward to move forward again. If we have in mind the starting point and the ending point only, or brain just connects the two images and does a terrible job. Instead if we create another coordinate, it can triangulate the movement in a better way ;-)

[@FedericoMalagutti]

I even suggest you to try out the mandritto too in this way, it makes easier to land a stronger blow and, with the practice, as the movement is mechanically better for our joints, it tends to speed up! Anyway, the Mandritto may be landed also while keeping the hands more extended, ending is Bicorno, but of course it results in a more "softy" cut in some ways, which is ok, just different.

[@TurulHEMA]

@@FedericoMalagutti That is an interesting concept of how our brains interpret measure and cutting. I never thought of it like that, but it makes sense. I agree that the strike can be "softy" if it ends in bicorno. To overcome this I take a large advance forward and almost run past my opponent as the sottano targets the body of the opponent. I feel it fixes some of the mechanics of the cut. I hosted a tournament yesterday. I believe I have some examples of what I am talking about. I will make a video soon.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@TurulHEMA cool! looking forward to it!!!

[@ricebadger758]

Great quality content as always! Can you please cover porta di ferro? Fiore describes it as a good guard for waiting, kinda rare to find sparring videos showing this guard in action.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

I really like porta di ferro, is one of my favorite guards. I’ll shoot a video in the future ;-)

[@Vindrows]

👍

[@yoavnissen8390]

Do you have or will you do a video about fiore or Italian in general guards?

[@FedericoMalagutti]

There are many ways to watch at a guard. As a starting position, as a transitional position, as an invitation, parry, starting platform for cuts and thrust etc. So it depends what you are in search fore, guards are widespread around my channel. If you have a specific request, like: Just show the form of every guard. Ask it without any problem and I’ll consider to shoot a video on the topic!

[@yoavnissen8390]

@@FedericoMalagutti guards as a starting position and their names, ways to cut & thrust from them.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@yoavnissen8390 very good!

[@silverswordguy4191]

I have a lot of trouble generating the correct power with this cut. If you were fighting in gambeson, would this cut actually be able to do any significant damage? How can I increase the power of this cut without sacrificing edge alignment?

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Well, exactly by following what I do in the video. That said, sottani are ideal to cut arms and armpits, going for the chest isn’t a good idea. If you find your sottano still “not good enough” try to check if you are following the movement with body and footwork or not. That said, the main issue which afflicts sottani generally speaking is the one I describe and fix in this video, namely an arch movement too short which don’t involves shoulders and elbows enough.

[@silverswordguy4191]

@@FedericoMalagutti Thank you! As always, your videos are awesome and informative!

[@FedericoMalagutti]

@@silverswordguy4191 you are welcome. Try out this things for a couple of months if you like, and let me know if your sottano power improves ;-) Cheers

[@catsultan949]

think of your body pushing the sword off the ground. Its actually more powerful than a regular downward cut since it is easier to put your whole body into it.