The Deception of the Coda Lunga Distesa

1587-12-29
Sala d’Armi, Bonona

Master Maros set us into a posture he called the Coda Lunga Distesa — the Long Extended Tail.

Unlike the high or shoulder guards I knew in the Empire, this one stretches the arm forward, point low toward the foe, shoulders open, weight centered, front knee soft. At first it felt exposed, as if I were offering my hand to be cut.

Maros smiled. That is its purpose. The posture invites the mistake. When the cut comes for the hand, you slide the forward foot back along a ray of the eight-pointed star, let the blade pass the line, and answer at once: a straight thrust as the hips turn, or a short rising cut that finds the withdrawing arm.

He showed how the extended point governs measure, keeping the opponent honest, and how a whisper of the wrist can provoke without committing. “Hold the space,” he said. “Make him pay to enter, then charge him double to leave.”

It was a lesson in patience and guile. I remembered the hermit’s warnings against anger and saw that cunning is another road to victory. Holding the Coda Lunga Distesa felt like sustaining a note on my lute just before the melody turns—tension gathering, the resolution sweeter for the wait.