Scott Edward West

“Guard yourself against parrying, if need befalls you it will tire you.’2 Therefore every fighter should be accustomed to be the first to attack and finish, for if a fighter watches and waits for his opponent, he rarely comes away without shame, or at the very least he does not achieve much. A true fighter does not parry much unless there is some great advantage: ‘And when the opponent strikes so he strikes too; if the opponent thrusts then he thrusts too; if the opponent steps, he steps also.’3 For when two matched strokes come together, they bring their <8v> parrying with them; and when someone cuts from above and you cut against it with a Thwart, then you parry and hit at the same time. Likewise you shall pay attention to simultaneous cutting and take good heed of your advantage in it.”
― Joachim Meyer, The Art of Sword Combat: A 1568 German Treatise on Swordmanship