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frindley commented on the word balestra
A fencing move, sometimes known as a "jump lunge".
Basic instructions can be found on eHow. These amusingly begin with: "Things You'll Need: Fencing gear".
August 27, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word balestra
Is this like ballestra? Spelling variation?
August 27, 2008
frindley commented on the word balestra
Well Nike have called their fencing shoe the "Ballestra", but as far as I can tell, all the reputable fencing websites spell it with the single "l". Indeed, one fencing forum discussing the Nike shoe correct the spelling and refer to it as the "Balestra".
But the clincher seems to reside in my Italian dictionary, where a "balestra" is defined as a crossbow, which really is an extremely apt way of thinking about this particular move.
Finally, though, in the process of pursuing spelling, I found this little video demonstrating a bal(l)estra. The commentary is kind of annoying (simplistic) and the demonstration not very inspiring, but it more or less conveys the idea.
August 28, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word balestra
Oh, thanks for tracking down all that debate. I copied the spelling from a reprint of an old book. But I'll add the other spelling to my list.
August 28, 2008