GURPSよろず

Defensive Grip
A fighter with at least two hands and a one- or twohanded melee weapon can use a “strong” two-handed grip that sacrifices side-to-side movement for frontal defense. To assume or relinquish a Defensive Grip requires a Ready maneuver (see Ready, p. 101-104).
A warrior using a Defensive Grip has his weapon firmly in front of him in two hands. He holds a two-handed weapon, like a staff, across his body. For any weapon, this grip gives +1 to parry attacks from the front but an extra -1 to parry attacks from the side (for a net -3; see Defending Against Attacks from the Side, p. B390).
If using a one-handed weapon, Defensive Grip involves placing a second hand on the weapon. This hand must be empty. The extra hand makes it awkward to use normal onehanded strikes but adds power: -2 to attack rolls, +1 to damage. Treat the weapon as two-handed for all purposes. When using this grip with a fencing weapon (a weapon with “F” in its Parry statistic), it becomes possible to parry flails at the usual penalties.
If using a two-handed weapon, Defensive Grip involves moving one hand forward to “choke” the weapon or grip it by the ricasso. This effectively reinforces the weapon, giving -1 to odds of breakage. It also greatly narrows the possible arc of a swing, giving -2 to hit with a Wild Swing (for a net -7; see Wild Swings, p. B388) and less power with swinging attacks: -2 damage or -1 damage per die, whichever is worse.
Treat a weapon that can be used one- or two-handed – such as a bastard sword or a spear – as two-handed for this purpose.
A warrior with a sword of any kind can instead opt to place a hand just behind the tip, as part of his Ready to a Defensive Grip or using a later Ready. The rules above apply for everything except reach and damage: regardless of the sword, reach drops to C (“close combat only”) and damage becomes thrust impaling – or thrust crushing, if blunt. Swung attacks are impossible. This allows superior point control, removing -2 from the penalty to target chinks in armor, cumulative with any similar benefit the weapon grants.
A fighter using a Defensive Grip can select any maneuver – even All-Out Attack (but not the Long option) or Committed Attack. Deceptive Attack (p. B369), Rapid Strike (p. B370), Telegraphic Attack (p. 113), and Tip Slash (p. 113) likewise remain viable.