Duelling- Basic Information

Chapter 1

Duelling is an art. An art of offense and defense which involves quick thinking, wit and wisdom, agility, knowledge, precision and accuracy, and magical spellcasting abilities and proficiency in various other forms of magic.

To duel means to fight a single opponent or engage in a combat with another person or persons for various reasons. It could be for practice, as a contest, a pre-decided arrangement for settling a dispute or proving a point, for entertainment, for self-protection and protection of others, for protection of pride or possessions or property or for reasons of offense or defense.

Duelling can be formal or informal. Formal duelling is done following the rules of engagement whereas informal duelling is done without any rules. Both these types have definitions and there is a lot to talk about both these types of duels. Duelling can also happen for various reasons. However, in this book, I will not talk about these things, as you can learn about these in your Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. This book is meant to be a catalogue of ideas and information that may help in actual on-the-field duelling and is also not a replacement for magical knowledge or any Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. Speaking of the reasons for which duelling may happen, as you start living on your own outside the Hogwarts castle in the wizarding world, or even during your days at Hogwarts outside classes, you will not need to know the reasons but will find yourself often faced with situations demanding your duelling skills, sometimes, even unexpectedly. If you come from a pureblood wizarding family or are acquainted with the magical world, you probably know better what I mean. No one can avoid duelling atleast in some form in the wizarding world and atleast once in life, so it is better to be prepared, with this important life skill in the wizarding world.

Since duelling is an art and not an exact science, you will have your own flair at duelling, you will be more suited to certain duelling methods and your duelling aptitude will largely depend on you and your personality. The art of duelling cannot be exactly taught, only the means for duelling such as duelling spells and duelling stances can be taught. To use them to the best of your advantage will always be upto you. Duelling is an art form that needs to be modified, experimented upon, retouched,  and shaped for use according to one's own personality, and coupled with one's own morals and ethics, to form one's own art form of duelling, which will best aid one in situations in their life in the wizarding world that call upon their art of duelling. This is not to say that duelling theory is to be taken lightly, you need to know to be able to do. But, you also need to recognize the fluidity and flexibility of the art of duelling. However, for the same reason, different people will have different duelling tips for you and people with different knowledge levels may have the same or different duelling aptitudes. You will catch on to your own duelling tips too. But one thing that will help the most is practice. In this book, I have some of MY duelling tips for you, that is, tips that I caught on to while duelling. These may come in handy to you, guide you, be helpful to you and be used by you, or help you find your own duelling tips, as they are or modified by you. This book also has some means of duelling for you and me arranged together in one place which you and I may use when our duelling proficiency is called upon in the wizarding world, though when to use these means and why to use these means, and to choose the right means at the right time, will still largely depend on you and me and the circumstances we face in the wizarding world.