The Force of Motion and the Three Strokes of Battle
No power without twisting; vary every attitude in a crowd scene
The leaf finishes the argument on winding-up force with a crossbow analogy: a bow that stores no 'violence' can drive nothing, just as a man who neither twists nor bends gains no power, and figure b, having cast his dart, is left twisted and weak. A new chapter on attitude then forbids repeating the same movement within one figure or the same pose within one scene. In a great battle piece, Leonardo notes, striking has only three modes—thrust, backhand and downstroke—which the painter must show from many viewpoints and combine into richer composed movements.
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No motion without stored violence: the crossbow analogy
A crossbow with no violent disposition drives its projectile little or not at all, for where there is no undoing of violence there is no motion. The bow can make no motion until it acquires violence, and in acquiring it drives nothing out; likewise the man who neither twists nor bends has gained no power.
Never repeat the same movement or pose in one scene
The same movements should not be repeated in a single figure—in its limbs, hands or fingers—nor the same attitudes within one narrative scene. Composed movements, of great artifice and liveliness, belong to battle pieces.
The three strokes of battle: thrust, backhand, downstroke
In a very large scene, such as a fray or slaying of soldiers, striking has but three modes: a thrust, a backhand and a downstroke. The painter must contrive that all the downstrokes be shown in various views—some turned to the rear, some to the side, some to the front—so that every other aspect partakes of these three simple movements.