LESSONS AND DRILLS 1

LESSONS AND DRILLS 1 - BODY POSITION ON GUARD

The basic body position from which we do everything in fencing is the Guard position. A well balanced and comfortable Guard position ensures that you can move rapidly, defend yourself against attack with your blade and with footwork, and initiate effective attacks, even after a series of advances.

To assume the basic guard position:

(1) place your feet together at a 90 degree angle with the foot of your dominant hand forward.

(2) step forward with your dominant foot a distance approximately equal to the width of your shoulders. Check to make sure that your feet remain in an L shape with a line toe of the dominant foot-heel of the dominant foot-hell of the other foot in a straight line. Practice lining this up on a straight line on the floor. Do not let your front foot migrate inward (toward your stomach) or outward (toward your back). Both feet should be flat on the floor.

(3) sit down comfortably so that your weight is equally distributed between your front and rear legs. Shift your weight forward and backward until you can feel the even balance point.

(4) keep your torso upright (not leaning forward or backward), relaxed, turned at about a 45 degree angle across your legs. Your neck should be straight, your head level, looking forward down the strip at your opponent.

(5) keep your spine vertical, with your posterior tucked under.

(6) your weapon arm (your dominant one) should be held about the distance between your extended thumb and middle finger out from your body (approximately 6 to 9 inches), with the elbow tucked in so that the arm is parallel and above the L formed by your feet - it should be parallel to your front thigh. The arm should be slightly raised from your elbow to your hand, perhaps 10 degrees up.

(7) your other arm should be raised so that it is approximately at shoulder level with the forearm approximately vertical and the hand forward, completely relaxed - the aim is to have no tension in the back arm beyond the absolutely minimum of muscular effort to keep it in position on guard. The back arm should fall in the line formed by the angle of your torso so that front shoulder-back shoulder-elbow is approximately a straight line.

In this position raise your torso and lower it by bending your legs to find a comfortable position.

First week: Perform the following drill once a day:

(1) from a relaxed standing position, sit down on guard.

(2) check all of the elements of the position listed above - adjust as necessary.

(3) stand up, take two or three steps, and repeat for 10 times. You should be on the same level each time when you assume your on guard. Rest and repeat for 3 sets of 30 on guards.

Second week: Perform the drill as described above, but in the last 5 repetitions practice sitting down slightly lower that in the previous 25 times - to the point where you feel some tension in your leg muscles.