In all three weapons the beat is an effective preparation for both simple and compound attacks. So, it is important to understand what it is and how it is used most effectively. First, the obvious simple definition – a beat is an attack on the opponent’s blade with percussion to…
We have attacks – the objective is to hit the opponent. We have defense – the objective is to hit the opponent. We have counteroffense – so what do you think the objective is? Yes, you are correct – to hit the opponent. So what is counteroffense? We can define…
So there you are, on the piste, with a perfectly beatable opponent in front of you. And yet you are down 1-3, and nothing is working. You just tried your best, and most complicated, piece of blade work, the opponent literally laughed at you, and then hit you. You have…
It used to be that contact between the fencer’s blades was the expected part of any bout – many felt that without engagement at the start it was impossible to actually fence. The development of sentiment de fer (the ability to sense the opponent’s intentions through contact with his or…
Last week we discussed how to develop continual pressure on an opponent through continued, forward moving attack. This week we look at the other side of that scenario – what to do when the opponent is chasing you. The first and most important rule is to stay relaxed under the pressure…
If you owned a car that could only drive at one speed, say 37.7 miles per hour, how useful would that be? Or maybe one that could only drive at 99 miles per hour, regardless of the speed limit? What about an airplane or a boat or a motorcycle or…
You are out on the piste in the midst of a critical bout in the Upper-No-Place Open. You just scored to bring the score to 2-2, and scoring the next touch makes you (1) the first to three hits, an important point in the bout, (2) up one on…
Understanding fencing requires that you understand the idea of building blocks. As children we played with wooden blocks of various sizes and shapes, plastic bricks, legos, Lincoln logs – all of which kept us engaged because we could put them together in various ways to make something the same or something…
A stop hit or stop cut is a simple offensive blade action executed as counteroffense to land before the start of the final action of the opponent’s attack (in right of way weapons) or within the 80 millisecond window of possible lockout times in epee (1/25th of a second, or 40…
Surprise is the creation of unexpected conditions that (1) hamper or defeat the opponent’s actions and/or (2) facilitate successful actions by the fencer. Surprise may be strategic or tactical. Strategic Surprise involves changes in conditioning and physical performance, technical skill, tactical skill, or mental skill from one mesocycle (a training cycle…