Recently a colleague (Chuck Alexander, a Prevot and very accomplished epee fencer) sent me a slide deck to review and comment on. As I read through the slides, I realized that it was perhaps important to review in this blog some thoughts on tempo and distance. First let me postulate…
The parry is a complex activity that can be described in a number of ways. Barbasetti defined the parry conceptually as an action which is aimed to defeat the opponent’s attack. That has come to be interpreted as a specific family of blade actions – blade contact by the blade…
(18) Question – what does the parry prepare? ANSWER – the riposte.
Question – from the referee’s perspective what is the difference between a beat and a parry?Answer – a beat is an offensive action that strikes the opponent’s blade on the outer two-thirds of its length from the guard. A parry is an action that defeats the opponent’s by interposing the inner one-third…
I have addressed distance a number of times over the years in this blog. Today I am going to summarize my current thinking and suggest how distance interfaces with tactics. First – distance is often defined in terms of how far one fencer is from another on the piste. The…
QUESTION – what are the basic parries in each weapon? And what lines do they defend? ANSWER – FOIL AND EPEE – 6th outside high line, 4th inside high line, 7th inside low line, 8th outside low line ANSWER – SABRE – 3rd outside high line, 5th head and high…
In modern fencing we typically classify fencing actions as offense, defense, and counteroffense. The objective of offense is to hit – it includes the simple and compound attacks, the attacks on the blade and takings of the blade, the riposte, and the renewals of the attack. Defense attempts to prevent…
Envelopes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and are used to convey a wide variety of things. In this post we are talking about envelopes in fencing, specifically your tactical envelope, what it is made of, and how it is used. The concept of a tactical envelope is…
Fencing is a complicated sport. There is a lot to know – the current United States edition of the Rule Book runs to 210 pages, the Athlete’s Handbook another 143. Surely we should know all those rules and procedures? The history of the sport is long and rich. Shouldn’t we…
Recently, in conversation with my colleague, Maitre Gil Pezza, I was introduced to the idea of lost time. It reminded me that I have long had an interest in real time in fencing and in the relationship between efficient use of time and the ability to hit. So in this…