In fencing doctrine, defense consists of two classes of actions: parries and evasions. Parries are fairly obvious – the set of possible blade actions that prevent or delay an attack landing on the fencer by contact with the opponent’s blade, typically numbered after the guard positions and lines they close. …
Modern fencing is all about the distance. If an opponent can close, accelerating to critical distance, the distance at which you cannot avoid an attack, you are in a fair way to being hit. If you can open distance at the critical moment you can force the opponent’s attack to…
This week we will focus on the riposte and on what creates the opportunity for the riposte, the parry. It is tempting to think of the parry and riposte as a parry-riposte, and, therefore, as a defensive action. After all, parries are defensive actions intended to keep you from being…
Fencing depends on two things: (1) being able to do what you want to do, and (2) getting the other fencer to do what you want him to do. If you can make your opponent’s actions predictable by getting him to do what you want him to do, allowing you…
Yes, yes, any number of fencing masters over the centuries have proposed one or more versions of a universal parry – a parry that stops all attacks. That is not what this blog entry discusses. Rather we are focused on two parries which are present in all three weapons, which…
How we defend against takings of the blade varies from weapon to weapon, and can be divided into four approaches: avoidance, withdrawal, counterattack, and ceding parry. Each has specific conditions under which it is most effective, and each has limitations. The simplest, avoidance, is based on not presenting a straight arm and extended…
Defense against a well delivered compound attack with the correct timing and distance is a difficult proposition. To get to a defense we first need to understand what a compound attack is. The simple definition is an attack executed in more than one tempo, starting with a feint and ending…