Footwork as the Foundation of Fencing

Basic footwork is one of the most critical and fundamental factors in becoming a strong fencer.  Without the ability to hold your body in the right posture, move forward and backwards, or adjust to your opponents movements your fencing ability is going to be limited. The footwork is a basic building block in the triangle of footwork, sword play, and mental conditioning. 

Footwork: The movement of the body back and forth. Leads to lunges, attacks, and defense. 

Sword play: The ability to move your arm and swords in coordination with your footwork. The more agile your wrists and quick your arms the more likely you can create movements that attack and defend. 

Mental Conditioning: The ability to attack in defend is based on the recognition of movements and having a battery of responses. The time it takes to condition the mind to integrate recognition and reaction will determine the natural skill that leads to pinpointed actions. 

Professional fencers go back and review their footwork on a regular basis as this is the very foundation of their sport.  New fencers hate spending time in this boring occupation of going back and forth but it is necessary to integrate the movements so they are automatic. Some instructors may allow for some swordplay to reduce the boredom. The goal is to integrate all of the actions together to create relaxed, fluid, and well thought out movements.

Introducing the Fencing Flick

The fencing flick is a move that would likely make the traditionalists cringe when seeing it in tournament. The action is so quick fencers have a hard time formulating a proper defense. It is not generally taught at the college level under traditional curriculum and came into existence after the invention of the electronic fencing sword. Because it is not widely known or taught it can be a powerful tool to overcoming an opponent’s defenses. 

The flick occurs when an attacker moves his arm and foil to hit his opponent but just before full extension flicks his wrist making the blade swish. Since the foil is long and slim it has the ability of bend and creating a wrapping action. This fly fishing motion causes the tip to bend allowing it to hit the opponent on the back or shoulder. Such an attack may also work on the front but is most commonly as a way of throwing your opponent out of balance. 

The defense against a flick often includes using a modified sabre quinte (90 degrees from the axis of the body) and a ducking motion. The other method includes a parry 10 which is exercised moving the blade so that it runs just above your shoulder to the point behind the head to deflect the attack. Immediately the fencer should swirl the sword to try and obtain a strike on your opponent to create a fluid defense and attack motion. 

Another method of countering the flick is to close the gap of distance between you and the opponent. When this gap is narrowed the opponent’s tip of the blade will be off target allowing for a possible strike of the opponents body. Such a move comes with a price. Once you are close to your opponent and miss your initial attack there will be a furry of effort in order to strike each other. This madness of motion can be a frenzy of attack and parry that speeds up the game. 

The flick is considered an intermediary move that should be learned after the basics have been mastered. Traditional instructors do not have any particular fondness for the flick as it doesn’t fit within the historical context of fencing. 

In true life it would not likely cause much damage as the point of the blade is more like a touch than a stab. However, it does count in the sport of fencing as the right-of-way is claimed once the arm moves forward and the opponent is forced to parry. It takes practice and the right equipment to do the flick well. Some foil blades have additional flexibility that isn’t found in heavy steel. 

The Counter Parry: Contre de Quarte and Sixte

Fencing is a game of skill that is refined within a certain radius of the body. In foil fencing the overall radius is even smaller making the movements more about subtle skill than overpowering your opponent. It is these attacks and counter attacks that make the game interesting to bystanders. Whenever there is an attack there are a number of moves that can be made ranging from moving out of the way to counter attacks. The counter parry is a tactic designed to stop an attack and regain momentum.

The counter parry is considered a more advanced move than the standard parry and riposte. The purpose of the counter parry is to remove the opponent’s blade from blocking an attack or to disrupt a negative rhythm in the game. By using a contre de quarte or contre de sixte it is possible to not only remove the blade but also put oneself in the position of an attack.  This occurs when you have removed the opponent’s momentum and then placed it with yourself by controlling the nature of the effort to the end of the bout.

As the shinny piece of steel wraps itself around its opponents it can either move for narrow or larger parries that have a different impact on the challenger. A large swirl can be unwieldy causing both persons to lose some level of control. It should be attempted when you’re trying to break apart your opponent’s body rhythm. The smaller counter parry is best used to loosen the control of an opponent’s constant attack and try and regain the momentum. 

Contre de quarte moves counter clockwise and the contre de sixte is clockwise. The contre de quarte is generally an awkward move based on the muscles and ligament designs of the wrist. It is suggested that this move be practiced in case of occasional use, but is not part of the standard moves. Contre de sixte is a more natural tactic and generally aligns with body mechanics making it a powerful part of the game. 

The counter parry is designed to be in conjunction with the riposte. Together they are called the counter parry-riposte that is designed to ensure that you are not only stopping the opponents attack but that you have the capacity to also claim the right-of-way and attack again. Together the combination can be deadly to new fencing partners until they have found ways of avoiding the movements.

The counter-parry is something that should be learned once the basics like the lunge, parry and riposte have been mastered. It is these methods that dominate the game and are used by everyone from beginners to masters. However, once the game gets going and people have learned the basics using a counter-parry can change the overall approach and momentum.

The Basics of the Fencing Lunge

The fencing lunge is a basic footwork attack using the three main categories of the foil, saber, and epee. The lunge is a fundamental attack and is characterized by pushing both the front foot and arm forward in an attempt to strike your opponent. With additional blade skills the lunge can be adjusted to create variety of movements from the basic forward motion. To complete the lunge well requires hours of practice but will improve your overall competitive game.

Basic Motion:

From the en garde position the front foot is moved forward from the knee without bending the ankle. The movement of the front leg occurs before the weight of the body is shifted creating less notice to the opponent.  The back leg is used to push the body forward and the rear arm is outstretched downward in order to create a counter balance. The front foot slides into position as the weapon arm is outstretched to strike the target. The front shin should be perpendicular to the ground and both heals firmly planted.

The lung represents everything that is beautiful about fencing. With additional practices and learning of various blade skills the lunge becomes an extremely powerful move. It can be explosive in the sense that seasoned fencers are able to leap large distances in a relatively short time-frame that catches their opponent off garde and unable to counter the power of the attack. 

Defense of Lunge:

The best defense for the lunge is to be prepared for the attack. This occurs by watching the body movement, mechanics, and footwork. An opponent cannot make an effective lunge between steps and is unlikely to have enough power unless their body mechanics are in proper arrangement prior to the movement. Since the lunge is not designed for accuracy the opponent will typically attempt to strike your torso. Thus moving your body slightly inside will throw off the attack. Likewise, quickly reclaiming the right-a-way and allowing the opponent to push themselves into your blade works well. 

The Ending Stance:

The forward arm should be fully extended and slightly above the shoulder. The forward knee should be directly above the heel while the back leg should be extended to its full length with the heel to the ground and the toes perpendicular to the line of the body. The rear arm should be in parallel with the angle of the rear leg. The thumb holding onto the blade should be on top of the grip while the fingers are on the bottom so that the wrist may bend to find its target.  In a perfect world the blade is parallel with the ground to create maximum reach. However, this depends on the movement and height of the target.

Author: Dr. Murad Abel