Advanced Fencing Techniques E-Book

Ed Rogers

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Advanced Fencing Techniques records the vast coaching knowledge accumulated over many years from one of fencing's great masters, Bert Bracewell. The book will not only help the aspiring fencer improve, but also the established fencer who may be looking for new ideas and techniques for their training. Step-by-step colour photography and diagrams cover advanced techniques for foil, sabre and epee. The book presents valuable coaching material, exercises and drills to expand a fencer's range of activities and knowledge, challenging habitual practices. Equipment and rules changes over the years have shown fencers that they must adapt with the times. Advanced Fencing Techniques offers a unique collection of insights, which can be used to develop new fencers, as well as providing a repository of knowledge for the future. A record of the coaching knowledge accumulated over may years from Bert Bracewell, one of fencing's great masters. Will insprie the advanced fencer with new ideas and techniques and help the aspiring fencer to improve; of interest to coaches too. An instructional manual that gives valuable coaching material, exercises and drills.Superbly illustrated with 160 step-by-step colour photographs and diagrams. Ed Rogers is a vereran Scottish International and is on the list of examiners for the British Academy of Fencing in Scotland.

Leseprobe

ADVANCED Fencing Techniques

Discussions with Bert Bracewell

Copyright

First published in 2013 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2013

© Ed Rogers 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 593 5

Front cover: Senior World Championships, Paris, 2010, Women’s Individual Foil final. Elisa Di Francisca (right) and Arianna Errigo (left). (Photo: Graham Morrison) Back cover: Senior World Championships, Paris, 2010, Men’s Individual Sabre final, 2010. Woo Young Won (right), beating Nocolas Limbach (left) for gold. (Photo: Graham Morrison) Frontispiece: : Leon Paul International, London, 2011, Men’s Individual Foil final. Tobia Biono (right) and Husayn Rosowsky (left). Rosowsky won. (Photo: Graham Morrison)

Dedications

Ed: This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife Hilary.

Bert: To my wife Joan, for her love and patience; and for her willingness to leave London for Scotland, where she had never even visited, to give me a chance to follow a career I loved. I have had many successes, but fifty-plus years of marriage is my top achievement!

Acknowledgements

Neil Melville (for his review of Fencing: Essential Skills Training); Rebecca Soulen, from Virginia (coaching her at sabre was an introduction to American fencing notation); Michael McCourt (for appearing in photographs); Linlithgow Academy (for permission to photograph on the premises); Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (for permission to photograph on the premises); Sandra Scott, Records Management Officer, The City of Edinburgh Council (for permission to publish the article from Dolphin, 1968); Graham Morrison (whose photographs appear on the front and back covers as well as in the book) and Johnstone Syer Photography (photograph of Ed Rogers on the back cover). All other photographs and drawings are by the author.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedications

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Professor Philip Bruce

Introduction

Part I: Advanced Fencing Techniques

1 Foil

2 Sabre

3 Épée

Part II: Advanced Coaching Techniques

4 Coaching/Lessons

5 Additional Techniques

In Conclusion

About Bert Bracewell

Postscript

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Foreword

Bert Bracewell is of that breed of coaches that forms the foundations of fencing throughout the world, providing solid technical training to hundreds of fencers and consistently producing the kind of competitor who inspires respect on the piste. During Bert’s reign as National Coach it was very noticeable that the standard of fencing in Scotland rose significantly and Scottish fencers could always be characterized by their very well-rounded technique.

Too many fencers these days are looking for shortcuts and tricks while ignoring the necessity of acquiring a grasp of the fundamentals. This is not only detrimental to the fencer, but in the long term is destructive to the sport itself. Coaches like Bert who have the knowledge and ability to pass on good technique are to be prized.

It has been said, though it takes some courage to say it these days, that fencing belongs to the coaches and is on loan to fencers. It is the coaches who protect and maintain the fundamentals of the sport so that it can continue from generation to generation, and yet they are the ones who stand in the background while the fencer gets the glory. The hard truth is that if a fencer succeeds, then he/she considers himself/herself a remarkably good fencer, but if he/she fails then the coach gets the blame!

The tragedy of fencing is how often the work of the great masters lasts only as long as they are still coaching. Once they hang up their sword, the skills and techniques they have worked so hard to acquire are lost. Throughout the centuries basic techniques and the general philosophy of teaching fencing has generally been handed down by example and/or word of mouth. As a result some techniques have been lost or simply forgotten. I am therefore delighted to be able to commend this book on two fronts – both because it provides a record of Bert’s own successful techniques and because Bert himself took such a great interest in the lessons he received or saw from other fencing masters and recorded their techniques, which are reflected here.

These days, any fencer looking for a book on elementary movements and actions is spoilt for choice, but there is very little that goes beyond these. Although many authors have documented, for example, how to execute a disengage, very few have considered and given examples of the vast and varied conditions under which a disengage may be executed. It’s refreshing to see that this book begins to address this issue.

Professor Philip Bruce.

In the same way, very little has been written concerning the specifics of the fencing training of competitive fencers generally and even less has been documented concerning the fencing-specific training of fencers competing at the top end of international competitions. For this reason, a book that is written not from a theoretical point of view but based on the thoughts and experiences of a successful fencing master with tried, tested and refined techniques is rare and should prove to be of great value. As the author himself suggests, you may not agree with everything you find, but there is an abundance of ideas and techniques here which any coach or fencer can turn to his or her own use.

One caveat, however – although the sections ‘Coaching Formula’ and ‘Demonstrating to a Class’ have many ideas that aspiring coaches may find useful, the reader must remember that this advice is not endorsed by the British Academy of Fencing and there is no substitute for preparing for exams under the supervision of an experienced coach educator who is familiar with the requirements of the particular exam system in question.

Prof. Philip Bruce

President of the British Academy of Fencing

Introduction

I met Bert Bracewell at the school fencing club at Ainslie Park Secondary School, northern Edinburgh, when I was fifteen years old. The club was started by the Head of Physical Education, Finlay McLachlan; it was never part of the school curriculum, just a lunchtime activity. Five times a week we trained and fenced conscientiously. On Fridays, Bert would appear and teach a class. For the rest of the week we practised and fenced; later, some of us became coaches. The club had more than its fair share of success in competitions, particularly in the Scottish Junior and Senior Championships.

Neil Melville, editor of The Point, the magazine of Scottish Fencing, wrote the following in a review of Fencing: Essential Skills Training:

Just over thirty-five years ago a remarkable group of young fencers, all from the same school, burst upon the scene. Many of them fenced two or three weapons, but it was the sabreurs whom your reviewer remembers particularly as he was meeting them, successfully or otherwise, on a frequent basis in such events as the Scottish Junior and Senior Championships: youngsters such as Bob Jamieson, George Hanson, Frank Early, Stuart Harrower and Eddie Rogers, all of them noted for their technical skill. Now the last named, himself turned coach, has produced his own book to help fencers – and coaches – improve their skills. Readers of The Point may remember a series of articles on sabre training which the author wrote several issues ago… (2005)

Bob, Finlay and I won the Scottish Junior Foil Team Championships back in the late 1960s. Although Finlay was a teacher and we pupils, we shouted at him from the sidelines to improve his game, but made up for this outspoken behaviour by cheering for him when he scored a hit. Bob went on to become President of Scottish Fencing.

At the Commonwealth Fencing Championships in 1986, it was recognized that Finlay McLachlan had started three out of the five weapon team captains on their fencing careers. In recognition of his coaching achievement, he was awarded the Roger Crosnier Memorial Trophy. He died peacefully in his sleep on 29 July 2010.

I met Bert Bracewell as a teenager and it is fair to say that he left a great impression on me; I expect that I put him on a pedestal. Interestingly enough, even after all these years, the old boy is still on his pedestal.

One of the great factors in competitive fencing is observation of your opponents. Janet Cooksey (previously Wardell-Yerburgh) won the Ladies’ Foil at the Commonwealth Games 1970 in Edinburgh. Bert attended as Scottish National Fencing Coach and noticed her placing a chair near the piste. When not fencing, she sat observing her opponents. Watching your opponents can lead to at least one crucial hit in a competition.

In 1970, the Scottish Amateur Fencing Union (SAFU) staged the fencing events at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. This was done with such efficiency that Gold Medals of the Amateur Fencing Association (AFA) were awarded to Dr L.G. Morrison and J.L. (Tommy) Hope, respectively President and Secretary of SAFU. The award of merit, inaugurated in 1969, was conferred on Christine Tolland, especially for her organization of the games. Tommy Hope, a Scottish Champion a total of nine times at all weapons, had been drawn into administration, when he succeeded his brother Arthur as Secretary of the Scottish Fencing Club in 1929. They were also kinsmen to Sir William Hope, the distinguished Scottish fencing master, celebrated swordsman, deputy-governor of Edinburgh Castle and fencing writer. His whose greatest work, A New Short and Easy Method of Fencing or the Art of the Broad and Small-Sword, was printed in Edinburgh in 1707: a list of his published works is included in the Bibliography of Egerton Castle’s Schools and Master of Fence, originally published in 1885. Sir William Hope was also the founder of the Society of Sword Men in Scotland.

When talking with foreign coaches, Bert asked, ‘What is wrong with British fencing?’ He expected answers like, ‘Not good enough’ or ‘Not fit’, but the response he got was, ‘They don’t know where the point is’ (at foil and épée). A good fencer will know where the point is at all times, and this will come through lengthy training and years of experience.

Even the best fencers can become unsettled, fencing wilder and wilder. Bert knew an Italian coach who would shout ‘box’ during a fight if his fencer’s technique became unruly. The fencer was then required to come on guard perfectly, fencing neatly within an imaginary box, with all positions careful and precise and always perfectly balanced.

Bert tells a story about his coach, Alf Simmonds. He had taken a lesson which cost him seven shillings and six pence, a lot of money in those days. Afterwards, Alf took him outside and showed him a storm drain. He explained that he had given him exactly the same lesson the week before and, because he had not bothered to practise, he had ended up giving him the same lesson again. He suggested jokingly that if Bert was not going to practise, he might as well throw his money down the drain. Practice makes perfect.

It is not enough to be faster than your opponents. There are three types of speed: point, arm and leg. If the arm is already straight, then speed comes from the legs. In a riposting situation arm and point speeds combine. A slightly bent arm at the beginning of an attack can get the point travelling faster. When technique is equal between two opponents, they revert to speed. When speed is equal, they revert back to technique.

Mere speed does not always ensure the success of an attack. A very fast compound attack against an opponent with a slow parry may result in an opponent parrying himself. In this case, speed should be reduced to allow the defender time to form the parry. The correct cadence in such cases is a speed just a little faster than that of one’s opponent.

Bert observed that many continental coaches are ‘developing masters’ and felt that most British coaches were ‘corrective masters’. Due to time constraints, say one lesson a week, faults build up – perhaps through competition, change of weapon, etc. The coach will spend much of the time correcting these. Bert rarely had time to spend developing a fencer. One notable exception to this was Michael Breckin, whom he used to give three to four lessons a week. Bert was only part qualified at the time and Michael would be waiting for him on his doorstep when he got home from work. The lessons were given in the lounge but, judging from the red marks on the ceiling from the foil tips, some may not have gone entirely as planned. When fencing for England in the 1970 Commonwealth Games, Michael won gold medals in the individual foil and foil team when Bert was Scottish National Coach. Scottish fencers also won an impressive five medals. That same year, Bert himself won the Men’s Foil title at the Inverclyde Open Tournament. It is not the fault of British masters that they do not have the time or venues to coach like this.

It may seem a bit eccentric giving fencing lessons in your lounge. I called an old friend, whom I had not spoken to for some time, and interrupted him giving an épée lesson in his kitchen. Fencing is a sport which attracts people who are mildly eccentric. Consider the case of Geoff King of Latista Fencing Club. He drove an old open-topped Rolls Royce and had lost the sight of one eye in an air crash. One day he gave Bert a lift. He wore a tight-fitting, close-necked black sweater over his white, high-necked fencing jacket. They stopped at some road works. The policeman supervising said, ‘Come on through, vicar.’ Geoff was a good coach and fencer.

In an individual lesson you get exercise, correct training and confidence. Because you learn the extremities of what is possible, you will do a wider range of strokes when you fence competitively. The cheapest way of learning to fence is to take four lessons a week, because this gives you the best return.

The idea for this book came when Bert found some old notes while clearing out his loft. He used to keep a record of fencing lessons with other masters, and then discuss them with his coach, whose reaction would be to accept or reject, but always to understand why. There was nothing wrong in any advanced fencing techniques, only variations, which he had learned from other masters or through observations in his long career. Many became fashionable at different times, but the real interest was in exploring fencing strokes in depth.

Are we training people to become swordsmen, to learn about the techniques of fencing, or to simply win competitions? Often these days it is simply about winning competitions.

Bert tells a story about the use of (the parry) prime. For ten years he had not seen prime used at foil, nor been trained to use it. The classical foil masters did not teach it, and then prime was rediscovered. Just before he came to Scotland in 1966, its use in foil became widespread. On a fencing course run by Bob Anderson, Bert asked about the use of prime. Bob Anderson thought the use of prime fine, but in his position he dare not teach it as many of his coaches might use it indiscriminately, simply because it was fashionable. In 1949, the AFA, thanks to the foresight of their Secretary, C-L. (Charles) de Beaumont, appointed the French Olympic Coach, Roger Crosnier, as National Coach. Part of Crosnier’s contract was to train his successor and he chose Bob Anderson to train both competitively and in the skills of training fencing teachers and coaches. In 1953, Bob Anderson succeeded Roger Crosnier as National Coach to Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Fencing strokes become fashionable, much as our clothes change fashion. In the eighteenth century, the rapier became too heavy and cumbersome to wear in polite society. The sword steadily lightened in weight to become the court sword, which had a much shorter blade. This lighter weapon could be used with significantly more skill and precision, using the fingers to manipulate the sword. The French school of fencing had begun.

In his time, Bert has seen the transformation of national competitions from ‘steam’ to electric foil. He was first introduced to electric foil when his club Latista made the last four in the British Team Foil Championships. The preliminary rounds were fenced as before, but in the final they were informed that remaining bouts would be fenced using the new electric foil equipment. They were loaned electric kit, but had no idea how to use it effectively. Salle Paul won by attacking in the low-line, prompting Alf Simmonds to purchase one of the new rudimentarily designed electric boxes. Simmonds had studied with Roger Crosnier and had received lessons, at different times, from many accomplished masters, including Bob Anderson and Bill Harmer-Brown. He was also distinguished in his day, having been the youngest RSM in the Coldstream Guards.

From then on, Bert became interested in coaching, watching and receiving many lessons. Over the course of his long career, he has studied many advanced fencing techniques, but never before has he taught this vast array of knowledge to any one person. To understand this required over two and a half years of special one-to-one lessons and discussions at Wallace Fencing Club, in order to perform each action correctly, record it, and write this book. What follows is a testimony to the remarkable ability and memory of a man in his seventies, as well as the unique relationship that can exist between master and pupil.

These techniques come from a variety of sources. Any master can become a good coach, but only exposure to other masters makes a master possible. In this sense, one master is made up of many others; each added to the art of fencing as we know it today. Fencers are driven to win and likely to concentrate on those aspects which help them succeed. Advanced Fencing Techniques will not only help the aspiring fencer improve, but also the established fencer who may be looking for new ideas. Equipment and rule changes over the years have shown fencers that they must adapt with the times. Tried and tested approaches have often been challenged as a result. Advanced Fencing Techniques offers a unique collection which can be used to develop new fencers, as well as providing a repository of knowledge for the future.

In the descriptions that follow, the actions will be carried out by two right-handed fencers, unless otherwise mentioned. I should add also that the use of the masculine ‘his’ is simply a writing convention, not a chauvinistic tendency on my behalf. There are many fine women fencers for whom this book will be equally relevant and for whom I have the greatest possible respect.

For readers in the United States and others who are used to numerical terminology like ‘fourth’ and ‘one’, instead of ‘quarte’ and ‘prime’, I would ask you to bear with me. I have read some excellent publications that use numerical notation and found that this did not spoil my enjoyment. Similarly, I hope that readers experiencing typical British terminology will not be put off.

From a historical standpoint it is important that these advanced fencing techniques are recorded. Many very successful fencing masters have left no records of their teachings, other than in the memories and acquired skills of their pupils. This detailed record takes the reader through a step-by-step series of discoveries, where familiar topics are introduced then developed in numerous, often diverse ways and rediscovered, leading to an understanding of the techniques required to become an advanced fencer or an advanced coach.

Feel free to accept, or reject – but at least understand why.

PART I

Advanced Fencing Techniques

Fig. 1 ‘A’ Grade, at Crystal Palace, London, 2011, Women’s Team Sabre. Ni Hong (China), left, and Svetlana Kormilitsyna (Russia), right. (Photo: Graham Morrison)

1 Foil

An examination of advanced fencing techniques is essentially about studying variations within set themes. These have been passed on over generations by many excellent fencing masters, who taught different things and believed in what they did. They include the classical French style as espoused in the writings of Roger Crosnier, whose three main books are Fencing with the Foil, Fencing with the Sabre and Fencing with the Épée. He also wrote Fencing with the Electric Foil, in which he studied the use of the then new Electrical Registering Apparatus for foil. Épée had been electrified in the 1930s and it was only a matter of time before the same happened to foil. Electric foil was first used in a major event at the 1955 World Championships in Rome. This marked the end of traditional academic foil play – light, stylish, and with complexity – which had not materially altered since the introduction of the wire mask in the late eighteenth century. Top-ranking fencers lacked experience using the new top-heavy blades, which caused the sword hand to move slower; blade play became risky. Hits to the low-line, previously hidden to the judges by the sword arm, began to register. During these bouts, simple movements predominated; fencing phrases became shorter, with increasing use of absence of blade. Feint attacks were less frequent because of the popularity of counter-attacks, as foil, in some respects, began to resemble épée. Rather than counter-riposte, to remise offered more chances of success.

Fig. 2 Eden Cup, Men’s Individual Foil Semifinal, 2010. Race Imboden (USA), left, and Alexander Choupenitch (Czech Republic), right. (Photo: Graham Morrison)

All this required a radical rethink.

There was a Scottish dimension to Roger Crosnier’s early life. In 1909, the Scottish Fencing Club was formed in Edinburgh, with Professor Leon Crosnier as its fencing master, assisted in due course by his eldest son Roger, who spent long hours training under his father’s tutelage.

It is hard for us to imagine today what a fencing tournament was like before the advent of electrical scoring apparatus. With four judges and a president (which is what a referee was called in those days) per piste, there could be a lot of talking going on around you while you fenced. In those gentlemanly days, if a fencer stopped fencing and was hit, he could ask for the hit to be annulled, claiming that he had stopped in good faith mistakenly responding to a president on another piste.

In the topics which follow we will begin with a basic understanding of each stroke and then take it to a more advanced level.

The Grip

With a French grip the foil is carried between thumb and forefinger, with the other three fingers placed lightly against the handle. Pushing with the thumb and pulling with the forefinger makes the point dip; this process, carried out in reverse, brings the point up again. The pommel should be maintained on an axis parallel to the forearm. The French grip is proportioned, so that its convex curve lies across the palm of the hand.

Straight Thrust Simple Attack

As beginners, we first learn the importance of simple attacks, which are by definition single blade movements. These can be direct or indirect. The only direct simple attack is the straight thrust. The three indirect simple attacks are the disengagement, cutover and counter-disengagement. To the advanced foil fencer a simple attack can be a championship-winning stroke.

A simple attack can be made to the high- or low-line, or the side of the target. If an opponent ducks down to avoid being hit, it can even revert to the back. Simple attacks can be made into blade, or into footwork preparations.

Preparations may be compound if two or more preparations are made continuously without a pause. A typical compound preparation might be to step forward and engage your opponent’s blade, the engagement coinciding with the landing of the attacker’s rear foot; the actions are made in the same period of fencing time, with the foot and hand working together. Double preparations follow each other, with a pause in between: for example, the blade is engaged, then a beat attack is launched, after a slight pause. If preparations are complex, then the finish should be simple, otherwise the chance of error creeps in.

To begin to understand how an advanced fencer thinks, we must understand the difference between opportunistic and creative actions. Generally speaking, the expression ‘actions’ refers to blade movements – offensive or defensive. Opportunistic actions rely on your opponent making mistakes. Creative actions are more important since the attacker initiates what will happen next. Faced with the challenge of producing an all-important winning hit, a creative action will serve you best.

An attacker must prepare the way. Imagine a situation where the attacker first presents the blade. The point may be extended, towards the eyes, immediately getting the defender’s attention; now launch any attack.

Fig. 3 An opportunistic opening from absence of blade.

Fig. 4 Pressure is applied to the opponent’s blade to create an opening.

Consider the following:

1. The fencers begin at lunge distance to body. The defender simply takes the blade away, offering an open target. The attacker sees this opportunity and lunges with a straight thrust to target (seeFig. 3). In a fencing bout this would never happen; few opponents are so helpful as to simply give a hit away. This technique has limited value in teaching tactical fencing to more advanced students. An improving fencer would be looking for a means to create a hit, using his own initiative.

2. Next, the attacker first applies pressure on the opponent’s blade to create an opening for a straight thrust with detachment (seeFig. 4). It is sufficient to make light contact, pressing the defender’s blade out of line with a rapid firm action. The pressure is applied at the middle of the opponent’s blade by closing the last three fingers of the sword hand and slightly flexing the wrist. Attacks with pressure tend to be successful when the opponent does not respond immediately, perhaps waiting to see what may develop. A heavy pressure might make the defender respond instinctively, laterally, possibly requiring the attacker’s disengagement. If the attacker applies a pressure, the defender might respond by rotating the blade through circular sixte, requiring the attacker to do a counter-disengagement – a more difficult stroke, brought about by the more advanced fencer changing the line. The attacker has created an opening by taking the initiative, but the use of detachment in concluding the hit may allow your opponent’s hit to land also, requiring a decision from the referee.

3. This time the attacker applies pressure on the defender’s blade and follows this with a straight thrust with opposition. Holding onto the blade removes the possibility of the other side’s hit landing. This is a stroke more typical at épée, but effective at foil nevertheless.

These exercises can be performed from sixte and quarte. Attacks must be made ‘in time’ and at the correct distance.

Joseph Vince refers to two types of timing in Fencing: conscious and subconscious. Conscious timing is where the tempo is chosen when the opponent is in motion. The opponent may be doing any of a number of things unconsciously: rising, or sinking, in the on guard position; advancing, retreating, or recovering from a lunge; making a feint, or a beat, without the intention of attacking; engaging or disengaging the blade; moving from one guard position to another (invitation). Subconscious timing is when a fencer chooses a moment to attack, suggested by instinct.

Generally speaking, attacks are carried out after adequate preparations, surprising the defender and using the attacker’s tempo. They should be fast, unlikely to be detected in advance, taking advantage of the opponent’s shortcomings through careful observation.

One-Two Compound Attack

Compound attacks consist of a number of simple attacks, one or more being used as a feint. A feint is a false attack which your opponent thinks is real and reacts to; you are exploiting his instinctive reactions. A one-two compound attack is a feint of a disengagement followed by a second disengagement. Every compound attack is an example of second intention.

Occasionally, I have heard Bert refer to composed attacks (the feints are composed), which, in the French school, are compound attacks, as previously described. However, William Gaugler in A Dictionary of Universally Used Fencing Terminology, reminds us that, in Italian fencing theory, compound or composed attacks can be divided into three groups: feints, actions on the blade and renewed attacks. With regard to sabre, Julio Martinez Castello in The Theory and Practice of Fencing describes compound attacks which may be preceded by attacks on the blade. Composed parries consist of two or more successive parries. Waneen Wyrick in Foil Fencing describes successive parries as compound parries. With sabre, Michel Alaux in Modern Fencing: Foil, Épée, and Sabre describes successive parries as combination parries. These consist of different hand positions, at a slow pace, which are not necessarily reactions to feints but a means of closing a line, subtly directing the attack into a line that will be blocked by the final parry. This may be thought of as an offensive–defensive action. Regardless of which term you wish to use for successive parries, general wisdom seems to suggest that to be effective at foil and épée, the types of parry should alter each time: a lateral parry may be followed by a circular one, a diagonal parry by a circular one, and so on. When you find yourself following the attacker’s blade, you are usually at least one motion behind. Retreating with the first parry, this should be perfectly placed, and may provide a little extra time in which to position the second.

Once again we will consider the difference between opportunistic and creative actions.

1. Begin at lunge distance to body. The defender goes for the blade. The attacker seizes on this opportunity and launches a one-two. The defender reacts to the feint of disengagement with a lateral parry, allowing the attacker a second disengagement, which is completed with a lunge. The attacker is simply waiting for an opportunity from an extremely obliging opponent to present itself.

2. The next example, although still opportunistic, is slightly more difficult. The defender moves a little further away. This time he does a sharp move very close to the blade, then goes for it. This instantly changes the timing of the attacker’s one-two, forcing him to react; but this opportunity is still being provided by the defender. For best effect, this can be practised very quickly following the previous exercise: the defender goes for the blade and the attacker launches the one-two; quickly, he moves very close to the blade, drawing out the distance and goes for it again, getting a quick reaction from the one-two and instantly changing the timing.

3. Now the timing will be controlled more creatively by the attacker. The attacker stands on guard in octave, or with the blade held parallel to the floor, and lifts the blade up when ready. The attacker switches on his brain in response to this action and becomes alert. This provides the defender with an opportunity to go for the blade and the one-two is launched as before. A fencer might meet an opponent who likes to go for the blade. He might present the blade with brief lifting actions, trying to get a reaction. A short pause after the lift might draw the necessary response. To do this it is likely that he will have observed the opponent’s fencing earlier and decided on a possible course of action. Observation of your opponent is crucial to the success of strokes like this.

4. In the classical tradition fencers would begin with blades engaged in sixte. Traditionally they would fence with the front foot lining up with the toe of the opponent’s rear foot, which created a certain dynamic, since only one fencer could be covered. Modern fencers, however, compete toe-to-toe and if the blades are engaged both are covered. The attacker begins by applying pressure to the blade to open the line. The defender responds, attempting to cover. The attacker replies with a feint of disengagement, drawing a parry of quarte, followed by a second disengagement. However, modern fencers do not fence from positions of engagement, preferring absence of blade; also, an experienced fencer will not attempt to parry a feint that far away, preferring to parry at the last possible moment, when the point is much closer to the target and the attacker more vulnerable to a sudden riposte. This leaves us with the problem of how to do a one-two against a defender who does a very effective late parry.

In the traditional Italian and German schools, ‘engagement’ meant domination of the opposing blade: strong, or middle, against weak. For the traditional French and English, as here, this implies only blade contact.

5. The straight thrust with disengagement in mid-lunge is probably the most commonly used one-two attack in modern fencing (seeFig. 5). If you attack with a straight thrust your point might hit, be parried, or your opponent might step back. In the event of a parry, with an opponent who parries late effectively, the attacker’s last action will need to be taken while the foot is still in mid-air. A good way of training to do this is to start with a straight thrust, which must land correctly. The defender then introduces an occasional late parry, which should be deceived in mid-lunge, but not every time. If there is no parry then the straight thrust should always land, otherwise the one-two would be self-defeating. I have referred to this as a one-two, but a purist would disagree, since this does not start with disengagement.

Fig. 5 A straight thrust with disengagement in mid-lunge.

1 to 5 can be practised at fixed distance, or preceded by steps forward or backward to add mobility.

To the advanced fencer a better understanding of the types of one-two is essential to developing a more versatile game. In the examples that follow we will consider different techniques:

6. Consider the drifting feint. This starts close to the blade, the point/hand drifting out, eliminating the possibility of a circular parry of sixte. The feint begins slowly, suddenly drifting out to induce the wider parry of quarte, giving more time for the attacker to complete the one-two. This is useful against an opponent who has a well-formed parry of circular sixte and is perhaps less confident with, or is prone to, an exaggerated parry of quarte.

7. In the ‘swallowtail’ one-two, the attacker begins by applying pressure to the defender’s blade. The defender returns this pressure, giving the attacker an opportunity for disengagement with a feint, which could easily be parried by a short parry of quarte. Then the hand moves across 6 inches (150mm), angulating the point in to draw a wider, more exaggerated parry of quarte, similar to the drifting feint earlier. The attacker finishes by angulating the same amount on the other side after the disengagement – making the defender’s return journey from an exaggerated quarte, to sixte, even more difficult. The angulated positions of the feint and the disengagement, prior to the lunge, result in the ‘swallowtail’ description.

Angulating the wrist makes it difficult for the opponent to form an effective parry. All types of attacks and counter-attacks may be delivered this way. The advantage of hitting with the point, at an angle near 90 degrees to the target, is that it is less likely to slip off. The disadvantage, at sabre and épée, is that of exposing the arm; here, angulation should be left to the last possible moment.

8. Disengagement is a narrow ‘V’-shaped up-and-down action. A one-two consisting of two disengagements is a tight ‘V’-shaped formation. An alternative to this is the wider ‘U’ shape, which can also cause a more exaggerated parry of quarte. The ‘U’ starts with the attacker’s point drifting out. The defender’s eye follows the feint, accompanied by his hand reacting to quarte. It is necessary for the attacker’s hand to move faster in the second part of the ‘U’ in order to avoid an effective defence of successive parries, quarte-sixte. However, a slow ‘U’-shaped one-two might be done to initiate successive parries of quarte-sixte deliberately, thus leaving the defender vulnerable to a finish in the low-line.

9. A straight thrust with disengagement in mid-lunge is launched against an unsuspecting opponent, but this time the final action is angled at the last moment to avoid hitting the off-target sword arm. Competitive foilists tend to cover their targets. Some will duck down as they lunge forward, making it harder to hit the valid target.

10. If a fencer has a fine classical quarte parry, the attacker’s point can drop 3 inches (75mm) with the feint, inducing either a bad parry of quarte or quinte. Lowering the parry of quarte is a common fault. A trained fencer, looking to parry the blade forte to foible, may simply react by drifting low. As the point is only beginning to move into the low-line, a sudden parry of septime may not immediately suggest itself.

11. A one-two where the point is dropped under the guard on the feint allows the parry of quarte to pass over. Dropping the point places the attacker’s blade at a similar angle to the defender’s. If the defender’s parry of quarte is taken correctly, the blade will pass over. The attacker simply lifts the point to continue with the second movement of the attack.

12. The feint can be presented with a slightly bent arm, which has the effect of accelerating the second action: slow start, quick finish (seeFigs 6–7). The hand has to accelerate to catch up with the foot. If the point hits at a slight angle, this can speed up the ‘bite’ of the hit, which should still hit with the character of penetration. At the advanced level a fencer would have to be given a reason for responding to a bent arm feint. One way would be to perform the feint progressively, making the second disengagement with the foot in mid-air even more devastating. This should not be confused with the broken time one-two, where the foot is allowed to land before the hit is made.

Fig. 6 The feint begins with a slightly bent arm…

Fig. 7 …which has the effect of accelerating the second action.