Marie's Fencing Blog

  From the instructor's invitation in third, straight thrust From the instructor's engagement in third, disengagement From the student's engagement in third, glide From the student's invitation of third, parry fourth and riposte direct From the student's invitation of third, parry fourth and riposte indirect From the student's invitation of third, beat direct From the student's invitation of third, beat indirect From the student's invitation of third, circular beat direct From the student's invitation of third, circular beat indirect From the student's engagement of third, change beat direct From the student's engagement of third, change beat indirect End of lesson, from the instructor's invitation of third, three straight thrusts In this lesson, after teaching the direct and indirect responses for each action, I cued the direct and indirect at random before moving to the next action. Indirect attacks occur as a result of pressure from th...

  From the instructor's invitation in third, straight thrust From the instructor's engagement in fourth, disengagement From the student's engagement in fourth, glide From the student's engagement of fourth, parry third and riposte direct From the student's engagement of fourth, parry third and riposte indirect From the instructor's invitation of third, feint direct and disengagement From the student's invitation of third, beat direct From the student's invitation of third, beat indirect From the student's invitation of third, beat, feint direct and disengagement From the student's invitation of third, beat, feint indirect and disengagement End of lesson, from the instructor's invitation of third, three straight thrusts Indirect attacks occur as a result of pressure from the instructor's blade, so in order to cue an indirect attack, apply pressure into the blade as if you are parrying before the riposte even begins. For example, in respons...

From the instructor's invitation in third, straight thrust From the instructor's engagement in fourth, disengagement From the student's engagement in fourth, glide From the student's engagement in fourth, parry third and riposte by glide From the student's engagement in fourth, parry third and riposte indirect (tip: the instructor will apply slight counter-pressure into the glide to prompt the student to disengage) From the student's engagement in fourth, feint by glide and disengagement From the student's engagement in fourth, feint by glide and deceive From the student's engagement of fourth, circular parry of fourth and riposte by glide From the student's engagement of fourth, circular parry of fourth and riposte indirect From the student's engagement of fourth, circular parry of fourth and riposte by feint by glide and disengagement From the student's engagement of fourth, circular parry of fourth and riposte by feint by glide and deceive...

 From the instructor's invitation of third, straight thrust From the instructor's engagement in third, disengagement From the student's engagement in fourth, glide From the student's invitation of third, parry fourth and riposte by glide From the student's invitation of third, circular parry of third and riposte by glide From the student's engagement of fourth, feint by glide and disengagement From the student's engagement in fourth, feint by glide and deceive From the student's engagement in fourth, transport from fourth to second From the student's engagement in second, transport from second to fourth From the student's engagement in fourth, envelopment (4 > 2 > 4), feint by glide and disengagement From the student's engagement in fourth, envelopment (4 > 2 > 4), feint by glide and deceive End of lesson, from the instructor's invitation of third, three straight thrusts As always, if you want to challenge your student, use mo...

This lesson will look different from the other lessons I've provided, partially because this lesson involves multiple responses to a single action. One tool that can help your students is the contrary ladder. To begin, introduce all the skills you will need to succeed in this lesson: Straight thrust Disengagement Glide Simple Parry Single Feint After that, begin with an action on the blade. I personally like to use the blade seizure with a newer student. From there, introduce the contrary to each action. Note that there are two responses to the disengagement in time; I recommend following the "dead end" (time thrust in countertime) first and then covering the other responses second. Note that there are two ways to cover the contrary ladder.  In one model, the instructor and student switch roles (who does the blade seizure) so that the instructor is always the one being struck at the end of the action.  The other way to do this is to keep the roles consistent and the stude...

  Footwork Advance Retreat Lunge Recover back Recover forward Passing step forward Passing step backward Jump back Lateral movement Simple Attacks From the instructor's invitation in third, straight thrust From the instructor's engagement in fourth, disengagement From the student's engagement in third, glide Simple Parries From the student's engagement in fourth, attack by disengagement to the chest Make sure the student parries third by making a straight line with their sword Encourage the student to sink with the parry (bend the knees deeper). Repost with a glide or with a detachment The student's feet should not move during the riposte. Beats From the instructor's point in line, the student beats in fourth and performs a straight thrust. Make sure that the student does not "prime" the beat by pulling the sword back. The student's blade should make one point of contact with the instructor's blade. The middle of the student's blade should ...