sword

Pronated Parries and the Use of Prime

It is my opinion that, although fencers must be able to perform pronated actions, they must be selective and understand what they are doing. The parry of prime itself, is only of limited use. As we have seen so often it becomes an uncontrolled habit and any habit in advanced fencing is bad. Prime must only be seen as another stroke. It should be an aggressive stroke, the same as the most aggressive, quarte riposte. When a fencer takes prime he should know where his riposte is going, not like a beginner who often takes prime and starts jabbing and poking.

Exercise

The coaches saw just how ineffective the low hand position was in parrying-prime, how the riposte was uncontrolled and easily blocked. Prime was also practised as an attack. A coupé riposte after the parry of prime was practised as.well.as the ripostes to the shoulder-and to the back.

Stroke Selection.

The course now moved on to the training of better fencers, who can perform actions technically well, but who need to learn how to pick their strokes. This we called "stroke selection".

"Stroke selection" is the ability to pick the correct stroke to suit the conditions and distance. Any fencer who practises stroke selection and improves this aspect of his game (i.e. concentrating on the fight situation) would, without learning new strokes or improving his technique, get better competition results. In this lesson the onus of work shifts from the coach to the pupil; the coach sets various conditions and the pupil selects the correct stroke. There are three basic ways in which this can be done

  1. Premeditation i.e. by noticing an opponent parrying quarte. The fencer then uses a one/two. In essence, it is to observe an opponent and to react accordingly.
  2. "Feel of the Blade" i.e. when an attack has been parried, riposte according to the feel of the blade. This riposte can be direct or indirect.
  3. Open Eyed Method. i.e. the fencer starts the action and reacts according to his opponent's response.
We then studied the simplest form of stroke selection. The pupil was put on guard in sixte, and selected whether to hit with a straight thrust or a disengage. At first the coach made large and heavy actions, with the pupil trying to pick the correct action. however, the process of selection was very slow. The coach then made his actions smaller and..
  1. Altered the timing of his action.
  2. Altered the delay between his actions.
  3. Varied the pressure. : sometimes it was light and sometimes it was heavy.
The pupil error was found to be about 50%. Then the coach went back to "large actions" and again the pupil's error was reduced to nil. The coaches then checked that their actions were correct. They checked that their blade movement had been reduced and that any pressure given, was given neatly. They ensured that they did not scrape along their pupil's blade and that any lateral action was crisp and firm. This exercise emphasised to the class how the coach's blade must act as his voice. The coaches then practised this simple action, paying great attention to their own blade-work.
  1. The next progression was to add footwork, thus getting stroke selection and distance selection. The coach must move smoothly and vary the speed of movement.
  2. In this section the counter-disengage was added, and even a coupé when the coach relaxed or dropped his hand. It must be emphasised that the pupil's point should be kept well under control.
  3. The next choice was between a stop-hit and a parry/riposte. The pupils tended to watch the foil too much, thus making them follow unnecessarily, large blade action made by the coach.
  4. In this section absence of blade was introduced. -Here, the pupil had to decieve attempted engagements by the coach. At other times the pupil allowed the engagement and then waited for an opening. The coach was always changing speed, rhythm, distance, weight of pressure etc.
This type of lesson gives the pupil the ability to change speed, to select attacks and to ignore blade actions which carry no threat. Coaches should ensure that new actions are incorporated into a fencer's game. This method is an ideal way of achieving this end.

Notes on Individual Lessons at a Competitive Level

  1. The coach must move like a fencer.
  2. The lesson must start slowly and build up.
  3. When the pupil shows signs of distress, the lesson should either stop or slow down.
  4. The lesson must vary between attack and defence.
  5. Absence of blade should be introduced.
  6. The coach should ensure that if a series of actions is made, each item is corrected and improved.
  7. The coach should constantly alter the timing of actions.
  8. Cadence should be changed during the lesson.
  9. Distance should be varied throughout the lesson.
  10. All actions to provoke defence must be made realistic.

Main Faults

  1. There was not enough actual coaching done.
  2. The coach moved back at the wrong time. For example, the coach moved back when the fencer was already lunging, thus leaving him stranded out of distance.
  3. The coach held his point too high.
  4. The lesson did not progress but got bogged down in the middle.
  5. The coach gave lessons which were not geared. to the pupil's standard.
  6. The blade was often presented in the same way for a beat as for a parry.
  7. The lesson was much too fast at the beginning,
  8. There was no run down at the end of the lesson.
  9. The coach tried to teach too many strokes in the lesson. The lesson should concentrate on one or two strokes.
  10. The pupil gave the coach the lesson. The coach should be in complete control.

This type of lesson was geared to last thirty or forty minutes. It was stressed that it should be practised regularly.

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