Footwork
The Next Step
Once the student has mastered the basic advance, retreat and lunge, along with the cross-forward and cross-back, and is comfortable with them, they are ready to expand the repetoire of their footwork. While bladework is dazzling in its own right, accomplished fencers get themselves out of tight spots with their feet at least as often as with their blade.
Lunge Recovery and Renewing the Attack
The student will have had plenty of opportunities by this point to practice their lunge with the traditional recovery. By traditional recovery, we mean pushing back with the extended lead leg and bending the extended rear leg. This traditional recovery maneuver takes the fencer to about where they were immediately prior to lunging.
One might call this "recovering backwards." If you think of it in those terms, it immediately begs the question, can one recover forwards? Certainly one can.
From the lunge position, to recover forwards, the fencer lifts and bends the extended rear leg, bringing it up under them. Once it is place, simply raise up into the en garde position. In this way, the fencer does not give up any ground they gained on the lunge, even if the lunge itself was unsuccessful.
The logical extention of this maneuver is to then use this new position from which to immediately launch a renewed attack by yet another lunge.
It should also be noted that in some classes fencers practice a "center recovery." This consists of hopping back to en garde from the lunge by using both legs to spring up, replacing them in en garde positions as they land. While this has little tactical advantage, it is sometimes used for general leg conditioning and warm-ups.
CHECKS
Checks are a kind of feint with footwork. They are used to deceive the opponent as to the fencer's intent.
Advance Check The fencer adjusts the front foot as if to advance. That is, the toes and ball of the foot lift and the heel is repositioned to where the ball of the foot rested. The opponent would naturally expect the lead foot to set down and complete the advance. Instead, from this position with only the heel of the lead foot on the ground, the fencer pushes back and immediately executes a full retreat step.
Retreat Check The fencer adjusts the rear foot as if to retreat. That is, the rear foot steps back, resting on the ball and toes of the rear foot, with the rear leg mostly extended. The opponent would naturally expect the rear leg to flex and place the fencercer's weight on the rear foot, followed by a completion of the retreat. Instead, from this position with only the ball and toes of the rear foot on the ground, the fencer pushes forward,steps out with the lead leg and immediately executes a full advance step.
BALLESTRA
The Jump-Forward
From the en garde position, the fencer slightly lifts the ball and toes on the lead foot and then skims it just above the floor as they push off with the rear leg. The results is a short hop that has almost NO verticle lift and carries the fencer a little farther than a large advance. Ideally the fencer lands with both feet touching the floor at the same moment. They should slap together in unison, with no "clip-clop" sound.
Similarly, a fencer may jump back. The fencer pushes back with the lead leg, swinging the back leg out. As with the jump-forward, the jump-back covers only a small lateral distance. As with the jump-forward, to be effective, there is almost zero vertical movement by the fencer.
The Ballestra
The Ballestra is essentially a jump forward that immediately springs into a lunge as soon as both feet land from the jump.
FLECHE
Slowly begin to lean forward and allow the body's weight to shift forward.
Just before the fencer would fall forward, the fencer extendes their weapon arm and rapidly pushes off with the lead foot. This is immediately followed by swinging the rear leg forward.
The result is an explosive, and barely controlled, forward flight.
FOOTWORK REVIEW
Often the simplest moves can be the most useful.
The gain is simply the discrete, undetected placement of the rear foot directly behind the lead foot. This is done in preparation of a surprise lunge. By having the rear foot so close to the lead, the distance covered by the lunge is usually at least two feet more than normal. The distance and swiftness with which it is covered will often allow the attacker to catch up to the retreating defender.
Footwork Drills from Craig Harkins of Fencing.Net
General Footwork Exercises
written by Craig Harkins
There have been several discussions on the rec.sport.fencing newsgroup and in the fencing.net forums on the different types of exercises one should do in order to be in the best shape for fencing. I thought I would take a different tack and suggest some footwork exercises that I have used in the past. These come from drills that the team at UNC-Chapel Hill did on a regular basis and are taken from the Olympic Footwork Exercises our national teams have used.
The idea behind the footwork drills are to get your body used to doing simple and then complex series of footwork exercices so that you can use them better in a bout. Just like you would practice a beat-disengage as one unit and not two, so you would practice an advance-lunge as one unit.
With that in mind, here are 12 drills that you can do. It helps to have a small group doing these with one person the designated reader. Keep a close feel on your body balance and make your steps short - they will get bigger in a bout. If you would like to see more suggestions for drills, etc. - please let me know - if you have other subjects you would like to or like me to comment on, just email me (craig@fencing.net).
Key:
/ =slight pause,
-=continuous,
: =new action
• Lunge/on-guard: advance-lunge/on-guard: double advance-lunge/on-guard: triple advance-lunge/on-guard: lunge/onguard: lunge/on-guard-retreat: lunge/on-guard-double retreat: lunge/on-guard-triple retreat:
• Advance-retreat: lunge/on-guard: advance-lunge/on-guard-retreat: double advance-lunge/on-guard-double retreat: advance-fleche/on-guard-retreat: (sabre fencers do triple advance-lunge)
• Retreat-lunge/on-guard: advance-lunge/on-guard: double retreat-lunge/on-guard: double advance-lunge/on-guard:
• Jump forward-lunge/on-guard: advance-lunge/on-guard: jump forward/jump forward-lunge/on-guard: advance/advance-lunge/on-guard: (remember the timing differences here!)
• (The killer) Lunge-on guard: lunge/on-guard: lunge-redouble/redouble/on-guard: lunge/on-guard: lunge/on-guard: lunge-redouble-fleche-on guard: (sabre do jump lunge instead of fleche)
• Jump forward-lunge/forward on-guard: jump forward-lunge/forward on-guard: jump forward/jump forward-fleche-on-guard: 4 retreats-lunge/on guard:
• Triple retreat-fleche-on guard: triple retreat-fleche-reprise fleche-on guard:
• Lunge/on guard-retreat: fleche (or jump-lunge)/on-guard-retreat: lunge/on-guard-retreat: retreat-fleche-(or jump-lunge)-on-guard-double retreat:
• Jump forward-lunge-short fleche/on guard: jump forward-lunge-redouble/on guard: • Advance/advance-fleche-reprise fleche: retreat/retreat-fleche-reprise fleche:
• Fleche-on guard-double retreat: fleche-on guard-double retreat: fleche-reprise fleche-on guard-4 retreats:
• Jump forward-fleche-on guard: advance-fleche-on guard: triple retreat-fleche-on guard:
As you can see, these drills emphasize quick changes in direction, what we call "turning the corner". If you are good at making these fast, quick changes in direction, you will be able to take advantage of those fencers who can't.
The best example is when you are being attacked. You and the other fencer are going at full speed: you backward, them forward. Once you catch their blade, if you are faster at turning the corner than they are, you have a much higher chance of getting the touch.