Fencing

CHAPTER 5

FOOTWORK ACTIONS

Footwork is the foundation of good bladework, so it is important to spend as much time as possible getting this right. In days gone by, in countries such as Hungary and Russia fencers would have several years of footwork preparation before being allowed to hold the foil and even in Britain much time would have been spent in footwork practice before focusing on the blade. This approach would also tend to scare off many beginners, so that the coach could then spend lots of time with the few fencers he could turn into champions. However, in the modern world, we try to keep as many people as possible interested in fencing. A few will become champions, putting much time in at their club as well as having many individual lessons with the coach, but many people will enjoy just coming along to their club once a week for fencing and social reasons. We do spend time in lessons focusing on footwork actions, but you will also need to spend time outside of club time practising footwork in order to get used to the very different physical demands put on the body by fencing.

The En Garde Position

This is your readiness position. Your feet should be at right angles, with your leading foot pointing toward your opponent. The heels should be in line and the feet approximately shoulder width apart. Both legs should be bent equally so that your body is evenly balanced between both feet. If you look down, the bend of the legs should be such that your toes are not visible. Your knee should point forward and the body and head position upright. Your fencing arm should be to the side of the body, with your elbow away from the body.

This position will seem uncomfortable at first, so time spent getting used to it outside of club hours is a very good idea. It is vital that your en garde position is exactly right, as it is the foundation for all of the bladework techniques. Spend time sitting low in the en garde position so that your legs start to become comfortable in a position that will be new to them.

Correct and incorrect en garde position.

Gaining and Breaking Ground (Moving Backward and Forward)

We fence on an area called a piste. This is 14m long and 2m wide. All movement is done within this area in a backward and forward manner.

Moving Forward

Staying in the en garde position, move the front foot forward, followed by the back. The position between the feet should remain the same. Bringing the back foot close to the front foot when moving forward will result in a loss of balance. Practise moving along a straight line, keeping the feet apart and maintaining the en garde position.

Moving Backward

Move the back foot first, followed by the front. Again, the position of the feet should stay the same. Moving the front foot too much will result in a loss of balance. Practise moving backward down a straight line. Then try moving backward and forward down a straight line. The gap between the feet should remain the same.

Next, vary the speed and size of the step, as well as a more frequent change of direction.

TOP TIP

Steps should always be small. The largest a step should be is a foot's length. Use lots of small steps rather than a few large ones.

The development of the lunge.

The Lunge and Recovery

The main way of delivering an attack is the lunge, followed by the recovery. The recovery from the attack is very important, as it enables the fencer to return to a safe distance if the attack fails. The main points regarding the lunge are that the arm extends first. The front foot then glides forward, toes first. The rear leg pushes down and thrusts the body forward until the rear leg is straight. On completion of the lunge, the fencer bends the back leg and returns to the en garde position.

The power for your lunge coming from the back leg, which is pushing down into the floor. If your legs in the en garde position are not bent enough you will not develop much power, as you are not in a good position from which to drive off. The front leg extends to lengthen the lunge, with the front foot kicking forward with toes lifting first, rather like kicking a ball. A top level fencer will be kicking forward with the front foot and pushing hard with the back foot, the front foot will land and the back foot will be dragged forward so that the fencer finishes in a perfect lunge position.

All of this takes a lot of practice and at first your legs will resist, so time spent gradually increasing the power and distance of your lunge is the way forward. Set yourself realistic daily targets, increasing the repetitions, power and distance as the weeks go on. It is important for beginners not to overstretch, though, as this could sprain or pull muscles. Your body is new to this, so break it in gently.

the correct lunge position with fencer correctly balanced with the back foot flat to the floor; top right: incorrect lunge position with the fencer leaning forward with the back foot on the toes; bottom left: incorrect twisting of the back foot and no extension from the front leg; bottom right: incorrect with front arm not extended.

The development of the flèche.

The Flèche Attack

The flèche is an all-out attack and is used as a surprise attack. It translates from the French as arrow, which describes the move-ment of the fencer. It is important during its execution that you do not collide with your opponent (corps à corps, or body to body). If you do collide, you will be warned (yellow card) and if you do it again, a point will be awarded against you (red card).

The main points of the flèche are leaning forward over the front foot. The thrust comes from the front foot once the rear leg has crossed past the front. The rear foot lands and you then pass your opponent.

The flèche needs to be practised with care and not used until we are confident about being able both to pass our opponent and withdraw the foil after hitting. With the lunge, we stop short of our opponent and then recover back to the en garde position. With the flèche, we are launching ourselves at our opponent with no way of return, so it is vital that we go past them and do not collide. The rule is that you pass on whichever side is easier for you; for example, in the case of right versus right, you would normally pass on your right.

Catching the ball with the lunge.

Catching the ball with the flèche.

Basic Footwork Drills

The following exercises will help to improve and develop your footwork:

move backward and forward for 30sec, using different step sizes, speed and rhythm

as above, but putting in the lunge and recovery at different times, for example after a step back/forward, after a fast step forward and so on

with a partner, one partner leads the footwork; the other has to follow, making sure to keep the same distance apart; this is a follow-the-leader type of exercise and should be done slowly

as above, but the leading partner uses different step types to try to confuse their partner and to make it difficult to maintain the distance; the following partner is no longer trying to match the footwork step for step, but is doing what is needed with their feet to keep the distance the same

one partner holds the palm of the hand out in front to represent a target. The other partner has to lunge, extending the arm first and hitting their partner's hand with the tip of their fingers before or as the foot hits the ground. Repeat this ten times each

as above, but the fencers are further apart, so the lunge is preceded by a forward fencing step

one partner is still holding the palm of the hand, but this time is allowed to move away from the attack (lunge). In this exercise, the leading partner has to think about how they must use the footwork to try to get the target within range. This involves some trickery with the feet to confuse, fast lunging and also when to lunge. Try to attack after going backward. The effect of this is that going backward first brings your partner toward you; if you can attack a target moving toward you it is much more difficult for them to move away when attacked.

Ball Exercises

A bouncy ball is best for this these exercises, which help to develop hand-eye coordination, timing and good balance:

in the en garde position, throw the ball to the floor and step forward to catch

in the en garde position, throw the ball to the floor, lunge and catch

in the en garde position, throw the ball further forward, step, then lunge to catch

in the en garde position, throw the ball forward, then flèche to...