Learning to Fence
Ultimately, to enjoy historical fencing you will need to learn to fence. Even if your interest is academic, understanding the physical requirements will greatly aid any study of theory. It is my experience that whilst many instructors can teach fencing, a high proportion do not know how to teach their students to fence. Some of those do not know the difference, or perhaps even that there is one.
Learning to fence begins with an understanding of the weapon and how it is used. This means movement, body position and other facilitating requirements as well as knowledge of the specific strokes and parries. There are also numerous intangibles such as an understanding of time and distance, and how they relate to one another. A fencer is more than someone who knows how to move a sword, just as a chess master’s understanding goes rather beyond simply knowing how the pieces move.
Over time, a fencer will develop understanding of the weapon and of conflict in general, and elements of physics, biomechanics and psychology begin to become important. However, it all begins and it is always facilitated by the ability to perform strokes and parries in a crisp and effective manner. Plunging into esoterica is of no use if you are hit by a simple thrust, unless of course your interest is purely academic.
Note that developing or ‘getting good’ is a matter of student effort and motivation. An instructor is a facilitator of the learning process, but cannot replace student effort. The instructors offer a clear and simple path to follow, and how quickly you move down it is up to you. There comes a point where an advanced student can begin to make their own path – if they want – through study of the various historical works available. This requires a solid grounding first; that is what the instructors are there to provide.
Once that grounding is achieved, it is possible to begin a study of whatever style or master interests you. The vast breadth of historical material available makes it possible to endlessly argue over concepts such as whose version of the lunge is correct or almost any other subject. This is part of the fun, though it is not appropriate in the middle of an instructor’s lesson!
Some fencers choose to work to a single master’s style; others want to take whatever they can learn from anywhere they can get it and put it together into their own style. Those that wish to fence to a particular treatise are of course welcome to do so, though it is worth realising that a certain kind of fencer will use historical arguments as an excuse to not do something the way they are being asked to. Good manners are important – if someone is taking the time to teach and you disagree with what they are saying, then perhaps it is not appropriate to derail their lesson. A more polite approach might be to have a learned discussion at a different time!
No matter what you may have heard about ‘secret thrusts’, ‘universal parries’ and other esoteric techniques, progressing as a fencer is mostly about creating a highly effective body of most-used technique, honed to a fine pitch by effective drilling. Additional material contributes to depth of knowledge and will improve a fencer’s performance, but in terms of straight fight-effectiveness it is good basics that carry the vast majority of the load.
Endlessly drilling basics is not ‘fun’ by most people’s reckoning, but it is the road to success.
To be effective, drilling has to be done properly, with a view to establishing a baseline technique that varies as little as possible each time the technique is performed. Any variation necessitated by circumstances is thus deliberate and effective. The key is to view each movement within a stroke or technique as a separate item to perfected when drilling, rather than to rush through the whole set-piece as if it were a single entity.
Breaking down technique in this manner does not mean it is performed more slowly in freeplay; indeed it will be faster due to greater efficiency. Mechanical drilling is slow at first but soon becomes just as fast as ‘normal’ drilling. The difference is that it becomes possible to build other techniques out of the same movements and to change intentions mid-exchange.
This approach facilitates a move from programmed-response to choice reaction and ultimately facilitates an open-eyes approach to freeplay. It also allows second and third intention actions – it is just about possible to pull these off as set-pieces but risky unless the opponent reacts exactly right.
This method also allows more to be gained from seminars, symposia and sessions with external instructors. If you are struggling to learn how to perform the technique you have just been shown you will miss the higher-level material such as its subtler nuances and its applications. By being able to perform each movement well, you will be able to see the new technique as a combination of movements you already know and learn it more efficiently, focusing on application rather than performance.
The key is to develop control.
Control wins fights:
In an engagement that goes beyond the first parry-riposte, the winner is usually whoever maintains control of his weapon longest. Conditioning (as opposed to fitness, which is different) is also important, and this, too, is built by drilling. Once a student has reached a decent level of competence in these basics of fencing it becomes possible to teach them how to fence. There is no point trying to do that until technical competence is achieved. Indeed, it can be counterproductive. 'Pressure testing' skills which are not properly implemented just leads to the creation of new bad habits. The instructor must therefore finely judge what activities are suitable at the present time rather than pandering to students who want to dive in and play swords after one or two lessons.
Learning to fence begins with an understanding of the weapon and how it is used. This means movement, body position and other facilitating requirements as well as knowledge of the specific strokes and parries. There are also numerous intangibles such as an understanding of time and distance, and how they relate to one another. A fencer is more than someone who knows how to move a sword, just as a chess master’s understanding goes rather beyond simply knowing how the pieces move.
Over time, a fencer will develop understanding of the weapon and of conflict in general, and elements of physics, biomechanics and psychology begin to become important. However, it all begins and it is always facilitated by the ability to perform strokes and parries in a crisp and effective manner. Plunging into esoterica is of no use if you are hit by a simple thrust, unless of course your interest is purely academic.
Note that developing or ‘getting good’ is a matter of student effort and motivation. An instructor is a facilitator of the learning process, but cannot replace student effort. The instructors offer a clear and simple path to follow, and how quickly you move down it is up to you. There comes a point where an advanced student can begin to make their own path – if they want – through study of the various historical works available. This requires a solid grounding first; that is what the instructors are there to provide.
Once that grounding is achieved, it is possible to begin a study of whatever style or master interests you. The vast breadth of historical material available makes it possible to endlessly argue over concepts such as whose version of the lunge is correct or almost any other subject. This is part of the fun, though it is not appropriate in the middle of an instructor’s lesson!
Some fencers choose to work to a single master’s style; others want to take whatever they can learn from anywhere they can get it and put it together into their own style. Those that wish to fence to a particular treatise are of course welcome to do so, though it is worth realising that a certain kind of fencer will use historical arguments as an excuse to not do something the way they are being asked to. Good manners are important – if someone is taking the time to teach and you disagree with what they are saying, then perhaps it is not appropriate to derail their lesson. A more polite approach might be to have a learned discussion at a different time!
No matter what you may have heard about ‘secret thrusts’, ‘universal parries’ and other esoteric techniques, progressing as a fencer is mostly about creating a highly effective body of most-used technique, honed to a fine pitch by effective drilling. Additional material contributes to depth of knowledge and will improve a fencer’s performance, but in terms of straight fight-effectiveness it is good basics that carry the vast majority of the load.
Endlessly drilling basics is not ‘fun’ by most people’s reckoning, but it is the road to success.
To be effective, drilling has to be done properly, with a view to establishing a baseline technique that varies as little as possible each time the technique is performed. Any variation necessitated by circumstances is thus deliberate and effective. The key is to view each movement within a stroke or technique as a separate item to perfected when drilling, rather than to rush through the whole set-piece as if it were a single entity.
Breaking down technique in this manner does not mean it is performed more slowly in freeplay; indeed it will be faster due to greater efficiency. Mechanical drilling is slow at first but soon becomes just as fast as ‘normal’ drilling. The difference is that it becomes possible to build other techniques out of the same movements and to change intentions mid-exchange.
This approach facilitates a move from programmed-response to choice reaction and ultimately facilitates an open-eyes approach to freeplay. It also allows second and third intention actions – it is just about possible to pull these off as set-pieces but risky unless the opponent reacts exactly right.
This method also allows more to be gained from seminars, symposia and sessions with external instructors. If you are struggling to learn how to perform the technique you have just been shown you will miss the higher-level material such as its subtler nuances and its applications. By being able to perform each movement well, you will be able to see the new technique as a combination of movements you already know and learn it more efficiently, focusing on application rather than performance.
The key is to develop control.
Control wins fights:
- Control of your weapon
- Control of your body position
- Control of your mental state
- Control of time, space and distance
- Control of the lines of attack
- Control of the opponent’s options
- Control of the opponent’s reactions
In an engagement that goes beyond the first parry-riposte, the winner is usually whoever maintains control of his weapon longest. Conditioning (as opposed to fitness, which is different) is also important, and this, too, is built by drilling. Once a student has reached a decent level of competence in these basics of fencing it becomes possible to teach them how to fence. There is no point trying to do that until technical competence is achieved. Indeed, it can be counterproductive. 'Pressure testing' skills which are not properly implemented just leads to the creation of new bad habits. The instructor must therefore finely judge what activities are suitable at the present time rather than pandering to students who want to dive in and play swords after one or two lessons.
