Drill#1:  Moving point control

Involves:  1 Coach, 1 Student

Used for:  Developing point control by hitting a variety of coach-opened targets from a variety of distances.

  Coach:  may start on-guard or facing the student squarely.  Extends weapon arm as though he were on-guard and slowly walks backwards.  At random intervals, Coach will stop walking and lower his weapon point slightly (no more than 6 inches) to expose his wrist and forearm.  After the Student has successfully scored a hit upon the exposed target area, the Coach acknowledges the hit and resumes walking backwards.  Coach, PLEASE be careful of walls, desks, hanging lights and bystanders.

  Student:  Begins on-guard, facing Coach.  Follows Coach at pre-set distance and attacks the opened target area appropriately by extending the arm and thrusting at the target.  Try to land the tip of your weapon with sufficient force that the blade bends.  That’s the best way to ensure that a point has been scored.  But don’t make the blade bend more than 45 degrees from straight.  More than that and it starts to hurt the coach, who will get you back for it.

  Notes:

            Here are the following “distances:” Extension (close enough so that just extending your arm hits the target); advance-extension (where you have to extend your arm and take a small step forward to hit); Lunge (self-explanitory); Advance-lunge (take a small step and then lunge to hit the target).

            I advise starting this drill at extension range and then working outwards to end at Advance-Lunge distance.  A few things to keep in mind while doing this drill:

1.  Don’t hit the coach hard.

2.  Start the drill SLOWLY.  It is far better to do it correctly and slowly then try to blaze through it and not learn it properly.

3.  Student:  Try to aim for the crook of the coach’s elbow or the wrist.  You have a far better chance of scoring a hit there (with the bicep as a backstop) than trying to land one on the forearm.

4.  Coach:  Take it easy on the student until they can reliably score at least 5 touches in a row on your wrist/forearm/crook-of-elbow at each distance.  After that, you can make things a little harder!

  A convenient way to practice distance and point control is to mount a 1-foot-square board on the wall.  On this board, I would suggest putting an old pillow or something with a little "give" that you wouldn't mind getting punctured - or drawn on.  Draw a target (a bullseye, heart, picture of someone you don't like) on the pillow and practice thrusting at it from various distances.  This is an excellent way to learn what your lunge distance is as well as how hard you need to hit to get the blade to bend a little.

            The key word there is “little.”  The blade shouldn’t bend more than 45 degrees off of straight, otherwise you’re too close and/or hitting too hard.

Drill #2:  Parry-Riposte!

Everyone’s favorite drill.

Involves:  1 Coach, 1 Student

Used for:  Developing and fine-tuning defensive reactions, this drill also has a useful offensive component at higher skill levels where the coach doesn’t show the student an opening.

  Coach:  Starts against the wall or at one end of the practice area.  Faces student squarely the first few times the drill is performed, but gradually transitions to a proper on-guard stance as the student becomes more experienced.  Coach, don’t get lazy and stand squarely all the time, you’ll be doing the student AND yourself a gross disservice.  Only perfect practice makes perfect.

            Coach will advance towards the student and make obvious attacks (which, again, will become less obvious as the student becomes more proficient).  At first, the Coach will widely open the line in which the student is to riposte.  As a side note, all P&R drills should involve lunging as an integral part of the drill. 

  The signals are as follows (for saber):

Head:  Lean forward and expose your forehead to the student, like you were bowing or looking at their feet.

Flank:  Lift your weapon arm like you were going to make a head parry and turn that part of your torso towards the student (like a trunk-twister).

Belly:  Draw your weapon arm back and up, and turn yourself squarely towards the student.  The arm motion is the same as though you were raising your hands in surrender.

  (for epee):

Wrist & Forearm: Dip your blade to expose that target.

Head:  Drop your blade and lean forward slightly to expose your head.

Thigh:  Move your blade to the outside of your body (IE righthanders move the blade to the far right, lefthanders to the far left) and downwards.

Torso:  Move your blade to the outside of your body (IE righthanders move the blade to the far right, lefthanders to the far left) and upwards.

  (For Foil):

            Just dip your blade in any particular direction - upwards if you want a low-line riposte and downwards for a high-line riposte.

  Make sure you explain these signals beforehand!!

            Coach, when you feel the student is ready for it feel free to get tricky with your footwork (such as retreating a step yourself after you have been parried and making the student lunge at you!).

Student:  You will be retreating at a set distance from the coach.  When the Coach attacks you, parry in the appropriate line and riposte in accordance with the signals that the Coach has explained to you.  Start slowly at first and get a good feel for how the parries and ripostes function and how they feel to you.

  Drill #3:  Second Intention/counterparry riposte

Involves:  1 coach, 1 student

Used for:  Taking advantage of opponents who have very set patterns of operation.

  Coach:  This drill is slightly more complicated, so read carefully and ask questions!!  The first attack-parry sequence is scripted, IE explained ahead of time

The coach will be backing up, the student advancing.  The signal to begin the drill is the coach dipping the point of the weapon slightly.  The student will then attack a predetermined location (IE for saber, the head; for epee, the wrist).  The coach will parry the attack and riposte, again, to a predetermined location (although in the more advanced version the riposte is not announced beforehand) where the student counter-parries and ripostes as per Drill #2 above.

            If you like, you can also incorporate the beat-attack drill (#4, below) into this drill.  Also, feel free to vary the distance and the timing of the attacks, parrys and ripostes.

  Student:  Advance after your coach.  When the coach signals by lowering the point of his blade, attack him in the target location that he has discussed with you beforehand.  He will parry and riposte, and you must counter-parry and counter-riposte your coach.  Be alert for the coach to change the distance or timing of the drill!

  Drill #4:  Beat-attack

Involves: 1 coach, 1 student

Used for: Taking control of the opponent’s weapon in preparation for the completion of the attack.

            The beat itself is conducted as follows: 

            For a saber, turn the cutting edge of the weapon towards the opponent’s weapon and cut into the upper two-thirds of their blade (although I would suggest only the upper half for clarity purposes), then turn the cutting edge back towards the target and complete the attack.  It is VERY important to complete the initial attack BEFORE the front foot hits the ground.

            For Epee and Foil:  sharply strike the upper half of the opponent’s blade with the middle third of yours, then complete your attack.

  Coach:   You will be retreating, with the student following.  The signal to begin the drill is your extending your arm towards the student.  The student should beat the weapon in the fashion described above; then complete the attack.  If you want to make things more interesting, vary the distance OR disengage when they try to beat your blade.  However, do not be difficult and let them beat your blade on the second try.  If, on the other hand, they miss the beat and try attacking anyway, feel free to parry-riposte or stop-hit them.

            Student:  Advance after your coach.  When they signal by extending their weapon arm towards you, beat their blade according to the weapon-descriptions given above and complete your attack in one smooth motion.  If the coach is sneaky and disengages, reverse the direction of your beat and hit the OTHER side of his blade, then proceed to finish your attack.

Well, folks, that’s all for this installment of Coachly Thoughts.  As always, if something here doesn’t make sense then ask me.  I don’t always do the best job explaining things.  Stay tuned for next time, where I’ll rant on about developing your own personal fencing style.