INTRODUCTORY FENCING SYLLABUS

• Basic Assumptions
• Week 1: Basic Footwork and Holding the Blade (no armoring up required)
• Week 2: Direct Attacks, Parry Quarte
• Week 3: Feint Attacks
• Week 4: Low-line
• Week 5: Circular Parries and Binds
• Week 6: Off-hand Parries, Reversed Stance, Voiding
• Week 7: More Fun with Feints, Fencing From Your Knees
• Week 8: Cuts and Stop Thrusts
• Week 9: Beat Attacks
• Week 10: Off-Hand and Preparing for Authorization

Basic assumptions:

• Every lesson should result in a drill that students can practice with each other and with more experienced fencers.
• We start with foils and French grips whenever possible. If the student has a weapon that they are comfortable with and know how to use, fine. If they went and bought a fancy rapier and can’t find the sharp end of it, give them loaner equipment.
• Always review previous week’s material for the first few minutes of each class.
• Make notes if any particular week doesn’t get to all the material, so that teacher of the next class can compensate.
• Keep an index card for each student. Make notes about what material has been covered. This will make it easier to track individuals.
• Students should participate in the 30-minute stretching, footwork, and warm up exercises before the class.
• Allow a few minutes of warm-down after the instruction, and use this time to talk about various points.

Week 1: Basic Footwork and Holding the Blade (no armoring up required)

FOOTWORK:

• En guarde stance
• Basic stance: feet at 90 degrees, shoulders’ width apart, front foot forward, knees bent. Back straight, butt tucked in. Use abdominal muscles for support. Shoulders level, head up, eyes looking forward, relaxed.
• Balance: in the center at all times. Straightening back, lining ears up with spine/pelvis may help. Also can do the "lift front foot and rear heel" test for balance. Another is to bounce in the en guarde position and feel if there is any extra strain on either leg.

• Advance
• Can be taught as four phases: 1.) ball of front foot comes up 2.) front foot moves forward and heel comes down 3.) heel of back foot comes up moving weight of body onto front foot 4.) ball of front foot comes down and back foot comes forward and the weight of your body is now over both feet .
• Movement should be smooth and flowing, no hopping or bouncing or swaying.
• Balance always remains in the center! Hips should be level, shoulders level. · Both feet move the exact same amount. Demonstrate the consequences.

• Retreat
• Like advance: 1) reach back with ball of back foot, 2) lift front toe moving the weight of your body over the back foot, 3) back heel comes down making the foot flat on the floor, 3) move front foot underneath the front shoulder flat on the floor.
• Like advance, movement should be smooth, balance centered, hips level, shoulders level, feet the same distance before and after the move.
• Lunge
• Lift front toe. Kick front foot up (show sole) and straighten back knee. Land on the front heel, toe up, then bring foot flat. Important that ankle-to-knee of front leg is perpendicular to floor, knee is not twisted in or out, back foot is flat on floor.
• To recover: bend back knee like a hinge and pull front foot back to original position. Do not dip or torque the back knee!
• Can show how lunge is like a long advance.

BLADEWORK:

• En guarde with blade

• Hold the foil in sixte. Hand in supination (thumb at 2 o’clock), pommel tucked into wrist. Point up (usually aimed at opponent’s eye). Forearm level, elbow about one fist’s distance from the torso.
• Explain closed line (inside/outside line).
• Extension
• Straighten the elbow and aim the point down.
• Blade should bend UP when it hits. Thumb should end up at 12 o’clock or blade won’t bend right. Point needs to be aimed. (note: maker’s mark is on top of foil blade, open part of "V" is on top of epee)
• Discuss appropriate force, calibration.
• LINE DRILL: Practice extending and hitting the wall (no lunging) – feel calibration
• LINE DRILL: call out advance, retreat, extend, lunge.

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

• Discuss weapons, equipment, armoring. Show examples.
• Explain "Hold!"

Week 2: Direct Attacks, Parry Quarte

FOOTWORK:

• Review basic footwork.
• Add cross-over forward and back.
• Forward: weight shifts to front foot, back foot comes forward, crosses front foot and is placed just ahead of it. Front foot comes forward, crossing back foot and is placed in its original position, relative to back foot. (This is the period "pass").
• Backward: weight shifts to back foot, front foot reaches behind back foot and is set down. Back foot is pulled back to original position relative to front foot.
• PARTNER DRILL: Distance drill. Concentrate on smooth motion and precision, not speed.

BLADEWORK: ATTACK

• Review Extension
• Direct Attack
• With advance: Back students up 1 retreat. Extend, advance, hit the wall.
• With lunge: Back students up another retreat. Extend, lunge, hit the wall.
• Emphasize extend first!
• Review Calibration: Teacher hits students, students hit teacher - get student to feel the touch
• PARTNER DRILL: Standard attack drill. En guarde at lunge distance. Leader drops blade, follower extends, lunges, hits, and recovers. After a few rounds, add mobility. Leader advances and retreats at will, follower keeps distance.

BLADEWORK: DEFENSE

• Parry Quarte (4)

• Upper arm remains immobile from shoulder to elbow. Forearm rotates thru an arc to cover inside line. Wrist breaks, thumb at 12 o’clock. Point is up, aimed at opponent.
• Do not over-parry, do not drop hand low, do not get point out of line. Demonstrate how little is needed to cover target area. Emphasize position. This is not a beat parry.
• PARTNER DRILL: at extension distance. Leader extends, follower parries. Return to en guarde.
• Riposte from Quarte
• Parry Quarte. Then lower point and straighten arm. At point of impact, arm and blade should be in the same position as when hitting from sixte.
• PARTNER DRILL: at extension distance. Leader extends. Follower parries and ripostes. Return to en guarde. Leader must "soften the elbow" to allow follower a clear shot for the riposte.
• Parry/Riposte in Sixte
• Parrying sixte from guard means no movement. Guard is a closed sixte!
• PARTNER DRILL: at extension distance. En guarde in sixte. Leader extends. Follower parries quarte and ripostes, then returns to guarde in quarte. Leader extends from quarte, follower parries sixte and ripostes, then returns to guarde in sixte. Etc.

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

• Basic SCA rules, hand out copies of rules.

Week 3: Feint Attacks

FOOTWORK:

• Heavy review of footwork -- emphasize distance and balance.
• Add side-to-side motion

BLADEWORK: ATTACK

• Review direct attack
• Review Parry Quarte and Sixte
• Engagement
• "Finding the blade" – blades are in contact, line is closed (for your own sake)
• Disengage
• To get from a closed line to an open line.
• Control blade with thumb and forefinger; first knuckle of forefinger is "fulcrum." Make a tiny "V" in the air with the point of the blade.
• All in the fingers!
• Feint/Disengage
• Feint to quarte, deceive parry in quarte, hit in sixte.
• PARTNER DRILL: same as above. (Follower feints to quarte, leader parries, follower deceives, hits in sixte).
• Controlled Bouting!
• Discuss calling blows.
• Two people fence while two people watch. After a good hit, have the two opponents explain what they thought happened, and get the two observers to do the same.
• Do some exercises in blow-calling – one person closes their eyes while the other touches and cuts. Emphasize learning to feel the touch/cut/etc.

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

• Q & A on rules .

Week 4: Low-line

FOOTWORK:

• half steps
• long step

BLADEWORK: ATTACK AND DEFENSE

• Review direct attacks, quarte/sixte parry/riposte
• Attack to Octave (8 – low outside line)
• Aim at the thigh/knee of forward leg
• PARTNER DRILL: standard attack drill. Leader gives opening in 8.
• Parry Octave and Riposte
• Drop the point, describing an arc to the inside. Hand is supinated.
• Riposte is simply by raising the point and following the opponent’s blade in to target. (Also may riposte over the blade in sixte, but try to emphasize "opposition" for closing the line).
• PARTNER DRILL: standard parry/riposte drill in 8.
• Attack to Septime (7) – low inside line)
• Aim at belly.
• PARTNER DRILL: standard attack drill. Leader gives opening in 7.
• Parry Septime and Riposte
• Drop point, move hand thru an arc to cover inside line. Elbow and upper arm remain stationary! Do not get point out of line.
• Riposte is by raising the point, following blade in to target.
• PARTNER DRILL: standard parry/riposte drill in 7.
• High/Low Feints
• Feint to sixte, land in octave.
• and vice versa…
• Controlled Bouting!

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

• Some philosophy of the rapier – what it is for
• What is honor, chivalry.
• A little history of duelling.

Week 5: Circular Parries and Binds

REVIEW

• We’re halfway through the program – good chance to review and catch up.
• Review standard parry/riposte drills and add mobility, multiple lines.
• PARTNER DRILL: En guarde at extension (plus a smidgen!) distance. 1.) Leader extends to a line and advances. 2.) Follower retreats on the advance and parries appropriately. 3.) Follower ripostes. 4.) Return to guarde. Go thru the known parries in a pattern (4-6-7-8). Do this drill from one end of the room to the other. When students are more experienced, the leader should be able to pick a line at random and the follower parry appropriately.

BLADEWORK: DEFENSE

• Circular Parries (contre-sixte, contre-quarte)

• Same as making a disengage, then snapping back to the same line (a "C" shape). Small, controlled, precise.
• Contrast use of contre-sixte with quarte (from sixte guarde) – i.e. when attack is close to the outside line as opposed to the further inside line.
• PARTNER DRILL: Standard parry/riposte drill, using contre-parries. Spice it up by letting leader choose between attacking quarte and sixte. If quarte, follower parries quarte, if sixte, follower parries contre-sixte.
• Hitting Arms: Try the riposte from contre-sixte to the fore-arm.

BLADEWORK: ATTACK

• Binds

• From sixte: rotate hand into seconde position (hand pronated), wrapping point around opponent’s blade. Controlling the blade the whole time, go in and hit below the arm.
• PARTNER DRILL: as expected.
• Hitting Legs: Do the bind in seconde with riposte to the thigh.

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

Week 6: Off-hand Parries, Reversed Stance, Voiding

FOOTWORK:

• Review long step (reversal)
• Reverse Lunge
• Voiding
• very period kind of defense – step to the side (front foot stays in place, back foot moves in a 90o arc behind and to the outside, pivot on the front foot)

DEFENSE AND ATTACK

• Off-hand

• Parry with off-hand, then riposte.
• Taking the blade with the off-hand. Single time action. Caution about distance!
• Transfer: parry quarte, then transfer too hand, riposte with blade. (Good for preventing counter attack).
• PARTNER DRILL: standard parry-riposte drill with off-hand parry, direct riposte.
• Reverse Stance
• Emphasize need to extend first before attacking with reversal/lunge.

• Watch the distance! Distance is different with reversed stance, be aware!
• Don’t lead with your head!
• PARTNER DRILL: Leader in normal forward stance, follower reversed. Leader advances, follower takes the blade with off-hand, extends, reverses, and hits.
• Voiding with Riposte
• Combine voiding with parry Quarte and riposte to the side
• Leader lunges, follower voids, and hits target from the side: arm, shoulder, kidney
• Practice Bouting!
• Emphasize working in the round.
• At this point you might mention that although we haven’t done cuts yet, they are one way of dealing with a bad situation (e.g. you missed the attack, have ended up too close, etc.)

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

Week 7: More Fun with Feints, Fencing From Your Knees

• Review Feint/Disengage
• Defense against Feint/Disengage
• Parry quarte, then parry sixte.
• PARTNER DRILL: Leader feints to Quarte, follower parries, leader deceives and goes to sixte, follower parries sixte and ripostes.
• Feint/One-Two
• Feint to quarte, deceive parry, feint to sixte, deceive parry, hit in quarte.
• PARTNER DRILL: as expected, above.
• Disengage-Riposte
• Leader attacks to quarte. Follower parries, feint to sixte. Leader parries, follower deceives the parry (disengage to quarte), hits.
• Same for other lines.
• Press/Disengage/Lunge – with advance/lunge
• Find the blade
• Press with advance, opponent pushes back to line
• Disengage and lunge
• PARTNER DRILL: (with mobility) Leader advances/retreats/etc. Follower keeps distance. Leader cues follower by offering the blade slightly with retreat (to set up advance/lunge distance). Follower presses blade (from outside, towards quarte) with advance. Leader over-reacts to close guard. Follower disengages to quarte, extends and hits.
• On your knees!
• Distance.
• Defense: Protecting the head.
• Offense: review rules about circling.
• Attack and parry-riposte drills with one partner standing, one kneeling.
• Practice Bouting

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

Week 8: Cuts and Stop Thrusts

• Review everything again.

• Emphasize distance. The key to successful, safe cuts and stop thrusts is understanding your distance at all times.
• Cuts
• Draw cuts and tip cuts.
• Put in the context of distance!
• Cuts require closer distance, cuts versus thrust. Talk about infighting.
• Cuts shouldn’t be an excuse for sloppy fencing. Be deliberate, be aware of your distance!
• Cuts can be used to salvage a bad situation – a missed attack, a too-close situation where the point can’t be brought in.
• PARTNER DRILL: Take blade in Quarte. Advance, reverse with the off-hand extended to take blade (beyond your own). Disentangle your blade down and under your off-hand arm, cut stomach.
• Stop Thrusts
• A matter of timing.
• Be safe! Think about distance!
• Absorb shock by letting wrist ride up and to the outside (from sixte anyway), soften elbow.
• PARTNER DRILL: Disengage into stop thrust.
• Timing
• This is a good time to discuss timing. What is a "time"? Parry/Riposte is two times. Stop Thrust is one! Attack with opposition is one.

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

Week 9: Beat Attacks

• Review everything.
• Beat attack
• From sixte to quart. A sharp, precise, controlled action, striking the opponent’s blade out of line. Roll the hand from sixte (thumb at 2 o’clock) to thumb at 12 o’clock, with "english" on it. More than a parry, but don’t let point get way out of line!
• Extend after beat and hit.
• Do the same from quarte to sixte (a weaker beat, normally).
• Beats are possible from every line.
• Beat/Disengage
• Beat and feint to sixte. Deceive parry (disengage to quarte) and hit.
• Beat/One-Two
• Beat and feint to sixte. Deceive parry (disengage to quarte) and feint deeper. Deceive parry (disengage to sixte) and hit.
• PARTNER DRILL: Leader extends, follower beats, extends, hits. Add mobility: leader advances, retreats, etc. Follower keeps distance. When the leader extends, follower beats, extends, lunges, hits. Do the same with beat/disengage and beat/one-two.
• More Practice Bouting.

Week 10: Off-Hand and Preparing for Authorization

• Review everything.
• Off-hand fencing
• Basic quarte and sixte, direct attacks and parry-riposte.
• Standard drills.
• More bouting and strategy.

WARM-DOWN LECTURE:

• Discuss what to expect in authorization.