New Classical Fencing: Coming On Guard With the French Foil

 Fencing Masters inside the classical duration normally included a selected approach of approaching shield of their fencing manuals. Today those appear peculiar to a modern-day fencer, however on the time the detail of ceremony they represented become an time-honored part of the sport. Maitre d'Armes Louis Rondelle's 1892 text, Foil and Sabre: A Grammar of Fencing, offers a detailed seven step technique for approaching defend. Rondelles description is essentially similar to Regis and Louis Senac's 1904 description of approaching guard in The Art of Fencing, and the same description in Maurice Grandiere's 1906 volume How To Fence. Evidence shows that this is a trendy method of coming on shield inside the French School within the length 1892-1906.

From the location of attention (the not unusual First Position with the ft at a ninety diploma attitude to every different at the directing line, the legs immediately, the torso upright, and the weapon arm inclined downward to the the front), the arm, with foil in keeping with the arm, is raised so that the hand is degree with the fencer's eye, the factor in line and prolonged closer to the opponent.

The weapon arm is lowered with the foil in a instantly line until the point of the foil is about 4 inches from the surface of the piste.

The foil is swung down and round, the factor to the inside, ending with the blade parallel to the floor of the piste throughout the thighs. The weapon hand reverses so that the fingernails are in the direction of the frame and downward. Simultaneously, the hands at the non-weapon hand are placed along the blade, palm up, and the nails in contact with the defend.

The foil, with each fingers in the identical relative role as in step 3, is raised vertically close alongside the body with the blade horizontal till the fingers are absolutely prolonged above the top.

Simultaneously both palms bend. The non-weapon hand releases the blade and the arm lowers to the bent arm role, higher-arm horizontal, the forearm vertical, and the hand forward and comfy with palms ahead. The weapon hand movements downward in keeping with the opponent to chest height with the thumb upward. The arm is bent with the elbow approximately eight inches from the chest. The blade of the foil is in keeping with the Forearm and the point of the foil is in keeping with the opponent's eye.

With the ft in contact and at proper angles, bend the knees so that the body sinks retaining a fair stability.

Shift the body weight to the rear leg, and flow the front foot forward in a right away line from the rear heel toward the opponent to land at the precise distance from the rear foot. The ahead knee need to be without delay above the instep of the forward foot, and the body weight have to be slightly shifted closer to the rear leg.

More than rite became concerned on this series of steps. The shield function is the primary physical function of the fencer's frame from which footwork and both offensive and defensive bladework flows. A balanced defend function become vital then, and remains crucial now, to efficient motion at the piste. How one comes on defend contributes to achieving that balanced role, and this approach results in a technically correct position. However, that is not the simplest benefit. The method of approaching defend serves as a device to awareness the fencer at the bout, and a technically correct execution may serve notice to the opponent that the fencer is a skilled opponent.