No matter how bad an opponent's en guarde stance is, you're not going to be able to hit him if he's mentally prepared. Likewise, no matter how good the stance is, he wont be able to defend against your attack if he's not mentally prepared.
I always remind people that stances exist in 4 dimensions-- they are relative to the opponent's attacks, but also to the distance of the combatants as well as the defender's reaction speed.
Trench warfare –or– don’t use your head, use your feet!
One of the hallmarks of fencing, regardless of style, is footwork.* In fact, it’s apocryphal that fencing spawned ballet. Nearly every historical treatise describes it’s own very particular footwork patterns or techniques... St. Didier, Agrippa, Thibaust, DiGrassi, Viggiani... you name it. And certainly, modern competitive fencers are drilled in footwork, lunges, and distance until they do it in their sleep.
So it’s a peculiar thing that many fencers neglect this area of their training. It seems endemic in nearly every gym except the most competitive: fencers love the blade-work, but seem loathe to do the footwork.
This 4-page, downloadable report discusses the importance of proper footwork--why it is vital to your ability to defend yourself, possibly even more than the parry.
It explores how distance effects the effectiveness of your parries and your timing, and most important, offers practical solutions solutions and exercises.
read it, try it out, and share you opinions and experiences!
(PLEASE NOTE THE REACTION SPEED REPORT HAS BEEN TAKEN DOWN! IT WAS ONLY BEING OFFERED FOR A LIMITED TIME. A REVISED VERSION MAY BE OFFERED FOR SALE AT SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN OTHER, SIMILAR FENCING REPORTS, PLEASE LET US KNOW.)
I'm very pleased to be able to offer this to all of you. I'm also a little bit embarrassed, since we've been promising to deliver this for a long time now, but technical and other difficulties have prevented us from getting it to you sooner.
I truly believe that this little PDF will have a real impact on improving the fencing ability of anyone who applies the techniques contained in it.
With out any further ado, here it is. Please read it and give the material in it a fair trial. I think you'll be very pleased!!
And remember to check back to this blog--we don't update it too often, but when we do, the material will be practical and topical and fun!
Please note: The "Timewarp" video referred to in the report (Season 1, Episode 18, "Body Modification") currently does not seem to be available anywhere on line. If we can locate a link to it again, we'll post it to this blog.
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