Chapter I: Fundamentals

THE POSITION OF GUARD, WITHOUT THE SWORD

The feet are at right angles--the front foot in the long axis of the fencing strip and pointing directly towards the opponent, with the heel in line with the heel of the rear foot and about two foot-lengths from it. The distance between the feet cannot be set arbitrarily, but must be such as to give a steady position without sacrificing agility, or tending to fixation. Both knee- and hip-joints are well flexed, so that the individual is almost “sitting on air.” The front thigh should form an angle of less than forty-five degrees with the horizontal and the knee should be directly above the instep. The rear knee is “cocked” slightly in front of a vertical line above the foot--so as to lend more force and assurance to the forward kick in the lunge. The weight is equally distributed on both feet, so that movement to the front or rear may be executed with equal ease. The body is erect, with rear shoulder forced somewhat backward so as to minimize the target offered to the opponent, but without sufficient restraint to hamper activity. The rear arm is elevated, with upper arm horizontal, forearm vertical and hand horizontal, the shoulder, elbow and wrist forming right angles. The position of this arm should be maintained without rigidity or tightness. The forward, or sword, arm is about two-thirds extended, the forearm being almost horizontal with elbow and hand slightly below the level of the breast. This level should be approximately midway between the top of the collar and the fork of the crotch. The elbow of the sword arm should be maintained definitely inside of the outer line of the body.

Early effort should be made: (1) to accustom the muscles of the rear shoulder to maintaining its backward position for the effacement of the target; (2) to accustom the thigh muscles to the strain of maintaining the semi-sitting position; and (3) to accustom the muscles of the shoulder of the sword arm to the inside position of that elbow. These are the only positions in fencing that carry with them a sense of constraint to the beginner, and, as each makes a very appreciable contribution to the future efficiency of the swordsman, they should be practised with assiduity from the beginning. The well flexed legs are the very basis of the attack; the withdrawal of the rear shoulder minimizes the apparent target; and the “inside” elbow of the sword arm is a fixed pivot from which all parries are controlled and all ripostes launched.

THE ADVANCE AND RETREAT

Fencing is a game of constant, sudden, and rapid movement. The necessity of closing distance to facilitate the delivery of a successful attack and of increasing distance to reinforce the execution of a planned defence results in almost incessant advancing and retreating. The advance is executed by carrying the front foot forward approximately its own length, planting it, and quickly bringing the rear foot up to its previous relative position. The retreat is merely a reversal of this procedure, first carrying the rear foot backward approximately its own length, and then following with the front foot. The necessity for quickness in these movements cannot be over-emphasized. A certain amount of imbalance and unreadiness is bound to exist while one foot is in the air. The opponent may await this brief moment and seize it for launching his attack.

FIG. 1. Side view of guard; in quarte.

FIG. 2. Front view of guard; in quarte.

FIG. 3. Thrust.

FIG. 4. Lunge.]

The jump advance is just what the name would indicate, a short jump forward--both feet leaving the ground at the same time. In the Italian school, this is called the “balestra.” It has the advantage of being executed in a single movement, thus being quicker. However, being in a single movement, it is irretrievable and, once started, must be completed. Probably, its greatest field of usefulness is against the individual who invariably sways backward on his rear leg with his parry against any attack.

THE THRUST

The thrust is entirely a movement of the sword arm and is the initial movement in every attack. As the right of way in the attack depends upon the sword arm being extended, with the point threatening the target, any movement _preceding_ the thrust, such as an advance or retreat, is merely by way of preparation, constitutes no threat, and, consequently, has no rights. The movement, in its simplest form, is merely a quick extension of the arm, with point in line. The quickness should be without initial tension or terminal jerk. If the point is not in line, it does not threaten the target; does not constitute an effective feint; and, therefore, does not command the right of way. Occasion will be taken, from time to time, as this work progresses, to return to this point for it is upon it and the various departures from it that the entire theory of the right of way in foil fencing is based. To recapitulate: No movement is a legal threat, or possesses any inherent rights, unless preceded, initiated, or accompanied by an extension of the arm, with the point in line; nor do these rights become activated until this movement has been completed; nor do these rights persist after either the extension of the arm, or the threat of the point, is withdrawn.

THE LUNGE

The lunge is the forward movement of the body by a powerful extension of the rear leg. With the kick of the rear leg, the front foot is raised an inch or two clear of the floor and travels forward one and a half or two times its own length, the heel landing almost imperceptibly ahead of the planting of the ball of the foot. _When_ the front foot lands, the rear foot should remain in its original position; the rear leg should be extended; the thigh of the front leg should be horizontal, the lower leg vertical, and the body inclined _very_ slightly forward. With the kick, the rear arm is straightened smartly to the rear. This is the concluding movement of each properly executed attack, carrying the point from its position at the end of the thrust to the target. It should be catlike in the speed of its execution as well as in the accuracy and coordination of its movements. It is executed in a single time. There is no intermediate stage. There is the kick of the rear leg, followed by the arrival in the full extension of the lunge. There is no gentle settling to, or gradual assumption of the lunge. The movement is explosive in its sudden completeness. If the legs are insufficiently flexed, the forward movement becomes a fall and is infinitely slow in the split-second terms of fencing time. If the rear knee is not cocked slightly forward, as prescribed, the impetus is apt to be in an upward, rather than forward direction, and both time and distance are sacrificed. If, in the anxiety to reach out toward the opponent, the body is allowed more than a _very_ slight forward inclination, the balance will be disturbed and the recovery slowed. This may leave one at the mercy of a skilful opponent who has successfully parried the original attack. The recovery from the lunge is almost entirely dependent upon a strong kick-back with the front leg. It is aided by a simultaneous flexion of the rear leg and swinging of the rear arm up to the position of guard. This recovery must be executed as quickly and smoothly as was the lunge. It must be so perfectly coordinated and free from conscious effort that it permits the careful execution of defensive movements with the sword during its performance. This presupposes long, hard practice, so that perfectly seasoned muscles perform their function almost without conscious direction.

Great emphasis is being placed in these preliminary remarks upon the development of fencing legs. This is necessary for at least two sufficient reasons. In the first place, fencing is a war of movement--not one of fixed positions. In the second place, the muscles involved are used in a way for which no other sport is more than a partial training. While the fencing lunge may well be compared with the quick start in the dash races, one is not allowed to prepare his stance for a single start but must be continually in position to make it at any moment and repeatedly, with every muscle under the tension that exists at the precise moment that the gun fires for the start. The sudden movements of the advance and retreat must be made from this position. The strain upon untrained thigh muscles is extreme. The fencer who has not fully mastered these movements and trained these muscles starts handicapped and must look for his victories among those who are inferior to himself in other branches of the game, or who are equally inferior in this branch. Perfect performance and perfect coordination of head, hand, and legs are necessary for the finished fencer. The neglect of proper foot-work is one of the commonest failings in young fencers--but is almost never seen among the finalists in major competitions. Bad and slovenly habits, formed early, are frequently fatal to later success. School the hand and the legs, while waiting for observation and experience to develop the head.

A good exercise for the development of fencing legs consists in taking the position of guard at one end of a forty-foot fencing strip and advancing rapidly to the other end, interspersing a lunge and recovery after every third or fourth advance. Never relax the flexed position of guard. When too fatigued to continue properly, stop and rest. The same exercise may be taken in reverse, doing several quick retreats followed by lunge and recovery. Remember that the average foil bout lasts about five minutes and that, against anything like even competition, you may have to make innumerable advances and retreats with as many as fifteen lunges to gain your five touches. And you may have to do this three, six, or nine times in a single afternoon, with the added fatigue of high nervous strain. Few sights are more depressing than a young man, with the legs of an octogenarian, having to flex them before each attack and trying to step back, with knees straight, from a swiftly executed attack.

Hitherto, we have discussed the position of body and arm without the sword. From now on, we discuss these positions with the sword in hand.

THE SWORD

The sword is made up of four components: the blade; the guard; the grip (or handle); and the pommel. The blade is further subdivided into the blade proper and the tang. The tang is of much softer temper than the blade proper, meets it at a sharp shoulder and serves for the attachment of guard, grip, and pommel. The guard is usually made of polished, or plated, steel or aluminum and is most commonly shaped in a double loop, called “figure 8,” or as a segment of a spherical surface, called “bell.” Occasionally, rectangles or ovals of solid metal are seen. The guard has a square aperture at its center for the passage of the tang. The “figure 8” guard must be faced, on the blade side, with heavy leather or other material to prevent the passage and trapping of the opponent’s point. The bell guard is usually padded on the inner face with a light, circular, cloth cushion. The grip is usually made of wood, with a tunnel through its center for the passage of the tang. It is slightly curved to better fit the hand and is usually wrapped with cord. The pommel is usually of steel in the shape of a truncated cone, of such length and weight as to properly balance the sword. It may be in one or two pieces and is usually threaded to fit the end of the tang.

The French blade most commonly used is the #5, which is about thirty-five inches long; rectangular in cross section; much heavier near the guard than at the point; and resilient and highly tempered, so that its tendency is to resume its straightness after a touch. This blade terminates at the point in a flattened button, which, in practice, is wound with waxed cord or friction tape. The blade proper is divided into three theoretical portions: the forte, which is the heavier part near the guard; the faible, which is the light portion near the point; and the middle section. In the French theory, all parries are made against the faible of the attacking sword, either by a pressure of forte to faible or of a sharp blow of forte to faible, faible to faible, or mid-section to faible.

The balance of the French foil, to lend itself ideally to the finger play that is the perfection of French fencing, should be immediately in front of the guard, so that the sword is _very_ slightly point heavy. This balance can be obtained by mounting a standard #5 blade and guard, with a grip measuring six and one half inches in length, and a steel pommel measuring two inches in length and weighing about five ounces. Many of the French foils offered on the market are so short in the grip and light in the pommel as to create a heaviness of point that is almost prohibitive to any delicacy of finger work.

THE GRASP (GRIP, OR HOLD) OF THE SWORD

The manner in which the sword is held largely governs its proper use, but is frequently neglected in the basic instruction in sword-play. In the French school, proper sword-play is grounded upon finger work and, for the successful employment of this technique, two distinct grips are employed--the one for defence, the other for offence. In both grips, the position of the thumb is the same, resting upon the broader surface of the handle close to the guard. However, the finger grip varies. In the defence grip, the grip of the sword passes across the palm in such a manner as to permit the fingers to curl snugly around the handle, the index finger resting its distal _joint_ (articulation, not phalanx) on the broad surface opposite the thumb and only partially encircling the handle. This grip permits the use of the full strength of the fingers in making parries and attacks on the sword. In the attack position, the handle of the sword runs slightly obliquely along the palm of the hand, instead of across it, and is in direct prolongation of the extended arm. The thumb and index finger retain their firm grip near the guard, but the terminal phalanges of the other fingers now rest lightly along the narrow face opposite the palm for direction and control, rather than force. The finger work (doigté) is one of the most valuable and delicate and, at the same time, one of the most difficult and neglected features of French sword-play, and this shifting grip is quite necessary for its proper performance.

FIG. 5. Grip of sword in quarte; supination, page 11; defence, p. 9;
top view.

FIG. 6. Grip of sword in sixte; supination, p. 11; defence, p. 9; top
view.

FIG. 7. Side view; hand in supination, p. 11; low line guard, p. 11.

FIG. 8. Side view; same as above except high line guard.

FIG. 9. Grip in attack, p. 9; top view.

FIG. 10. Hand in pronation, p. 11.]

POSITIONS OF SWORD-HAND IN GUARDS

The general position of the body and extremities in the position of guard has been discussed in earlier paragraphs. The various guards with the sword are designed to close the various lines of attack to the opponent’s sword. The valid target in foil play includes the entire trunk and the neck to the top of the collar. The head, arms, and legs are excluded. For purposes of description and of defence, this target is divided by an imaginary horizontal line into a high and a low line. This horizontal line is drawn at slightly below the level of the breast and equally divides the distance from the top of the collar to the fork of the crotch. Frequent reference is also made to an inside and an outside line, dependent upon its vertical area inside, or outside, the sword arm. The high and low lines are fixed and constant, but the inside and outside lines are variable, for reasons that will be given later. The various areas of the body are protected by a series of guards which, by their position, prevent the attacking sword from reaching the body in this particular area. This division gives two areas to be covered in the high and two in the low line. This gives us guards in both high and low lines that deviate the attacking point from the target either to the outer side or to the inner side of the sword arm. Not only are there the four general lines of deviation of the attacking point, but in each of these lines there is a distinction based upon whether the guard is closed with the fingers of the sword hand up (hand in supination) or with the fingers down (hand in pronation). This gives us eight guards in all. In all of these guards, the hand is maintained in the horizontal line dividing high and low lines, the point being at eye level in the high line and at knee level in the low line guards.

If, as stated above, these guards prevent the attacking sword from reaching the body in the particular area which each is designed to protect, it becomes obvious that, when an outside guard is taken, no outside line for attack exists, except one which is outside the body, and, consequently, no line at all. The same holds true of the inside line, either high or low. Therefore, the outside and inside lines are variables, existing only one at a time for purposes of attack and, when they do exist, including the entire target. This distinction will become more clear with the detailed description of the various guards and their use in combat.