Athletics-Fencing-Terms-1/Beginning/Foil

Question 1

piste

Answer 1

(pist)
playing field or fencing strip
46 feet long, 6 feet and 7 inches wide
Divided in half, then into three parts: first line from center is On Guard; final third/sixth is a Warning(?)

Question 2

Basic Gear:

Answer 2

Mask
Jacket
Glove
Weapon/Foil/Epee/Sabre

Question 3

Two types of foils:

Answer 3

French grip- longer and straight with a slight curve

pistol grip- L-shaped handle with better, bigger grip

Question 4

Parts of a foil:

Answer 4

handle- obvious
guard- shield thingy that separates the handle and blade
forte- (fort) fatter end of blade near grip
foible- (foy-bul) thinner end of blade at tip

Question 5

Salute

Answer 5

feet in first position
hand to mask (guard at lip height, blade straight up and down)
Then blade is brought down to right

Question 6

first position

Answer 6

dominant foot pointing straight ahead/at the target

other foot pointed perpendicularly out to the side

Question 7

On Guard/En Guard

Answer 7

start in first position
step forward about shoulder width (but forward) and bend your knees a bit
dominant hand out ahead of you, hand at chest level, elbow bent so that it is only several inches from chest
other arm should be back away from torso, elbow bent, kind of hand above head height, but next to it…

Question 8

Advancing

Answer 8

from on guard step forward (toe in front) first with front foot, pushing off with back foot, then when front foot lands, move back foot forward, maintaining the same distance between the two feet (shoulder width)

Question 9

Retreating

Answer 9

from on guard step backward with back foot, pushing off with the front foot, then follow with front foot
also used as defense

Question 10

Cross-Step (Forward)

Answer 10

from on guard step forward with back foot, landing at right angles to the front foot in front of its toe, then step forward with front foot

Question 11

Cross-Step (Backward)

Answer 11

from on guard step backward with front foot, passing back foot, then take back foot back to normal position

Question 12

Balestra

Answer 12

(ba-less-tra)

from on guard raise front foot then push up/jump with back foot, land on both feet and lunge immediately

Question 13

Appel

Answer 13

(a-pel)

tap front foot

Question 14

fleche

Answer 14

(flesh)
from on guard lean forward until you almost fall, then jump at opponent using front foot (at this point nearly horizontal), land by bringing back foot forward

Question 15

Foil

Answer 15

light, flexible blade for thrusting
point scores (not length of blade)
target: trunk or torso

Question 16

Right of Way or Priority

Answer 16

to be able to score, you must extend your sword arm first (straighten out elbow) and point at opponent’s torso

Question 17

How do you hold your grip(strength-wise)?

Answer 17

Like a baby loris is hugging it for dear life- hold firmly, but gently

Question 18

How do you hold your (French) grip(position wise)?

Answer 18

thumb on top of handle, index underneath thumb (these two fingers will control the blade)
other three support the blade underneath it
when on guard, palm should be up, handle against underside of the wrist, tip of blade at eye level

Question 19

Thrust

Answer 19

simple straighten sword arm

Question 20

Lunge

Answer 20

thrust
kick front foot forward (when it lands the knee should bend to about 90 degrees)
straighten/push forward with rear leg, with back foot still flat and perpendicular
drop back arm down so it is parallel to straightened back leg
stay upright in torso

Question 21

Making a hit

Answer 21

once the blade’s tip (no edges in foil or epee) touches the opponent, bring the handle slightly up so that it curves upwards

Question 22

Fencing distance

Answer 22

distance from target to back foot in lunge position (when touching target), plus one more step back
to find: lunge at a distance so that you end up touching the target/opponent; bring front foot back to on guard; take one more step back; distance between you and target is your fencing distance

Question 23

Lines

Answer 23

quadrants of an opposing foil fencer’s target (all lines in this are looked at from an opponent’s point of view- if you were looking at a fencer and pointing out his lines, then “right” would be your right, and vice versa)

Question 24

Outside

Answer 24

left side (his sword/dominant side)

Question 25

Inside

Answer 25

right side (his un guarded side)

Question 26

High

Answer 26

top side (head)

Question 27

Low

Answer 27

bottom side (legs)

Question 28

High and Inside

Answer 28

Top right

4

Question 29

Low and Inside

Answer 29

Bottom right

7

Question 30

Low and Outside

Answer 30

Bottom left

8

Question 31

High and Outside

Answer 31

Top left

6

Question 32

6th Position

Answer 32

On Guard, foil arm a bit to your outside, hand pointing blade upwards
(when parrying, opponent’s blade should be outside and high on your guard)

Question 33

4th Position

Answer 33

On Guard, foil arm across body to your left, hand pointing blade upwards
(when parrying, opponent’s blade should be inside and high on your guard)

Question 34

7th Position

Answer 34

On Guard, foil arm across body to your left, hand pointing blade downward
wrist should be bent up and out farther to the left
(when parrying, opponent’s blade should be inside and low on your guard)

Question 35

8th Position

Answer 35

On Guard, foil arm a bit to your right, hand pointing blade downwards
(when parrying, opponent’s blade should be outside and low on your guard)

Question 36

What part of the blade does a defender use against what part of the opponent’s blade?

Answer 36

forte against foible

Question 37

Lateral/Direct Parry

Answer 37

horizontal movement of foil arm, from outside to inside within either the high or low line

Question 38

Circular Parry

Answer 38

movement of foil hand/wrist/fingers

when opponent disengages, move blade back around his in same direction as him to keep blade in same position as earlier

Question 39

Semicircular Parry

Answer 39

arc-shaped movement of foil arm, from high to low within either the outside or inside line

Question 40

Diagonal Parry

Answer 40

diagonal movement of foil arm between opposite lines (6 and 7, or 4 and 8)

Question 41

Number one defensive tactic

Answer 41

retreat

if the opponent cannot touch you, you are safe, and in his having to move to you, you gain the advantage

Question 42

Straight Thrust

Answer 42

lunge into any unguarded line (direct attack)

Question 43

Disengage

Answer 43

after a parried attack, circle your blade under opponent’s to unguarded line, lunge (indirect attack)

Question 44

Cut-Over

Answer 44

after a parried attack, circle your blade over opponent’s to unguarded line, lunge (indirect attack)

Question 45

Beat Attack

Answer 45

slap/beat blade against your opponent’s (to move it out of the way?) then lunge

Question 46

Preparations

Answer 46

actions before the final thrust/lunge in a compound attack

Question 47

Compound Attacks

Answer 47

combinations of multiple attacks one after the other

Question 48

feint thrust

Answer 48

pretend thrust designed to make opponent parry into a certain line
goal is to then disengage into now undefended line and lunge (preparation)

Question 49

Beat

Answer 49

slap blade against opponent to: get his blade away from a target; or so that the opponent beats your blade, around which you can disengage or cut over (preparation)

Question 50

Press

Answer 50

basically press the opponent’s blade so that the opponent does too (Why?) and then you can disengage (preparation)

Question 51

One-two

Answer 51

disengage, feint thrust, opponent uses lateral parry, disengage again, hit (compound attack)

Question 52

Double or Corkscrew

Answer 52

disengage, feint thrust, opponent uses circular parry, you circle their parry (disengaging) (compound attack)

Question 53

Riposte

Answer 53

(rip-ost)

any attack made after a successful parry

Question 54

Counter-Risposte

Answer 54

riposte made in response to a riposte