Athletics-Fencing-Terms-1/Beginning/Foil Flashcards
Based off of "Fencer's Start-Up- a Beginner's Guide to Fencing" by Doug Werner
piste
(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(?)
Basic Gear:
Mask
Jacket
Glove
Weapon/Foil/Epee/Sabre
Two types of foils:
French grip- longer and straight with a slight curve
pistol grip- L-shaped handle with better, bigger grip
Parts of a foil:
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
Salute
feet in first position
hand to mask (guard at lip height, blade straight up and down)
Then blade is brought down to right
first position
dominant foot pointing straight ahead/at the target
other foot pointed perpendicularly out to the side
On Guard/En Guard
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…
Advancing
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)
Retreating
from on guard step backward with back foot, pushing off with the front foot, then follow with front foot
also used as defense
Cross-Step (Forward)
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
Cross-Step (Backward)
from on guard step backward with front foot, passing back foot, then take back foot back to normal position
Balestra
(ba-less-tra)
from on guard raise front foot then push up/jump with back foot, land on both feet and lunge immediately
Appel
(a-pel)
tap front foot
fleche
(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
Foil
light, flexible blade for thrusting
point scores (not length of blade)
target: trunk or torso
Right of Way or Priority
to be able to score, you must extend your sword arm first (straighten out elbow) and point at opponent’s torso
How do you hold your grip(strength-wise)?
Like a baby loris is hugging it for dear life- hold firmly, but gently
How do you hold your (French) grip(position wise)?
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
Thrust
simple straighten sword arm
Lunge
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
Making a hit
once the blade’s tip (no edges in foil or epee) touches the opponent, bring the handle slightly up so that it curves upwards
Fencing distance
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
Lines
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)
Outside
left side (his sword/dominant side)
Inside
right side (his un guarded side)
High
top side (head)
Low
bottom side (legs)
High and Inside
Top right
4
Low and Inside
Bottom right
7
Low and Outside
Bottom left
8
High and Outside
Top left
6
6th Position
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)
4th Position
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)
7th Position
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)
8th Position
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)
What part of the blade does a defender use against what part of the opponent’s blade?
forte against foible
Lateral/Direct Parry
horizontal movement of foil arm, from outside to inside within either the high or low line
Circular Parry
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
Semicircular Parry
arc-shaped movement of foil arm, from high to low within either the outside or inside line
Diagonal Parry
diagonal movement of foil arm between opposite lines (6 and 7, or 4 and 8)
Number one defensive tactic
retreat
if the opponent cannot touch you, you are safe, and in his having to move to you, you gain the advantage
Straight Thrust
lunge into any unguarded line (direct attack)
Disengage
after a parried attack, circle your blade under opponent’s to unguarded line, lunge (indirect attack)
Cut-Over
after a parried attack, circle your blade over opponent’s to unguarded line, lunge (indirect attack)
Beat Attack
slap/beat blade against your opponent’s (to move it out of the way?) then lunge
Preparations
actions before the final thrust/lunge in a compound attack
Compound Attacks
combinations of multiple attacks one after the other
feint thrust
pretend thrust designed to make opponent parry into a certain line
goal is to then disengage into now undefended line and lunge (preparation)
Beat
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)
Press
basically press the opponent’s blade so that the opponent does too (Why?) and then you can disengage (preparation)
One-two
disengage, feint thrust, opponent uses lateral parry, disengage again, hit (compound attack)
Double or Corkscrew
disengage, feint thrust, opponent uses circular parry, you circle their parry (disengaging) (compound attack)
Riposte
(rip-ost)
any attack made after a successful parry
Counter-Risposte
riposte made in response to a riposte
