My name is Chris. I am the co-founder of the GMU fencing team, for which I currently serve as the coach, and the captain, The crazy part is that im only 20, and I am not a very accomplished fencer. I referee (alot) because I need the money and I enjoy it. Im becoming a better referee than I am fencer, by far.
So I am going to try to use this blog to document and follow my development as a referee, from local schmo, into hopefully, an international level ref...
As I said in my last blog, I've been thinking alot about coaching, and things to do that would take elements from multiple of the coaches I've interacted with this summer. So I wrote a lesson and posted it in this entry.
My coach often does a variation off of the same drill. Student is attacking, and will finish with a set number of disengages with a lunge. Say its 1 disengage. Initially the student with make advance with feint (starting from a normal engarde), and lunge on the coaches search. Then after doing it stationary a bit, it would evolve into doing the same thing from motion. The coach would push the student back, then the student would make a few advances pressing till he finds the right distance, then make advance feint, the coach would search, and the student would finish.
Sometimes its a different drill with 2 disengages. Same thing with advance feint, the coach backs up, student makes disengage with a 2nd advance, then the coach searches, and the student lunges to hit. Its always done with a big focus n a big change of tempo between the advance and the lunge to accelerate through the lunge to break through the space.
I've been thinking about this, and wrote a similar lesson based on the same ideas, using a bunch of other ideas, some of my own, some inspired by Michael Marx. (I don't think I have any Mr. Ma stuff in here)
Please feel free to let me know what you think
Attack with single disengage
Warm Up W.1 From stationary extension distance, coach searches, student disengages and hits, coach searches, student disengages and hits many times repeatedly, different searches, including a search that opens the flank. W.2 Then same thing with coach moving a little so that student must make a few advances and retreats along with this W.3 Now coach is constantly moving from a short lunge distance. On the coachs search, the student should make a quick explosive lunge with disengage to hit. It doesn't need to be a long lunge, but quick is the key. The coach should always be going for the 2nd parry. If the hit is in time, it will arrive well before the 2nd parry, but if its late, the attack will fail.
Element 1: Coach doesn't react to change in distance
o From stationary, student starts with absence of blade at advance lunge distance. Student makes advance. On the back leg on the advance, shows feint.
o The coach should take a small step back, but allow the student to invade the distance. He should either parry immediately on the feint, or not immediately parry. If he does not immediately parry, he should make a late parry that drives the student to finish
If the coach immediately parries student should make disengage lunge.
If the coach does not immediately parry, student should lunge without disengage, and finish strait Element 2, coach can react to change in distance
o Same start
o If, however, the coach parries, and follows distance immediately, then the student should be to avoid the blade, and go back into absence of blade, and try again in a step or 2, when the student hits his distance.
Note: A key part of this is the student differentiating between the 2 different steps back a coach could take in response to the attack. In element 1, the coach isn't actually getting away, simply taking that small cursory step that fencers will basically always take. In element 2, however, the coach is truly recognizing the attack, and getting away from it. If the student tries to rush and break through that distance, the coach should make the attack fall short.
Element 3 freedom of motion with set start
o The drill ends the same, but can have a number of different starts
o Both fencers maneuvering freely, coach should tell the student 1 way to start it out of the variety of moments to go.*
Options of when to start are:
on the stop of the coach,
on the attack short of the coach
On the big step forward with no attack from the coach**
Final option is on a finding of the blade
o Coach now has the option of immediate counter attack to keep the student honest. If coach counters, student should finish strait, without any backwards motion of the hand and no disengage. If the student flinches, then it becomes attack no, counter arrives for the coach.
Note: With any of these, I think a student should start it 1 of 2 ways, depending on the distance. If 1 of these moments appears when the fencers are in distance of each other, then the student should make immediate feint and start the attack. However, if 1 of these moments appears when the fencers are NOT in distance, the student should go to Absence of Blade and start pressing an attack until he finds his distance. I don't want to train a fencer to make a feint disengage that starts from wayyy out of distance.
Element 4 freedom of motion freedom of start
o Same thing, only student can start action on any of moments to go.
Note: In elements 3 and 4, it should be a pretty bout like scenario. When the coach is pressing the attack, it should be realistic. If the student does something stupid, HIT HIM (with the point, not the flat of the blade). If at any point when the student is pressing with AoB, the blade is easily findable by the coach, the coach should parry riposte against him. AoB is kinda pointless if the coach can easily parry it. Think about, though, that its very likely that as the coach is starting a search for the blade, the student will hit his distance. If this happens, the student MUST start the real attack there. don't just let the moment pass. If at any point the student is getting too close before starting, a counter attack by the coach might be appropriate.
Done
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That's what I wrote. I think overall, its not bad. Obviously, if the coach breaks distance with the parry, the student could leave the blade out and make a 2nd advance with 2nd disengage then lunge. But that way seems riskier to me, because its spending more time with the blade right out in front. Its just another way of doing it, and I would probably teach 2 disengages, but in a slightly different way.
And again, let me know what ya think.
* I know "moments to go" is a term used by some... I want to say Hungarian... coach, and my moments are slightly differently from his, but at least for the sake of my writing a lesson, it gets the point across very well.
**I still have some big issues with starting an attack on the coach's step forward, because it seems extremely likely for the coach to simply finish, and have it called attack counter attack in favor of the coach. I'm still working on that. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
07-29-2009 05:19 PM 