The tactical wheel is sort of a mythical beast within the world of fencing. Some fencers swear by it and others swear at it, claiming that it's little more than a fairy tale.

I have a page devoted to it because it does make some logical sense and put actions into an easy-to-follow progression, even if it's really not a wheel and it really doesn't exist in real life.

Think of it like a dragon... no one really believes in them but they make nice analogies for other real life things.

http://www.lindajdunn.com/fencing/TacticalWheel.html

The page also links to a very good article on fencing time.

I need to re-read this a few times before the Purdue Open this weekend and try to plan my actions for the weekend. Of course, once I'm at the event, the plan will not be executed because... well... it's like planning to herd cats. You can plan all you want, but the cats aren't going to read and follow your plan. Same thing for fencers.

I've been told, however, that going to an event with a plan makes it easier to shift from one strategy to another because you've THOUGHT about it and anticipated some events and thus you are better prepared to adapt.

In theory, of course, theory and practice are the same thing but in practice, they're not.