Re: Your comment to my "Adult Newbie Class" blog post, you said that you're having trouble teaching tactics. When I teach in the way I described in the blog, I try not to give specific choice drills (If he does A, you do B, etc) but rather nudge them along and try to give them problems to solve and restrictions on how they can solve them (from adversarial drills up to controlled bouting), maybe giving them a few simple technical drills or just talking to them to give them hints. I don't really have a specific end in mind, though; I'm looking for what works for them, not what works for me. For the beginner level stuff provided here, tactical choices are probably going to resolve around simple choice of action, time and distance, without anything too complex. The point is that they are fighting over the context of how the touch will be scored before it is actually scored. Does that help at all?

BD:

My own feeling about fencing is that distance and timing are permently linked, and you can't teach one without the other. Given that consideration, I agree that if I had to teach one thing, distance/timing (tempo, in my language) would be the primary skill.

But, remember, this skill is permently linked to the others. You can't manipulate distance without a mechanism, and that mechanism is footwork. Technical failures in footwork and bladework always impact distance and timing. All these skills have to be brought along together.

If I have to make a choice with a student when I'm teaching in what to emphasize, then, yes, control and manipulation of timeing/distance is what I start with. I'm willing to sacrifice SOME blade action/technical skills to teach a concept, first.