Foot Loose

[Pacific]

I'm pretty sure someone has asked this question before, but not me.

Anyway, when on guard, how is your body weight distributed between your front and rear foot?

Also, how far should your feet be from each other? All the books i've read state something to the effect of ' the front and rear foot should be seperated by the distance of approximately one foot' However i've seen fencers moving up and down the piste with their legs almost in a half lunge position (really wide). Does this really help with mobility?

And whats with this 'boxer stance' that i keep hearing about?

I'm just so full of questions...

[The Crazy Wacker]

Weight should be 50% between front and back foot.
Just take a casual step forward, 1 foot might be to big or small, mines about 15 inches. Keep your legs springy, so you can jump backwards, move forwards quickly, ect. After I lunge (if I miss), I tend to "jump" backwards about a foot...

This might be incorrect, but thats how I do it. <img src="graemlins/jester.gif" border="0" alt="[Jester]" /> <img src="graemlins/dunce.gif" border="0" alt="[Dunce]" /> <img src="graemlins/jester.gif" border="0" alt="[Jester]" /> <img src="graemlins/dunce.gif" border="0" alt="[Dunce]" /> <img src="graemlins/jester.gif" border="0" alt="[Jester]" /> <img src="graemlins/dunce.gif" border="0" alt="[Dunce]" /> <img src="graemlins/jester.gif" border="0" alt="[Jester]" /> <img src="graemlins/dunce.gif" border="0" alt="[Dunce]" />

[D'Artagnan1673]

The distance between your two feet will differ from person to person. A better way to do it would be to keep your feet at shoulder width from each other. You want your center of gravity to be somewhere around your belly.

I don't know too much about the boxer stance since I don't use it.

[Bebop and Rocksteady]

The boxer stance is exactly what it sounds like. The knees, instead of being at a 90 degree angle, face forward like a boxer.

I wouldn't recommend it however, since it doesn't really have any advantages, and it increases your target area.

[D'Artagnan1673]

If you look on Stryder's website, he says that the opened target area isn't a big loss since a flick can hit almost anything. He therefore argues that the added mobility of the boxer stance far outweights the added target area.

Still, I will stick with the tradional stance. It my level of competition, I do just fine with it.

[Bebop and Rocksteady]

Please tell me how presenting your entire body makes you faster.

For your information, presenting your entire body only makes it more difficult to defend against flicks and thrusts, not less.

[edew]

[quote]Originally posted by Bebop and Rocksteady:
<strong>Please tell me how presenting your entire body makes you faster.

For your information, presenting your entire body only makes it more difficult to defend against flicks and thrusts, not less.</strong><hr></blockquote>

That's not the correct way to think of it. The point is, put your body in a position so you can be more mobile. If the result is that more of you body is presented to your opponent, that's not a big negative, because mobility is more important than available target area (especially since with flicks, that target area is always available).

No one is suggesting that increasing target area will help promote mobility. It's that promoting mobility may have a minor negative feature of increasing target area. It's a trade-off many people are willing to take.

[D'Artagnan1673]

And that is exactly what I said on my post.

[edew]

[quote]Originally posted by D'Artagnan1673:
<strong>And that is exactly what I said on my post.</strong><hr></blockquote>

As you can see from whom I quoted, I was referring to Bebop's amazing inference; not your comments.

That Bebop is unable to see outside the box in virtually every aspect of the game of fencing leads one to conclude that he's either trolling, or a fanatical unaccomplished fencer.

[D'Artagnan1673]

[quote]Originally posted by edew:
<strong>

As you can see from whom I quoted, I was referring to Bebop's amazing inference; not your comments.

That Bebop is unable to see outside the box in virtually every aspect of the game of fencing leads one to conclude that he's either trolling, or a fanatical unaccomplished fencer.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yes, I was merely reinterating that Bebop's comment was quite unneccesary since I myself answered his question before he even asked it.

[Bebop and Rocksteady]

Like I said before, I only make comments on things I've tried before.

Maybe if you saw that I'm not talking insulting anyone and only stating my opinions, you would notice how you're the one starting the fights, not me. Then again, if I were against classical fencing, you wouldn't have complained at all.

[The Crazy Wacker]

Look guys, Classical and modern are both good. Both have benefits, and both have downfalls. However if it were a real fight-to-the-death type of duel, it would be dirty... i.e. kicking dirt, pulling second swords, "biting noses", and the like.

Hay behop do yall use daggers AND swords at once?

[veeco]

[quote]Originally posted by Bebop and Rocksteady:
<strong>Like I said before, I only make comments on things I've tried before.

Maybe if you saw that I'm not talking insulting anyone and only stating my opinions, you would notice how you're the one starting the fights, not me. Then again, if I were against classical fencing, you wouldn't have complained at all.</strong><hr></blockquote>

It's not that you are insulting anyone, but just that making comments and expressing your opinions like they are the truth and that nothing can move it from its pedestal is not the right approach here.
You're saying "I only make comments on things I have tried before", but how have you tried them for? You might have tried something, but trying it once or twice during a training session doesn't mean anything. Fencing is an ancient art, it has evolved with the centuries that passed. Remember that once upon a time, the lunge did not exist. The first people who started to lunge probably tried it more than once or twice before they figured out how it should be done.
Sometimes I think about that and I am amazed to think that someone could have thought of that.

When you express your opinions, sometimes it's better to say "it might" or "I think it should" instead "Don't try the boxer stance, it doesn't have any advantages, and it increases your target area".

Say something like: "I have tried the boxer stance, and I did not find any advantages to it. On the other hand, my target area was increased a lot, and I got hit more".

Someone might then explain you that the boxer stance allows for greater mobility, because you would be moving in a more natural way than the way you're moving in the classical approach.

Now if you plan on dedicating your life to fencing, you can train and train, spend 8 hours in the salle everyday, and in a couple of years, you will be able to step in the classical way as fast as anyone who's using the boxer stance.
During that time, those who used the boxer stance had time to perfect some other points of their game.

Use what works for you, explain what works for you, but understand that the fencing world is not a manichean one. There is no right or wrong. Whatever happens is all about your perceptions of what is wrong or right, which might be different from what others perceive.
When a majority of people agree, a "norm" is created. This norm can change at any moment if the majority changes. Right now, the norm in foil and sabre is to use the boxer stance. You might find that it sucks for your game and not use it, which means that you would be against the norm. There is nothing wrong about it, but just because you are different doesn't mean that everyone has to change.

The results will be the judge of what works and what doesn't.

[D'Artagnan1673]

Very well said! Bravo!

[Bebop and Rocksteady]

[quote]Originally posted by veeco:

You're saying "I only make comments on things I have tried before", but how have you tried them for? You might have tried something, but trying it once or twice during a training session doesn't mean anything.

<strong>Actually, I used the 'boxer stance' for more almost half of my fencing years. Of course, I didn't really know it actually had a name. Then I read up on classical fencing, and that's what I use. Also, I've used pistols, french, and italian grips allfor at least a half of a year. So unlike what most of you think, I’m not against pistol grips or modern fencing because so and so says it’s bad. I dislike it because it’s my opinion, and because I’ve tried a lot.</strong>.

When you express your opinions, sometimes it's better to say "it might" or "I think it should" instead "Don't try the boxer stance, it doesn't have any advantages, and it increases your target area".

Say something like: "I have tried the boxer stance, and I did not find any advantages to it. On the other hand, my target area was increased a lot, and I got hit more".

Someone might then explain you that the boxer stance allows for greater mobility, because you would be moving in a more natural way than the way you're moving in the classical approach.

<strong>Sorry. I don’t really try to be so arrogant. It’s just the way I was taught fencing, and I have very strong opinions of it.</strong>
<hr></blockquote>

Contrary to belief, I DO respect modern fencers just as much as I do with classical fencers. I won’t say I agree with them, because I certainly don’t. But don’t be convinced that just because I don’t agree with modern techniques, that I’m personally out to be some kind of fencing nazi and rip off peoples arms when they flick, because I don’t.

Just wanted to point that out.

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

If you really want to cut foot loose, you first need to kick off your Sunday shoes.

[ScorpionDevil]

When i m en guarde, my feet are usually put wider together than lots other people becuz I feel that i move better that way. I can't move well (and i will fall) if there's only one foot space between my feet. I think that being in a position that you are comfortable with can make you fence better. There's no point of staying in the exact right en guarde position if you dont like it or you dont move well in it. <img src="graemlins/evild.gif" border="0" alt="[Evil]" />