footwork

[govsecrets]

tonight when i was fencing, someone told me to change my footwork. they said to bring my backfoot and frontfoot down at the same when advancing instead of the front foot coming down first and the backfoot last, like in a 1-2 rhythm. i've been fencing for about 8 months and i've been taking private lessons for half that time and my coach has never told me anything like that before. the guy that said that tonight said it made you faster, but i'm not sure. do any of you bring your front and back feet down at the same time?

[JEC]

it's a secret.

Sometimes you want to go slow, other times you want to go faster. Rhythm is important as it is unpredictability. The ability to change among different rhythms is only acquired after many damn boring footwork practices, so that it becomes second nature.

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Originally Posted by govsecrets

tonight when I was fencing, someone told me to change my footwork. They said to bring my backfoot and frontfoot down at the same when advancing instead of the front foot coming down first and the backfoot last

Unless you're doing a bunny hop, or a jump forwards/backwards, bringing both feet down together is unlikely.

They might be referring to the footwork concept where, if you are advancing, you push off with the back foot, and land your advancing front foot on the heel. Then, as your front foot toes come down, your back foot glides forward to land simultaneously with the flattening of your front foot.

The main thing is to remain centered and in balance, whether you're moving forwards or backwards.

[noodle]

Originally Posted by Capt. Slo-mo

Unless you're doing a bunny hop, or a jump forwards/backwards, bringing both feet down together is unlikely.

They might be referring to the footwork concept where, if you are advancing, you push off with the back foot, and land your advancing front foot on the heel. Then, as your front foot toes come down, your back foot glides forward to land simultaneously with the flattening of your front foot.

The main thing is to remain centered and in balance, whether you're moving forwards or backwards.

this is what i was thinking.... for both feet to land at the same time, both feet would need to be in the air at the same time before they land...

anyway, maybe a better description of the action in question? are we talking about the front and back of a single foot maybe?

[sabreur]

This is very important.

Front foot moves forward. Front heel lands; toes are still up.
Weight shifts forward. Back foot moves forward and lands as front toes come down.

That way, you can execute the next movement (lunge, advance, retreat, jump back, whatever) as soon as you have finished the advance.

In a bout, this precision often goes a bit out the window, but it is very important to practice it when doing footwork.

In fact, you sometimes see sabreurs (the French guys like to do this) advancing with the toes of the front foot never really coming down.

If you just step forward with the front foot, then move the back foot forward, you have a hitch in your advance that will cause you a lot of problems.

Some good exercises:

Half advance, shift your weight forward and back a couple of times, then end the advance correctly.

Half advance, retreat.

Double advance, beginning the second advance as soon as the back foot lands and accelerating the second advance.

Advance, lunge, with the extension occuring as you bring the back foot forward on the advance, and the lunge occuring as soon as you land the back foot (this will cause you to accelerate your lunge correctly).

As you get good at this kind of advance, you will be able to have two tempos or speeds in your advance--slow front foot, quick crisp back foot. You can also play with how far you bring your back foot forward. This will affect how long the following motion will be. Vezzali, for example, plays with the position of her back foot constantly.

MR

[veeco]

Originally Posted by sabreur

As you get good at this kind of advance, you will be able to have two tempos or speeds in your advance--slow front foot, quick crisp back foot.

Yes, this is very important. You need to keep in mind that you change tempo with your back foot. Meaning that if you want to accelerate (do a slow advance and then a fast one) you need to accelerate with your back foot, on the first advance.