The march

[drippingwet]

Quote from ‘The Ideas of March: Part 2’:
“For most of the march, the fencers aren't in reach of each other. Both fencers are moving quickly, and the distance between them is shrinking — but there's still a zone of safety around each. The attacker needs only to remember this simple fact: Nobody will be hit, until the fencers are in hitting distance.”

1. Why would the ‘defender’ make parries if you’re not in distance to hit?

2. Isn’t advance-lunge distance the normal fencing distance? If so, then the marcher is always in hitting distance if the defender decides to lunge as the marcher advances.

3. Do you shrink the distance with a sudden change in tempo or an overall acceleration in tempo (but still with broken rhythm)?

[ReverseLunge]

you ask too many forking questions.

[SOA9286]

He ask's more questions than Alex Trebek facing a sprite and anxious engineer from Utah..my god...however, I must thank him, the answers are brilliant!

[Tomas N]

Beware the Ides of March!

Sorry, couldn't help it.

Tomas

[wflaschka]

1. Why would the ‘defender’ make parries if you’re not in distance to hit?

The defender may misjudge the distance. The defender may also feel anxious, uncomfortable, or edgy because the attacker is making feints with the weapon while closing distance.

2. Isn’t advance-lunge distance the normal fencing distance? If so, then the marcher is always in hitting distance if the defender decides to lunge as the marcher advances.

The first task of the march is to get the opponent moving backwards. If the opponent isn't moving, then the attacker can indeed finish with a simple lunge or advance lunge. As an attacker, you don't have to use the march against opponents who don't move. You can stick with the simpler tactics. But if those simpler tactics don't work -- e.g., you can't hit with a lunge, or with second intention -- then you use the march. In part 1 of the article, it says something like, "Start with simple tactics and then escalate."

3. Do you shrink the distance with a sudden change in tempo or an overall acceleration in tempo (but still with broken rhythm)?

Usually you do. Check out the video in part 1 of the article -- Cassara begins slowly, but finishes fast. Sometimes your opponent makes it easy on you, by rooting to the ground or running out of strip. In those circumstances, you don't necessarily need to accellerate; you can start slowly and finish slowly.

[drippingwet]

2. Isn’t advance-lunge distance the normal fencing distance? If so, then the marcher is always in hitting distance if the defender decides to lunge as the marcher advances.

i.e. the defender can reach the marcher if the defender lunges into the marcher's advance, but the marcher can't reach the defender until distance has closed.

Just a point about distance. I know in reality it should be difficult for the defender to attack into the advance.