Fencing now and then

[clive]

Hi everyone,
I learned foil when I was a teenager.
Then I took a short break, for over 40 years.
Now, I've come back to it.
All my experience was and is at a recreational level.

What I've found in my limited current experience is this.

People now don't seem to fence the way they used to, back then.
I was taught to fence with a lot of blade contact, not always of course, but as the normal mode of operation. In addition, I spent a lot of time learning how to launch compound attacks, and to deal with opponents who were doing the same thing.

Now, I find the opposite seems to be in vogue. I come on guard and try to 'take' someone's blade, and they invariably take it away as if the absence of blade contact is the norm.

Instead of any kind of move that I recognize, attacks seem to be based on looking for an opening and going for it, and keeping it all very simple rather than compound.

It's like I have a different kind of vocabulary than my opponents do. I'm currently finding it hard to fence them, because I find our lack of this common vocabulary makes their moves less predictable. However, I think that in the longterm, as I find my feet again, my earlier training will enable me to win more than I lose.

So, I thought this view from a 'time-traveller' from an earlier fencing world might be interesting to a few people. I'm also curious about whether my assessment of foil style today is typical at the club level. If anyone would be willing to fill me in on 40 years of fencing development in just a few sentences, I'd be extremely grateful.

Thanks,
Clive

[noodle]

given the new changes in foil, the method you described of just finding an opening, aka "sniping", is the best way to go.

compound attacks are still fine, the problem is that the new timings have switched the name of the game from big compound attacks to what it is now. the balance has yet to work itself out.

the taking the blade issue is kind of unimportant. if you can take the blade, take it. if you can't take the blade, there must be an opening. take it with either a direct or compound attack.

[VELISARIOS]

In all those years many things had change. So try to open the distance and try to provoke an attack from him, just open the 4th line. When he try to hit you take a parry and ripost him at once using the correct tempo. It is simple. The other that you can do is the following. Use your footworkin with small steps to close the distance and act with a direct attack on him (when you see an opening on him).
Try it.