epee to the head

[foiled again]

Last night a friend and I were practicing off strip and he had a beautiful shot to my head. I complimented him on it profusely and when we fenced on strip he proceeded to use it well. I wasn't prepped for it since few people in our class use it. Afterwards (I lost 3-5) we practiced and I responded with the petit bonhomme (I think thats what someone around here called it) - the squat stop hit. I was also told later to use a parry of quinte. Which do you find more useful? I'm worried about being caught low (i'm above average height) where its difficult to parry but also exposing my forearm in quinte. Any thoughts or additional ideas?

fa

[Gav]

1st off examine your stance. You might be leaning forwards. This will obviously bring your head closer to your opponent and keep you off balance. You might be letting him get too close during an action, so keep your feet active. As you're quite tall I think these are the more likely reasons for the head shots. Use your height to your advantage and pick him off as he comes in.

Now parries against head shots hmmmm... Depends on what move he is perpetrating. Quinte will work, but then so would a high parry of quarte. Remember and keep your angle and the blade during your riposte.

[CHEEKY FOIL GUY]

QUINTE IS MAINLY A SABRE PARREY. A HIGH QUARTE OR SIXTE MAY BE MORE EFFECTIVE. WITH QUINTE YOU EXPOSE YOUR WRIST AN FOREMAN. BUT TRY NOT TO DUCK SO MUCH OE ELSE U LEAVE YOURSELF AN OPEN TARGET AS YOU CANT GO ANYWHERE. BEST TIME TO USE IT IS WHEN YOU OPPENANT IS MAKING A QUICK ATTACK. BUT ONLY WHEN HE OR SHE IS AT THE RIGHT DISTANCE AND TIMING.

[Gav]

What's with caps?

[Nous]

The big problem with quinte is that it is slow even if you attempted to parry quinte, he would probably be able to decieve your parry and still land before your riposte high quart or sixte is absolutely correct. A suggestion though, if this opponent truly enjoys attacking your head, give him an opportunity lean forward slightly slightly lower your arm, if you know where he is attacking before he begins you can anticipate him and knowledge is the most devestating weapon that a fencer can have.

[swordsen]

Don't parry at all. the duck you used before is perfectly acceptable. Equally usefull is to just lean back a bit when he starts the shot and counter to his arm as he extends upwards towards where you head used to be. If you are tall and he is going for the head his entire underarm is being opened.

[foiled again]

Thanks, all good comments. I'll ck my stance and distance. I have a problem with the latter due to a lack of patience. I'm going to work on discouraging him early by the ducking stop hit and high six. I will also try the underarm but I need to actually hit it. I missed the other night at one attempt and was skewered.

fa

[foiled again]

Thanks, all good comments. I'll ck my stance and distance. I have a problem with the latter due to a lack of patience. I'm going to work on discouraging him early by the ducking stop hit and high six. I will also try the underarm but I need to actually hit it. I missed the other night at one attempt and was skewered.

fa

[Bugaboo]

After playing the victim to a particular fencer's multiple head shots, I noticed a few things:

1. A thin metal weapon poking directly into your face has the quirky attribute of losing its depth. In other words, three dimensions collapse in your visual field to two and sometimes one dimension. It's possible to lose track of proper distance if you're too focused on the weapon alone.

2. Head shots are absolutely delightful when you're facing a long, lanky opponent who leans a lot, especially as he's just about to launch a fleche attack.

3. Immediately after executing a good head shot, I feel a little guilty about knocking his noggin around. ... But I get over it.


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[thebigriddle]

I like feinting low and going for the head, and nothing better then bring the blade back and doing right hook. Reminds me of when I use to box in high school.

[big poppa]

I love head shots,for some reason people never seem to see them coming and fewwer still try to use them unless I am bending forward trying for a toe shot. I don't try for multiple ones because the the oppont starts ducking. Im only fair at eppe(I tend to have a lot of luck in it).

[HilandDoug]

My old roommate used to make a head shot at the start of every epee bout. His intent wsa to hit hard enough to make his opponent see stars, so the next phrase would have him off his game. Not quite "intent to injure", but it comes close. He had a lot of success with it.

[Bugaboo]

I support the observation about a thin weapon's dimensions becoming very difficult to judge when it's pointed directly at your eyes. It's incredibly jarring mentally as well as physically to realize something has jabbed into your head before you realized it was a threat.

I've also found the head shot to be very useful against opponents as they fleche - usually tall opponents. It can be more productive than trying to track the arm target zone.

(On a related note: Against lanky, big-stepping opponents, the occasional knee shot is very satisfying, too. The timing and set-up are easier to establish than you might think, as long as you don't overuse the tactic.)

Possibly a stop hit with opposition would be more effective than a parry. If they are coming deep enough for a face hit I would try that and fall back on Prime riposte if I fluff it.

[attila]

I find a nice retreat and a counter 6 do just fine.