extra minute

[glowstix]

ok, this is obviously primarily for the epee fencers (and more recently foil.. )..but have you guys ever been in the situation where the extra time is required??

what's your strategy both with and without priority??

[Purple Fencer]

ok, this is obviously primarily for the epee fencers (and more recently foil.. )..but have you guys ever been in the situation where the extra time is required??

what's your strategy both with and without priority??

Yep....been there in foil and epee.

With priority: stall, don't leave an opening for your opponent to attack, only make at attacking motion to drive your opponent back and gain some retreat room

Without priority: Go for it...nothing to lose.

[misha]

ok, this is obviously primarily for the epee fencers (and more recently foil.. )..but have you guys ever been in the situation where the extra time is required??

what's your strategy both with and without priority??

Hit the other guy before he hits you and before the time runs out.
Works for me in most cases

.

[Fencergrl]

My opponent had priority. She was tired, she kept lowering her epee earlier in the match. She also had great point control and good at defending my attacks and taking the point for herself.

I figured she would expect me to attack the first few seconds. I didn't. I waited for the last few seconds and caught her off guard. 1 minute is a very long time in a bout.

[Black Jeebus]

I went to priority in an epee bout once, 14-14. I lost priority, and had to get the touch. The whole bout I had been having trouble getting any direct attacks. What had been working pretty well was drawing a counter then taking his blade, and hitting. So I was trying to do that again with a feint, and he moved in to counter and I managed to hit on the feint (not a very good feint, but it was a pretty tight wrist shot!). At first I didn't even recognize that my "feint" had hit, and thought he was still trying to counter so I proceeded with the taking of his blade and hitting again.

My opponent was so pissed off he whacked his blade so hard on his foot that it bent it in half.

[Sciurus-Rex]

Tactical wheel applies here as well, but at a different level ...

The fencer with priority knows he doesn't have to attempt another touch, but he also knows he can't afford to play a purely defensive game -- experience shows pure defense fails over the long run -- so he's got to work on the premise that the best defense is a good offense. And on top of that, he knows the non-priority fencer absolutely must go for the touch, so passivity is not an option. So priority has got to make sure whatever his opponent tries doesn't work (and if he wins a final touch in the process, more joy).

The non-priority fencer is in a tough spot. He knows he's got to make something happen, and he knows his opponent knows the same thing. So his primary tactical choice is a second-intention prep or counter-time ("I do this so you'll do that so I can do this and score"). However, he's also crammed for time and feeling a little anxious, so non-priority is also considering a hard, fast simple attack (fleche?) hoping to catch the defender off balance. ... The priority fencer expects that, as well.

That's a snapshot. But the core of the issue is this: No easy answer. As always, you've got to be able to read your opponent and have the skills at hand to make your tactics work.

As has been mentioned already, a minute is a long time in fencing. You should be working hard, but not rushing.

[mrbiggs]

Only once, and it was 14-14, so I did the math and knew that priority was irrelevant, as one of us was probably going to make a move before the end of the minute. My opponent get priority, but I ignored that. He attacked about 30 seconds into it, and I lost the touch on a foil parry-riposte.

So I've never been in a situation where priority mattered.

[dilznik]

Yes and priority doesn't really matter in foil. My attacks are better than my parries and if I have priority the other person usually doesn't expect an attack. So I have a three second rule in extra time. Ready, fence, and within three seconds I'll have won or lost.

[Fencergrl]

As has been mentioned already, a minute is a long time in fencing. You should be working hard, but not rushing.

I agree... I worked my opponent's a$$ off, but stayed out of range for most of that minute in an attempt to wear her out and make her thing I was ineffective in getting through her defences. You also need to know about how long a minute feels (I had seconds left).

If you're 14-14, you should have a pretty good idea of what works (but so do they). Take your time to set-up your hit.

[kalivor]

Been there, foil and epee. Strategy is: don't fence differently. You're pretty much evenly-matched, and it would be strange for a minute to go by without anything happening (though I have seen it, even in foil).

So just fence. And hope your opponent acts stupidly, because they feel they have to attack or try to run out the clock because of priority.

[RITFencing]

I happens, especially when I'm fencing defensively and so is my opponent. I VERY rarely see bouts won on priority; my thinking on it is that it is only there to force one fencer to become aggressive, which means a touch will most likely be scored by SOMEONE within a minute.

Of course, this is only in epee. In foil I could see how it would be more likely to run out of the overtime minute given off target hits, simulatneous actions, and actions where the referee has to abstain. We only have to worry about double touches with a much shorter lockout time.

[swordsen]

I've been in the overtime many times. What I do then depends on who I am fencing and what has been working for me. It is best not to change what has been working. Tha hard thing is when wjat has been working is counter attacks and the opponent gets priority and sits back waiting for you.
Luckily for me not alot of young fencers are patient enough to sit that way for a full minute.
Of course a short fast fleche has won alot of bouts for me too.