Improving accuracy

[aj5utt1]

Hopefully this is the right forum for this question!

I have been fencing foil about 5 months now (3 of those on starter course) and am really enjoying the sport. My footwork is coming along and I think that,whilst they need work, I have the technical aspects of the basics and I am learning a lot on the piste in training. My problem is that I can get myself into good attacking positions on the piste and then the accuracy of the attack, let's me down.

Has anyone any tips on how I can improve my accuracy training at home?

Thanks in advance

[lefty_monster]

This should be in the general fencing section, I think.

Good question. At home, you can do the light switch game. Stand en guard with a sword (Preferably an epee because its stiffer) and face a light switch. Turn it off, disengage, turn it on. Off, on, off, on. This will also improve your hand strength because light switches are strong little bastards.

Alternatively, you can get something soft and put it on the wall (small cork board?) then put a small target on the something soft. Practice hitting the target. Don't miss the cork board or you'll mark up your wall. Then practice hitting the target with a lunge. Then do different blade movements that your coach has shown you, and hit the target. (Fence an imaginary opponent. I named my imaginary opponent Fred. He's cool.) Ask your coach which things you should practice with Fred. He'll have some good ideas.

[Cookeit]

Good Question. At home, you can do the light switch game. Stand en guard with a sword (Preferably an epee because its stiffer) and face a light switch. Turn it off, disengage, turn it on. Off, on, off, on. This will also improve your hand strength because light switches are strong little bastards.

Can you electrocute yourself doing that?

[remistress]

Take tennis-ball and add nail. Now tie yarn to nail. Take pushpin and find a door frame to attatch too. Now, measure height of tennis ball where an opponent's 6 line would be....hit with point repeatedly. Try to hit at different points during the swing; work in lunges, advances, and retreats. You can also do imaginary disenguages.

My own personal invention. If you own a house (or know of somewhere you can go) that has a hall, then a short flight of stairs and then another room below it, this works well. Block of hallway a short way from the second room. Grab an excercise ball and put in between blockade and lower room. Now inside of lower room, hit excercise ball from base of stairs. Keep distance by advancing retreating as ball hits blockade and comes back towards you. Continue moving, never allowing the ball into the lower room. Works on distance, timing, and point control to a certain degree.

[Durando]

aj,

Not having seen you fence, I would say ninety-nine percent of the time a beginner (or anyone of any level coming back to fencing after a few months' inactivity) has problems with accuracy, it is a problem of equilibrium. On the attack this manifests itself by beginning footwork before extension of the blade. Some of the above drills will help you, but only if you work on isolating hand movement from leg movement. Try hitting a hanging tennis ball while standing on your back foot: you simply can't do it if anything but your hand is performing the action.

[Allen Evans]

I have lost track of the number of times I've come out AGAINST the "tennis ball as a target" idea for new fencers. It invariably makes them "poke" at the target. When they add footwork to the drills with a tennis ball, new fencers invariably add the error of taking power out of the shoulders rather than the lower body.

Accuracy is a combination of proper extension (without the use of the shoulder) and integration with the footwork used to deliver the hit. Improving accuracy comes from improving the mechanics of the extension, followed by integrating the extension with footwork, and lastly by coordinating the hit to a specific target.

For the beginner, first improve the mechanical action of the extension. Start by doing extensions (without a weapon) in front of a mirror, and making sure the extension is not jerky, and the weapon-arm shoulder is not "bunching" at the limit of the extension. Stop extending before the weapon arm is locked.

After this, do the same thing with a weapon in your hands. Then progress to hitting a target dummy or wall target, or, better yet, a suitably uniformed and protected teammate or coach, who can give you feed back on your extension.

AE

[aj5utt1]

A number of interesting points made, particularly about the use of the shoulder on the extension - something that, when I was trying out some of these ideas, i occasionally noticed myself doing. Rather than racing on to the piste, this week I will have a "lesson" with one of our coaches and try and make sure the technical aspects are ok and then just practice.............