Righty vs Lefty

[ESLyon]

Hi all, I am a pretty newb epee fencer who is a righty. Almost all of the members at our club are righty's also except for one person who besides being a lefty, is also our only B-rated epee fencer (to my knowledge). My question to you guys is what do you do differently as a righty to fight a lefty as compared to when you are fighting another righty? Also for any left-handers out there who would not mind sharing their unique pespective on this, tell us what you look for when you fight a righty. What are some general tactics I could use against you?

The person in our club loves to circle outside and tag an incoming arm, this plus his 6'4" skinny frame and long arms only add to the equation. I am 5'5"... All this being said, I know I will probably not beat this person for a long long time, no matter what tactics I use, he has many years of experience on me and no amount of tactics can make up for sheer experience. I would just like to know some general things I can be focusing on for when I next fight him so I can get better or for when I go to my first tournament if I have to fight a left-hander. Any solid input is appreciated, even if you fight the exact same way no matter what hand they're using. Thanks!

P.S. one thing I have found which could possibly work is when he circles, I can sometimes anticipate and move fast enough to parry and close distance, getting inside his range and scoring on his shoulder/chest.

[noodle]

when i fence a lefty, as a righty, i use a lot less blade control actions. no takes, few parries, just beats and tempo/distance. lefties are used to using their different angles to pick and hit and drill through blade takes.

[Fechter1]

Just be aware that the angles and openings are different. Adjust your game to the individual fencer, rather than an archetype. True, some things are fairly similar for (nearly) all lefties, but if you're not fencing your current opponent specifically, your chances of winning will decrease quite a bit.

Observe, analyse, apply.

[Rick Shellhouse]

Most lefty's prefer to hug the left side of the strip....most right's accommodate them and follow suit....removing a great deal of target from the right perspective...

try moving over to your left side of the strip adjusting the angle of attack and notice suddenly you can see more of the target....this will allow attacks to the chest with disengages to the arm as they move to parry...Ive also found inviting a attack to the arm then anticipating and performing a ceding 6 quick small advance with extension to the inside of their arm works well

Ask your coach to work with you on strip presence


R

[D'Art]

Just keep in mind that they have the same problems hitting you that you do in hitting them. It's just that us lefties get more practice at dealing with them.

However, here's some general advice on fencing lefties. We tend to keep a closer distance than righties, which not everyone seems to appreciate/adjust for. Try and keep a slightly bigger distance - it gets us out of our comfort zone.

A lot of lefties I've seen have quite a narrow on guarde (but that may just be because I'm a foilist and don't pay that much attention to epee unless I'm actually fencing it), and strong parry 4/circle 6. Use this against them. Set them up to do one from not quite so deep that you can't either get round it or immediately remise/reprise from. Then hit 'em.

Lefty footwork tends to be pretty poor, cos a lot of them just rely on being an awkward lefty. Again, use this against them.

If you do decide to take a lefties blade, be aware of them slipping off and plonking the point on your forearm.

HTH

[ESLyon]

Originally Posted by D'Art

If you do decide to take a lefties blade, be aware of them slipping off and plonking the point on your forearm.

HTH

I lose count how many times this happens in a single bout.

Great tips so far guys! Kudos!

[wwalkerjr]

If your nemesis is a B fencer, he is using more than his left handedness and height to win bouts. He will adjust to whatever you do, probably in the same bout.
Do you have an instructor or coach? There is nothing to compare to professional, hands-on advice with someone who can see what you are doing and give individualized attention.
However, that being said, as a tall lefty, I agree with the points D'art gave. Because of the angles, lefties are rewarded early in their career for a strong parry 4 or circle 6 against many righties. I know many righties who have enjoyed success with a compound actions: feint into 4, disengage 6. Later, of course they will feint 4 and perform a double disengage. You will probably need a compound action anyway because of the ground you must cover to overcome of the reach advantage of your nemesis.
I recommend that you treat the experience like any controlled experiment. Plan an attack, execute it to the best of your ability, analyse the results and adapt.

[Patrician]

I dont know if I qualify to post in this thread as Ive only fenced TWICE in my life just begun and totally loving it!

Anyway. After just two practices fencing almost only righties I can already sense/notice that most of them, even some who have been fencing a while, feel really insecure about what to do when I come along. But since a beginner doesnt feel the difference fencing a righty vs a lefty (I think), my theory would apply even more to sorta intermediate fencers. These fencers try what they've been learned and it fails since I'm a lefty

Btw, I'm 6'5 and of course, a lefty

[TBean]

Originally Posted by Patrician

Btw, I'm 6'5 and of course, a lefty

While being left-handed is contributing, many beginning and intermediate fencers would have the same reaction just due to your height. It is magnified by fencing left-handed.

As to the OP, you are dealing with two issues in one person. Only part of the problem is him being left-handed, the whole issue is tall and left-handed. How you have to fence a very tall left-hander is much different than fencing against someone to whom you don't give up nearly a foot in height to. Each left-hander is different - while D'Art collapses the distance, I look to extend it against the right-hander. That is how I fence epee - do I do this with EVERY right-hander - no because it won't work. What this tells you is the first thing to address is how does this lefty use distance, then see what other strategies and tactics they employ to deal with that. As Fecther rightly pointed out - observe, analyse, apply.

[ESLyon]

Originally Posted by wwalkerjr

I recommend that you treat the experience like any controlled experiment. Plan an attack, execute it to the best of your ability, analyse the results and adapt.

I agree, that's basically why I created this thread, to give me ideas on attacks or general tactics to experiment with. And yes, I know he is using more than just his left-handedness to beat me, I think that much is obvious .

[Patrician]

Originally Posted by TBean

While being left-handed is contributing, many beginning and intermediate fencers would have the same reaction just due to your height. It is magnified by fencing left-handed.

Yeah, you're prolly right.