epee parry question

[magma]

what's the best parry for the mask

[DJ Apostrophe]

displacement counter attack

failing that... hi prime?
-w

[The0ne]

maybe an apposition kind of thing. . .

The0ne

[magma]

Originally posted by DJ Apostrophe
displacement counter attack

failing that... hi prime?
-w

thanks, that's the one i should be working on.


[and a two]

[D'Artagnan1673]

I second that. Prime has also worked very well for me. Another means of parrying is of course maintaining a safe distance, unless you are attacking.

[Dave]

a stop hit to the arm /wrist and a step back, followed by prime or a displacment.

[MHS Fencer]

If you're parrying when they're that far back, you've already screwed up. At that point, if you insist on parrying, a prime would be best. A better strategy, however, would be a counterattack - by the time they're able to hit your mask, you could have hit them anywhere on their arm or you can at least pull off a double on their body.

[Lemberg]

definitely prime, however sometimes it's hard to pull teh arm all the way up there so step back wih the stophit under the bell works well too... hate people that go for your mask , I only stophit on the mask sometimes when an opponent is significantly shorter and going for arm/shoulder would require more time.

[edew]

I'd have to agree with MHS and others. If you're thinking and strategizing on how to parry against a hit to the mask, you've already lost before you come on guard.

The best defense against hits to the mask is containment, triangulation, and letting the UN do its work inspecting for gullible attempts at mask hits. Then you send in your special delta forces to rip the guy a new one just in front of the elbow.

And then run away.

[135711]

Our Gang Comedy.

Prime sounds like a terrible choice, I like the idea of stepping back, feint and the thigh.

[edew]

Stepping back is great. But when someone's going so deep as to about to hit your mask, feints aren't going to stop him or her. And the thigh (unless it's your thigh) hit is only asking your opponent to hit your mask even harder and sooner.

Step back and hit the arm.

A prime parry may work if the attacker is fleching at you. Then your riposte is very simple: leave the tip a bit forward and let the fleche run its course and bang the body to the tip.

[135711]

gang, we can't help it if a bunch of teenaged wiccans bound into the board and interpret 'circular feint' as a witches circle. someone asked a question about a feint motion to the head and a cut to the side. now, for the math fans, a straight line is the shortest pathway, but you can't make a straight line and follow up with a successful cut to the flank, i don't know how to explain it other than to say: the cut to the head is 'arched' 1/4 pie; turn your elbow 1/4 pie, and continue into the opponents side.

[edew]

I should add that while this particular question is fairly easy to answer, I am in no way an expert on epee tactics. Epee is such a different sport from foil or sabre in terms of what to do in certain situations.

The variables and alternative choices that an experienced epee fencer can take under any circumstances make my advice fairly useless. Unless it's about fairly basic stuff (like avoid being hit on the mask ).

I can, of course, offer commentary on the state of contemporary epee tactics, only because as a referee, I do get to see a lot of it. I can't tell you what and how to do certain things with any reassurance that I'm not blowing smoke out of my 4$$.

[a517dogg]

prime --> flick to the back, much like a foil fencer would parry an attack to the chest with a prime. move the point in a big circular motion. you shoudl hit his back as he is going past you if he fleched, or if he lungedy ou'll need to move forward with your flick-riposte because he will probably be recovering as you start to riposte.

he wont try that **** again if you work it though

sometimes you can't counterattack or step back because you're already at the end of your strip.

[135711]

alright i'll try it, the step back and counter to the arm, or even mask with a double mask touch.
i was hit on the mask really hard a few times, and i realized that there doesn't seem to be a 'practice' parry for this direct hit, one guy started his 'mask hit wind up' from the en garde line and came straight at me, i was totally horrified, but there you go.

i think it was one of your teammates actually, i never forgot that hit/plus the hit to the forearm. then i never forgot the way he could charge down the strip with complete ease and then i decided i was going to learn something from that one.

[edew]

Depending on your opponent, a good mask hit, even if it's late so it doesn't set off the light, may be a good intimidation ploy. If you think your opponent will wilt under some heavy pressure, go for a good mask jab, even if it doesn't score. He'll be flinching at every movement you do after that.

If, on the other hand, you're fencing against an aged veteran who've been mask hit for thousands of times, you're asking to just rile up his terroristic links and he'll go Hussein on you in no time.

[135711]

An aged veteran, i'll give you an aged vetern, and btw, my knees are just fine, my weight is down, and, boyfriend, believe it or not, my hair is only now JUST starting to turn silver - you sat right next to me on a bench, do i look like an aged vetern who wants to make my opponent flinch? no. i ask these questions because i remember several bouts with very strong fencers and am analysing them with you on the board.

And i do appreciate the input, however, I ahve become depressed over recent current events, such as the several current events that have occurred.

[Elendae]

You can always try a sabre-quinte.... or close to it..... What I learned was to sweep their blade up into the quinte and duck down a bit so their blade lands flat on your head, then riposte. You can pretty much drop your arm once they fall flat, and pick your target. Its easier to do with your palm facing yourself, unlike in a traditional sabre quinte, where the palm faces out (if I remember correctly). It takes a bit of practice to get the timing right, but its a good move. This works as a nice attack as well.... especially for short people like me. Hope this helps!

[magma]

i went nuts for a minute