--- In
classicalfencing@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Savit <jeff.savit@s...>
wrote:
> - Are they one-person or two-person forms?
Our club teaches an etude and I've always been curious where the
instructor got it from (but I've always wondered if it was influenced
by Crown). The majority of the club only knows one etude (Foil), and
as far as that one goes, it's done by a single person. However, like
martial arts classes, it can be quite beautiful when everyone is in
sync.
> - How long do they get? (eg: Yang style Tai Chi "short form" can be
3-5 minutes)
Depends on how fast or controlled the person doing them is, but if you
wonder what is involved, here are the steps in our etude (and it might
be the same etude as others and Crown describes, but I am unfamiliar
with his book, sorry)
First position (not to be confused with on guard position), draw one
(bare hand draws into the air), draw two (hand grasps foil and draws
into air), reverence (a salute to right crowd, left crowd, center
crowd, and blade tucks into chin and down), capture (blade), lift
(blade), on guard one, on guard two, advance, retreat, advance,
advance, retreat, advance, retreat, retreat, extend, withdraw, extend,
withdraw, extend - lunge, recover - withdraw, extend - lunge, recover
- withdraw, extend - lunge - "et la" (the command is actually "que du
fair?" Something like that? Never wrote it out before), recover -
withdraw, appel, reverence, and then it's back to first position.
So imaging doing that at a regular pace and that's what it is.
> - Are they done at tempo or kept at a restrained pace?
As mentioned, depends on the person. In our class or at public
demonstrations when we perform together, we move at a steady pace to
make sure all our moves are true and we're in sync.
> - Are they handed? (eg: exist in both right and left handed
versions) For
> two-person forms, it would require the partner also learn the
opposite side.
Heh heh, being backwards handed man myself, I used to always salute in
the opposite direction as the others. It's tricky that way, but
everyone does it (our etude anyway) the same way.
>
> Finally, what is their purpose? We all do drills, mostly footwork
when solo, or
> action/response drills (from simple to multiple tempos) when in
pairs, but a
> kata/form/etude as a longer, varied, specific sequence of separate
actions is
> quite another animal. What gap is this intended to close?
When I'm not fencing (which I wish I could do more often than
classtime and opportunity allows aroudn here), I keep active in Chung
Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do. And based upon my experience, the etude to
fencing serves the same purpose our forms (katas) in karate do. They
are no replacement for drills or actual fencing, but drills and
fencing are no replacement for the etude. The etude can be done alone,
are certainly less boring than static footwork, and gives you an
opportunity to practice a few moves all at once and make them as
perfect as you can. I tend to practice the etude a lot when I'm alone,
and actually plan on making up my own personal etude to practice some
of my Italian-inspired moves I've been learning recently. Also, etudes
are often demonstrated in front of an audience (other students,
onlookers, crowds, even the teacher) and like with doing katas in
karate, you know you have to put the most in each move you make to
make it look good to them and to yourself (make sure your moves apply
good, too ^_~). That translates well into fencing technique and form.
As mentioned, etude is no substitute for good drills, no more than
katas replace one step sparring or line attacks or whatnot. You can
certainly learn to fence well without the etude (duh), but they
certainly don't hurt to learn/practice. Two of our most cleanest
senior fencers in class practice the etude on a frequent basis when
they're not fencing, and they were highly complimented by other
competitors and teachers during the last tournament we participated in
as a club.
--
Patrick Shannon
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