Stand and Parry

[big poppa]

Hey it's time for my weekly brain pick. This week my question is when you guys parry do you retreat, half retreat,or stand and parry
or all of the above ?If so why and what works for you. More and more Im likin the retreat first then parry. What do you think?

[Matt_Bailey]

I usually TRY side step away from the attack or step diagonally foreward when I parry. If I'm moving backwards anyway, I might as well just get completely out of the way and time-cut the weapon limb.

[Porphyre]

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time-cut the weapon limb
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You've gotta watch out for those crazy folks who fence with their feet!
But seriously, I thought you were supposed to either retreat or side-step with the parry. Why would you just stand there?

-Porphyre!

[Christopher J Umbs]

Porphyre,

The reason you would just stand there is to make sure that you can hit by direct riposte if it's done tac au tac.

Like Matt said though, for any form of HF you really don't want to be stuck in a linear mode so there are a lot of parries with side steps, but even more time hits with side steps.

[attila]

Depends on the action, and how feisty I feel at the time. Weak attacks to high line are to be reposted by stepping into distance, since the guy isn't going to go very far. a serious attack can be riposted by standing there since the fella is coming at you. A well timed fleche must be taken with a retreat and parry and a very swift point in line riposte. And a prepared parry ripost by way of invitation must be done while you are going forward. On a prime riposte I do the twist and do a step flick. Man,the possibilities are trully many......

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"Kill the men, save the women, and by the gods, do not spill the wine"

[neevel]

There are no absolutes, but in general you'll need to do some kind of distance change against an attack properly executed from the right distance. If you just stand still and parry, chances are I can drill feint-disengage attacks into you all the way to 15. If your opponent is attacking weakly or from too great a distance (i.e., already at your parry-riposte distance), then you won't need to retreat. And as Ed noted, there are instances when closing distance will also be effective.

-Dave

[Matt_Bailey]

To tell the truth, I brutally oversimplified.

There are times when you will retreat with the parry. More importantly, you will maintain a proper distance BEFORE your opponent attacks. You see, the hand is fast, faster than the eye often, but it is not faster than the foot. Within the time of the foot, proximity negates skill and he who attacks first often hits first. When he must use the time o the foot against you, your eye and brain have a better chance of reacting against you.
Of course, there will be variations. For instance, if I am to counter by stepping in and stabbing the face or "pressing the hands" when he raises to cut, it helps if I am a little closer than wise. If I am to make the afore mentioned time cut, it's great if I can trick him into attacking from without distance. In the middle of these two distances, I will often make a parry or counter with opposition, depending on the length of my weapon and other factors

Also, the factor of retreat vrs. advance while parrying has a great deal to do with whether the opponent uses thrusts or blows. When a thrust is extending towards you, the retreat buys you abit of extra time to parry. With a blow, it moves in a plane. You should either move completely out of the blow (if your opponent misses, it is a good thing), or step in to stifle the force, for the most part. Uh, enough rambling for now, the brain is shot and I need a Led Zepplin fix.

Cheers,
Matt

[space_cadet]

I like to morph into a form of a corn chip. After the passé, I morph back into human form and counter-attack.

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Cadet à Space

[vegan]

big poppa and the gang,
Well, heres my 2 cents- You and your students should be able to attempt to parry from any point in distance- an example: A fencer I knew some time ago in NC used to make pris de fir, flick to the back; he could use this in in situation however- attack, counter-attack (both with and without blade contact), parry repost, counter repost, and even in some odd cases at other times. Often with a jump up, or a lunge, sometimes with a retreat or half retreat. A prime example of a "one" move fencer who was very sucessful.
When to parry should be a choice made by your students based on the tactical data they have and correlated to their skills at performing the parry- no hard and fast rule should apply.
Cheers
B.

[Stryder]

The question was, Should you always step
back when you parry?

Yes. In my opinion ANY defensive move should involve at the very least a shift backward of BOTH feet. Anything else is a counter-attack.

Sometimes the distance change is great and sometimes it is hardly noticable. But you should always train yourself to be ready and willing to move back if the attack is not as simple as you thought.

[space_cadet]

To answer your question, no. It is not necessary to step back when in the form of a corn chip.

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Cadet à Space

[This message has been edited by space_cadet (edited 03-23-2001).]

[thebigriddle]

Train in all possible situations. This how you get better. There is complete tempo game involved, which someone would have to show you face to face.