How to Advance and Retreat in Fencing

The advance and the retreat are the basic methods of motion in fencing. They are designed to keep you in en garde (see “How to Stand at En Garde”). To move well in fencing, you must maintain balance. Unlike walking or running, momentum plays no role in fencing. To the contrary, you must be able to stop exactly when you want.
Proper fencing technique cannot be learned simply by reading; you must find a club to practice and learn. This guide will give basic instruction and correct common mistakes.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Stand at en garde. Note how deeply you’ve bent your knees. Good footwork keeps your upper body steady, so you should consider en garde your ceiling. You can crouch lower, but you cannot stand any higher than you are in en garde.

2. To advance, lift your front foot forward 12 inches, landing heel first.

3. As your heel flattens on the ground, move your backfoot forward 12 inches.

4. You should have returned exactly to en garde. Advances and retreats come in all sizes (the smaller the better), but your feet always move exactly the same distance and always return you precisely to en garde.

5. Advancing slowly, note how you can shift your weight from one leg to the next (back to front), so that your upper body stays stable.

6. To retreat, reach backwards with your back toe. As your back foot flattens, move your front foot back.

7. Group footwork is an excellent way to practice. Fencing footwork, at its very best, is only as fast as a walk. The leader should walk backward and forward, starting and stopping the group suddenly, forcing changes in direction. This will help you master keeping balance.

Tips & Warnings

• Group footwork is an excellent way to practice. Fencing footwork, at its very best, is only as fast as a walk. The leader should walk backward and forward, starting and stopping the group suddenly, forcing changes in direction. This will help you master keeping balance.
• A great group footwork drill: the leader takes the class through an increasingly advanced footwork drill. Starting with a lunge, the leader continually adds footwork, testing the group’s memory and attack skills (all while still pushing them back and forth). A series may go like this: Lunge Advance lunge Advance lunge retreat Advance lunge retreat retreat Advance lunge retreat retreat balestra lunge Advance lunge retreat retreat balestra lunge redouble And so on.