How to Hold a Fencing Weapon

Fencing is divided into three weapons; foil, epee and saber. Foil and epee grips are identical and will be covered first; saber grips in the latter half. Foils and epees also have the choice of a French grip or a pistol grip, of which there are many varieties. However, the basic principles behind French and pistol grips are similar.

To practice and develop these skills, you ought to seek out your nearest fencing club.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A fencing weapon

1. Make sure your weapon is oriented correctly; the wired side (or unwired, in a dry weapon) should face upwards.

2. Using your pointer finger and thumb, pinch the grip at the top. Pointer finger goes underneath, thumb on top.

3. Using your remaining fingers, push your pommel (the end) against your wrist, putting your thumb at a 12 o’clock position. Your wrist should be straight.

4. Make sure your pommel is against your wrist. For a French grip, that would be the large weight at the end; for a pistol grip, it’s the back of the weapon, which curves out slightly. The ONLY job, the one and only job, your other fingers have is to keep that pommel your wrist; they should be pushing it straight into your wrist. Failing to keep the pommel against the wrist is the single most common mistake fencers make that causes bad blade-work.

5. Move your wrist a little. See how the weapon responds. All of your blade-work comes from your wrist, with finesse coming from your pointer finger and thumb. That is why your pommel must stay against your wrist; if it isn’t, your weapon simply won’t respond well.

6. Assume a parry 6 position; extend your arm, then bend it so that your forearm is parallel with your hip. Tuck your elbow close to your body. This means you can defend any attack with one movement – towards the attack. If the attack comes in the other directly, you’re parrying it by default (and can immediately parry-riposte).

7. To hold a saber, the same principles apply. Again, you hold pinch the grip near the tip with your pointer finger and thumb, and again, your other fingers exist only to keep the pommel against your wrist. Your forearm and elbow remain in the same position; for saber, curve your wrist out, which will cover your flank.

Tips & Warnings

• Some fencers advocate holding a French grip near the pommel, thereby gaining a few inches. It compromises any subtly and quality to your blade-work, but it is a valid, legal strategy. But then again, so is eating your vegetables and growing a few inches. Or learning how to fence properly, and relying on superior footwork and blade-work to take all the inches you want from your opponent.

[epeegal]

on 5/28/2009 good article, but a little anit-french grip there at the end, i love french and yeah holding it at the end of the pommel may seem "cheap" but what works, works.