Maximizing Reach in Epee Fencing

Video Transcript

"I would like to talk about extending the arm, and getting the maximum reach in epee. It's pretty easy to see how reach is important. Reach is important in all kinds of fencing. But fencers you have a better reach, fencers who have longer arms, tend to have an advantage, so wherever you can, you want to maximize how far you can reach to get to your opponent's exposed target area. One way you can do that is by extending your arm. In foil, it's doom if you forget to extend your arm, because you lose right of way. In epee, that's not the case, so sometimes epeeists will forget to extend their arms, but it's clear that that gives you a bit more distance. It's also good to--it's also a stronger attack. Fencing is still a descendant of swordplay, so a wimpy attack is never a good idea. Remember, you still have to have a certain amount of pressure to register on those attacks. So, between maximizing your reach and keeping your attack strong, extending your arm when you lunge, even in epee, is always a good idea. Another thing epee fencers will do to extend their reach, is sometimes cheat just a little by grabbing the edge of the guard. I wouldn't recommend it as a way to fence constantly, because you have the most point control if you hold tight up here up against the guard, but if you can bring your hand down here to the end, which is called the pommel, you can get quite a few extra inches when you're in a bind, or in a fix, not necessarily a bind. And one last demonstration will show you how using the back arm can actually extend your reach forward."