Small Parry in Foil Fencing

Video Transcript

"'K we're going to talk on a little more depth about why you, why it is you want to keep your parries small. Or how small to keep them, and what the dangers are of heavy, or big parries. So first, let's begin with a demonstration of a good parry, that's just enough, just adequate, to put my opponent's point off-line. So it Serie's going to come in for a thrust, and I parry, I only really need to parry this much. Now we're in a little closer distance that we would normally be, but you can see how her point is now aimed so if her thrust had it through, she's just over my shoulder. And I don't have to move her blade very far, in order to do that. Here, it's already off-line; she's already off target area. And you can see how having my shoulder back makes that even smaller. I don't have to move her blade very far to make it an adequate parry. And that's the same on all sides. Now a big parry, or heavy parry, is bad for a number of reasons. The first is that if she's making a thrust here, and I parry all the way out there, look what I've opened up. If she would have disengaged and come under, I've got a whole world of target area here, that's very accessible for her. Even more so, if it were a parry six, and I came all the way out here. I'm done for, she's got that hit. I don't have enough time to come back in. So if I keep my parries small, I can keep my point on-line, and always have a chance to make a counter-attack, to make a riposte. Another reason that a big parry is bad, if I'm all the way out here, it takes me a long time to make my riposte, so that I have to come all the way in here just to make an attack, whereas if my parry is right here, it's very easy for me to quickly come in. I've established right of way, and then my point on-line, coming quickly, make the attack. Third reason, if Serie ever wasn't really trying to hit me, but only feinting this target area, and I tried to parry over here, she might dega je, she might disengage under my blade, as I attempt to parry. If my force of my parry was too strong, or I've aimed too far out, she wins. She gets the touche, because I don't have a prayer of coming in once I see that she's only feinted and not really tried to make a hit, and parrying her properly. So, watch the parries. As we're demonstrating parries, some of them will be a little exaggerated for the purposes of demonstration. Foils are small, they're hard to see, the movements are tight, but remember, as you're learning proper technique, always keep your parries as small as possible. And the way to judge that is the smallest parry that works, is the right parry."