How to Plan an Advanced Fencing Strategy

Video Transcript

"My name is Brad Bogus. Now that I have shown you most of the basic and advanced techniques of foil fencing, I am showing you how to use the middle way that really allows your attack or your expectation of an attack to score you a point. Now they call it physical chest for a reason. There is a strategically planning involved in foil fencing. You have to expect certain movements ahead of time and maybe even three or four movements in the future. So what you will be using are feints and drawing of attacks. So what you are going to try to do is mix all the things together that I have shown you so far and use them in a way to cause your opponent to react to what you are doing thus creating a counter attack maneuver or creating a defensive attack maneuver. One way that I will show you to do that is with your footwork. Most good fencers watch their feet because footwork is the most important part so a good way to put your opponent on defense without actually seeking attack is make a slow balestra forward that is going to make your opponent retreat or parry expecting you to come in with a quick attack. Make a slow balestra, expect their reaction in their parry you will have the feint already made during the ballestra, make your counter attack, come in and land your point. Another good way to do it is just to feint the attack just as I showed you before but get your foot work involved, get them really on the defense here. Go to feit attack, then go to parry blade, disengage, make your attack or mix some of the more advanced techniques together. So feit, move forward, then go to parry, cutover and flip them on the shoulder. What that is doing is causing them to react to your advance, and then move this way, exposing their shoulder, cutover and flick. You’ve got them in a place they never expected the attack to come. You can use a lot of these techniques together; mix and match and see how it is going to work for you when you are in the actual competition. That is about as much as I can show you for now. The rest you will have to learn in competition. "