Foil Fencing Footwork

Series Summary

Fencing is the art of swordsmanship. It has developed into a competitive sport, being one of four sports featured at each of the modern Olympic Games. Protective fencing gear consists of masks, gloves, breeches and plastron. Typically made of tough cotton, nylon, and Kevlar, the full-body padding is very protective and cannot easily be punctured. Sabre fencing uses right-of-way like foil fencing, but points can be scored with the edge of the blade. This follows from the original design of sabres as edged swords, whereas the rapiers which led to foil fencing were usually pointed, thrusting blades. In this free video series on foil fencing, a fencing coach Gerry Duran discusses the intricate sport of foil fencing. Duran explains the importance of footwork and balance. He then demonstrates how to effectively attack and elude an opponent with regard to the rules of priority. Later, Duran discusses fencing safety and the electronic scoring system. Watch these free videos and learn more about foil fencing today.

Video Transcript

"Let's do five points. Remember we're taking turns here, o.k., remember two steps forward, you can take as many steps as you want back. I go first, ready, go, one, two, ah I hit him in the hand! I hit him in the hand! The hand shouldn't have been there. O.k., ready, again, (You or me?) One, two, I hit him in the stomach, I felt it, if this was electrical the machine would go off. O.k., ready, here we go, one, two, here he comes. Look at that, look where I am, ah, he's got to take more than two steps! You see? Because he didn't react fast enough, he didn't make a change of direction fast enough. Here we go again, one, two, oh, I hit him in the hand again. He's, get that back hand away! Very good, alright, now I'll tell you what, stand here, get the back hand away, and get the front, this foot here, up here forward, now look at this. Bigger reach, look at that, this is almost the En Guard position. O.k., I'm going to do the same thing, here I come, one, two, one, two, oh, he was off balance, he was falling like this, no you can't do that in Fencing. So one of the important things to realize is that you need balance, and you need footwork. You got to get around you can't score a goal if you don't get around. You can't throw a basketball if you don't get close to the basket. So you must know your footwork, and you must know how to handle your implement, in this case it's a sword. Here we go again. One, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, oh wow!"