Demis' Épeé tutorial! |
Hi, I'm Demis of the Advance-Lunge team, and I have a few tips that may help you hone your Épeé skills.One of the hardest but most useful things to always make sure of when fencing is to keep all the movements small and precise. It may seem at first that when you're permorming a circle 4 into someone's blade, that you'd better put a lot of force into it, since it is otherwise relatively easy for the opponent to counteract the movement. This would cause the action to be very big. Instead, you should make a smaller movement, without taking the blade too near to the opponent's bell guard. The closer it is to the bell guard, the more power they have over YOUR blade. In order to keep the movement small and still have control, take it about 5 or 6 inches from the end of the opponent's blade.One simple and easy tip: Dont stop attacking until you hear "HALT!" Many people I've watched assume they've made the touch, and sometimes even turn their head to look at the machine to see. I know it sounds trivial, but do not lose focus of your opponent until someone says you got the touch.Don't be afraid to make a strategic retreat, or just plain get the heck out of there. If you're in trouble, unless your point is already in place but not depressed yet, you can always jump back and regain your wits.Hand-touches are the best way to get touches. When backing down from an attack, see if you can make a hand-touch on the way out, because the opponent will normally follow you. You do this by keep an extension the whole time while retreating away, and keeping it trained on an exposed part of the opponents glove (there is normally something exposed after a failed attack). Sometimes your opponent will even do the work for you by moving forward into your well-aimed point.
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