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Title
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How to Practice Close Play for Foil
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Date
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March 1939
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volume
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4
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issue
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2
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page start
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6
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page end
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7
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content
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en
The present Editor of The Riposte assumed his duties a few months ago. He assumed those duties with no writing staff and with insufficient fencing background to equip him for the task of writing a national fencing magazine for the interest of foilsmen, sabremen and épéeists alike. As a foilsman, and a left-hander at that, he nevertheless essayed some articles on foil that he hoped would prove of some interest until he could obtain help from those better equipped to write on this and other subjects. Such assistance has now come to him through some friendly correspondence with Mr. Ricard West, Fencing Master at the Salle Herrmann in Philadelphia.
Mr. West wrote to us a few weeks ago questioning several statements in our past articles. In each case he quoted an authority on the subject. We found him quoting André, Kirchhoffer, Baudry, Masiello, DeSmedt and others as easily as Mr. George Breed is able to quote Louis Rondelle, his old Master. Finally, and we liked this, he was kindly in his criticism and offered it in all friendliness. We encouraged him to amplify his statements into brief articles concerning the various weapons and are pleased to announce that he has done so. We submit the first of these essays in this issue. It deals with close play or compactness of movement in Foil.
In furthering our correspondence with Mr. West we have appended several footnotes as a reply to a statement of his, to call “touché” when he arrives cleanly on our target, or to explain a reference to the reader.
Mr. Ricard West took his first foil lesson in France in 1891, saw Renaud win the Épée Championship in 1904 untouched and Mimeague the following year win both épée and foil with an almost equally clean score. In 1906, he began studying under Mimeague who, he says, “kept me in such a lather of perspiration until my riposte was to his satisfaction that the fat on my rather spare frame oozed to nil.” He also studied under Verbrugge and DeSmedt and was himself Fencing Master of his “old Lancer Cavalry Regiment” for 8 years.
Having fenced actively now for 48 years and with considerable experience in all weapons and schools, a thorough knowledge of fencing bibliography, a friendship with the leading fencing personalities of America and Europe of a generation which took its fencing with more thought and philosophy than we do today, we consider Mr. Ricard West admirably equipped to address you upon his and our favorite subject.
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HOW TO PRACTICE CLOSE PLAY FOR FOIL
Ricard West
To encourage correct action in defensive and offensive foil play, it is necessary to study some of the basic principles and theories of fencing.
The clock-face method of study is available to any fencer. Presupposing that we are right-handed fencers, let us face an imaginary clock. The horizontal line between 9 and 3 is the line on which your simple parries cross over with the point held either high or low. The counters, with point high or low, are made at 9 and 3. The combination counters (and simples) of quarte and septime are made at 9. The opposite counters and simples of sixte and octave are made at 3.
The perpendicular line from 12 to 6 is the line on which the "point play" is made in deceiving the above defensive actions. In deceiving a simple parry, the arm already being stretched outward, palm up, point about chest-high, hand a little higher than the shoulder, dip the point as the defending blade passes in the parry of sixte from 3 to 9. As it arrives at quarte, your point should again be at the point from which it was lowered.
The circular defenses are deceived in exactly the same manner. If your opponent is parrying counter to quarte, dip your point just as his blade is about to touch yours to drive it out, lift your point again opposite the point of departure. (Footnote 1)
It will be seen from this explanation that 9 to 3 on our imaginary clock-face represents the horizontal line across your own or opponent's body. The perpendicular, the distance from collar to fork on yourself or opponent. All defenses are made on the horizontal, all attacks on the perpendicular line. This method is good for any type of foil.
The clock-face method is purely imaginary. A mirror may make this division of target more tangible. Assume the guard position in front of a mirror with your foil held in quarte. Note the center of your own target. Take a piece of soap and mark a cross on the mirror representing the clock face: 9 to 3 and 12 to 6. Practice all combinations before the mirror remembering that the vertical line is for offensive movements and the horizontal line is for defensive movements.
For lunging practice, you may construct a frame about two feet square, which may be covered with stiff brown paper. Sharpen the end of an old foil blade. Now lunge all out at this target frame. Here you will have nothing to lean upon at the end of your lunge except your own legs. I advise a fairly high hand elevation and, of course, a slight opposition to quarte or sixte, depending upon which line your attack has entered, to prevent the direct riposte. If you lunge like a bullet directly at the target, irrespective of what may happen to you at the completion of your lunge, you will be, for a second, at the mercy of your adversary's riposte. For we must presuppose that your blade has by now been driven (or opposed) out of line, your front foot is flat on the floor and the direct riposte of your opponent's quarte or sixte free to fly straight to your chest, the nearest target to him. Hence, the need for opposing toward the side on which the parry will make contact with your blade.
In making counters in the high line, the error is often made of lowering the point too much as you commence the circular action. Your blade need but dip under the attacker’s blade and continue until the beat or opposition parry is made. The beat parry drives the blade outward, but does not follow it. All parries should be made “in the hand” and not at the opponent’s blade which may have deceived and not be there when you plan to reach it. Another thing to remember well is that the angle of deflection made by your blade and guard both in attack and defense is at some distance to the front of your body. Therefore, it is never necessary to parry the actual width of your target (body breadth).
To conceive a good example of Close Play with foils, imagine two men meeting in a narrow-walled lane about 12 inches wide. The hands, in defense, should not touch either wall. The point should not touch either wall, in feinting or in lunge attacks. Blades in quarte or sixte should be parallel—not pointing inward to the center of an opponent’s mask. (Footnote 2) The A.F.L.A. handbook (Footnote 3) gives the correct positions. It is a translation of the French Army method complete in all detail, except the lessons.
The superiority of either the French or Italian foil can only be determined by the individual. The actions of either foil will be uncontrolled by the inexpert (Footnote 4).
“Le Style c’est l’Homme” — The style is the man.
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Footnotes By The Editor:
(1) In theory, Mr. West is correct here. It can be done, but I cannot see that this method is as practical as circling in the direction of the parry. The sensitive hand and acute timing required from his method is rare indeed whereas the average fencing beginner can be taught to double through a counter parry in a few lessons. Mr. West’s advice is toward such perfection that I admit having seen only one foilsman in 15 years who, I feel, could use this one-two attack successfully against either a simple or circular parry.
(2) Mr. West has the weight of authority on his side here. He refers to my statement on page 5 of the December issue where I said, “the French quarte position where the point is directed toward the center forehead of the opponent.” I apologize. As a left-hander, I have found the inwardly pointed quarte position as tenable and advantageous against right-handers. The danger of a remise into high quarte after the parry is less between a lefthander and a righthander than between two righthanders.
(3) He refers here to the A.F.L.A. Fencing Manual which unfortunately is now out of print and a collector’s item. The demand for this exceptionally good booklet has made the A.F.L.A. consider a revised up-to-date edition.
(4) Mr. West is a strong devotee of the French foil. His statement here is to offset my inferences of superiority in the Italian foil as expressed in the December issue. He plans to amplify his arguments for the French foil in future essays.
