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Title
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The Epee : The Practice Session
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Date
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November 1939
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volume
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4
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issue
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6
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page start
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4
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page end
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5
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content
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en
THE EPEE: THE PRACTICE SESSION
By Lt. Philip C. Wehle, U.S.A.
It is with some trepidation that I approach the problem of the practice session for the epee man. My fears are engendered by the ugly fact that the proper practice session results only from honest thought. Distasteful as it is to most of us, the act of thinking—more properly, constructive thinking—is the first consideration in the approach to a fruitful, dividend-paying practice session. Of course, there are, in addition to the initial cerebral machinations, many other processes and virtues needful to complete a wholesomely productive practice period. These contributing elements will be taken up in due time; for the moment, it is vital to recognize that only from thought will there stem that rarity—the constructive practice session.
But whose thought, pray tell? Fortunately, fencers do not have to do all of the thinking in planning their practice routines. Each man’s fencing master does much of the thinking for his pupil. The master diagnoses weak spots, points out crudities, suggests corrective exercises, demonstrates correct techniques—in short, he provides all of the materials out of which may be built the practice session. In the final analysis, however, he cannot actually supervise the practice session. The fencer's purse and the master's patience preclude such constant intimacy. Therefore, it devolves upon the fencer to organize his own practice session and to have that organization well worked out before he finds himself, epee in hand, standing on the practice strip.
This planning—what is it? The answer is simple: the plan is merely the evaluating and arranging of the work that you need to do. That part of your repertoire most deserving of attention clamors for priority in planning. But you cannot devote an entire period of practice to one or two exercises. To do so would be deadly indeed. There must be variety; otherwise, your practice session becomes the most stupid form of cruelty, senseless crucifying of self. But with this variety, there must be purpose. There is little of good in practicing your forte. Primarily you practice to eliminate your weaknesses, not to ignore them. But presuming that you have but one real weakness that you wish to remove, you cannot devote all of your practice period to that one great debility. After ten minutes on any one exercise in fencing, you are in need of change; to go on is a waste of time. The Jesuits are accredited with believing that no souls are saved after the first ten minutes of preaching. So too, in fencing: no weakness is cured by an hour-long bludgeoning. Rather is the treatment to be administered in homeopathic and intermittent form. However, your practice session must be longer than ten minutes. To what will you turn for gainful practice?
There are, of course, certain "universals" in epee fencing. They are as household gods to the true epee fencer. Every practice session should include a brief period of homage to these occupational deities. Chief among them is that of accuracy with the point. It can be said of epee more truly than of any other weapon that your first line of defense is your point. Then too, your normal target is your opponent's wrist and forearm—a relatively tiny area. To hit with certainty must be your aim. Such accuracy is vital in epee fencing; in no other weapon do you take great risks in advancing your point six inches beyond your adversary’s guard. In sabre and foil, such positioning is normal. In epee, such a procedure is equivalent to an invitation to the dance; it is downright dangerous. And all because of the POINT! Until you can feel your whole being concentrated at your point, until you are supremely confident that you have complete control of your point, until, in brief, you are accurate with your point, all of your fencing efforts are terribly handicapped. Without accuracy, you lack confidence; without confidence, you cannot achieve distinction in any field. Therefore, it is axiomatic that in every practice session should be included a period of pinking a rubber ball that dangles from the ceiling or from a miniature gibbet. Such thrusting is damnably dreary, but it is essential. Five minutes of this honest labor (it is just that) is sufficient for any one practice period. Later in the period, you can practice on some willing fellow who will permit you to make beat attacks or out-of-line attacks to his arm, knee, or toe. But bear in mind, your prime interest is in the accuracy of your point; you can get the feel and technique of the beat without following it up. All this, mind you, is but to beg you to include, ever and always, some "point-sharpening" in your planned practice session.
There is another "universal," or epeeman's household god. Too often there is lacking the reverence due him in practice sessions. His name is LEGS. It is sad but true that the epee fencer generally neglects his underpinning. He is quite often content to forget his legs and to devote all of his attention to his good right arm. Perhaps it is the prevalence of this tendency that accounts for the weird stances too commonly attributed to the epee wielder. Perhaps, too, we see here the reason for the increasing use of a rather bumbling fleche and the astounding lack of anything remotely resembling an honest-to-goodness lunge. Enough of theorizing! Remember that LEGS can help you. Bear in mind, however, that no favors will be bestowed unless just due is given, and it must be given constantly. The deity is not appeased by an annual visitation. Every practice period should include some ten minutes of genuflecting (let your instructor prescribe the form) and making obeisance at the shrine of LEGS. It is not for nothing that a boxer is said to be as good as his legs. That fencing parallels boxing is obvious.
There is one other diversion from the commonplace that is always good for a laugh. It is the use of the full-length mirror. Not one of us is averse to gazing deep into a mirror in order to gloat or to hope against hope. "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity!" However, some good may come of such peering. Try your lunge and observe in the mirror the action of your arm. Does that action have the general effect that is noticed when a moving picture is shown of a train rushing straight on toward the camera? If so, all is well. Then too, you can hold your lunge at the full and note the bulges, bumps and lack of alignment of you. It is most revealing and most instructive. By all means take a good gander at yourself each practice session.
It may be seen that almost everything I have suggested as "variety-givers" in a practice session partakes of the nature of a solo flight. I have done so consciously, for you may not always find a suitable practice companion. Should you be so fortunate as to have an agreeable mate to work with you, let me caution against permitting your practice session to dissolve into the dangerous practice of mere loose play. I call it dangerous because few of us go about this "loose-play" business in the proper manner. The action usually develops into a polite fight with each contestant striving desperately to hit the other. Little is learned in such business; the only good you can come to in this fight-that-is-not-a-fight is to be found in the sweat forthcoming. If you must fight (and we all want to), wait until the end of your period; then challenge a lad or two to a five-touch bout. Go to town on these bouts; make them real. Only at this time during a practice session should you really FIGHT! All that goes before should be schooling. In schooling, it is the execution that matters, not the touch. In fighting, it is the touch that matters, all else to the winds.
Little have I written here that is new. The main consideration has been to emphasize the necessity for a planned practice session. Make that plan well in advance; then stick to it. Such a procedure requires thought, a heinous undertaking. Without such procedure, your practice session is quite likely to be little more than a listless workout. Plan your practice period in order that you will derive some good from it.
