INTRODUCTORY FENCING SYLLABUS
developed for Carolingian SCA Rapier Practice
updated 01/15/02
This is continually a work in progress -- feedback always appreciated.
Send to cti@world.std.com
A Note on the Methodology
This syllabus teaches the basics of French classical fencing
adapted for SCA use. We use epees and foils in SCA fencing, and these are
the weapons appropriate to that style. This is different from real Renaissance-era
fencing. There is no fixed methodology for teaching Renaissance fencing
and no system; it is an area still being researched. Every master had their
own techniques and terminology, most of it arcanely explained in the manuals
that have come down to us. Different regions and national schools had different
theories and approaches. The real rapiers used in the Renaissance were
very much heavier than modern fencing weapons and this demands different
styles. One of the biggest differences is that of dui tempi (parry-riposte),
a style made possible by lighter swords, versus the stesso tempo
(essentially oppositional counter-attack) of the Renaissance masters.
It's an entirely different way of fighting, evolving from the European
sword arts that preceded it in the Middle Ages. It's interesting and exciting
to study, but at present it isn't practical to teach to beginners with
SCA weapons and rules. This syllabus gives the student a workable framework
for the weapons used in the SCA now. Once the student understands this
basic approach, they will have a basis for beginning further exploration
of historical European sword arts.
Basic assumptions:
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Every lesson should result in a drill that students can practice with each
other and with more experienced fencers.
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We start with foils and French grips whenever possible. If the student
has a weapon that they are comfortable with and know how to use, fine.
If they went and bought a fancy rapier and can’t find the sharp end of
it, give them loaner equipment.
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Always review previous week's material with a quick drill for the first
few minutes of each class.
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Make notes if any particular week doesn’t get to all the material, so that
teacher of the next class can compensate.
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Keep an index card for each student. Make notes about what material has
been covered. This will make it easier to track individuals.
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Students should participate in the 30-minute stretching, footwork, and
warm up exercises before the class.
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Allow a few minutes of warm-down after the instruction, and use this time
to talk about various points. Make sure you ask each student about what
they liked least and what they liked best about that evenings class.
Week 1: Basic Footwork and Holding the Blade (no
armoring up required)
FOOTWORK:
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En guarde stance
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Basic stance: feet at 90 degrees, shoulders’ width apart, front foot forward,
knees bent. Back straight, butt tucked in. Use abdominal muscles for support.
Shoulders level, head up, eyes looking forward, relaxed.
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Balance: in the center at all times. Straightening back, lining ears up
with spine/pelvis may help. Also can do the "lift front foot and rear heel"
test for balance. Another is to bounce in the en guarde position and feel
if there is any extra strain on either leg.
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Advance
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Can be taught as four phases: 1.) ball of front foot comes up 2.) front
foot moves forward and heel comes down 3.) heel of back foot comes up moving
weight of body onto front foot 4.) ball of front foot comes down and back
foot comes forward and the weight of your body is now over both feet .
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Movement should be smooth and flowing, no hopping or bouncing or swaying.
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Balance always remains in the center! Hips should be level, shoulders level.
· Both feet move the exact same amount. Demonstrate the consequences.
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Retreat
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Like advance: 1) reach back with ball of back foot, 2) lift front toe moving
the weight of your body over the back foot, 3) back heel comes down making
the foot flat on the floor, 3) move front foot underneath the front shoulder
flat on the floor.
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Like advance, movement should be smooth, balance centered, hips level,
shoulders level, feet the same distance before and after the move.
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Lunge
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Lift front toe. Kick front foot up (show sole) and straighten back knee.
Land on the front heel, toe up, then bring foot flat. Important that ankle-to-knee
of front leg is perpendicular to floor, knee is not twisted in or out,
back foot is flat on floor.
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To recover: bend back knee like a hinge and pull front foot back to original
position. Do not dip or torque the back knee!
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Can show how lunge is like a long advance.
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LINE DRILL: call out advance, retreat, lunge.
BLADEWORK:
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Hold the foil in sixte. Hand in supination (thumb at 2 o’clock), pommel
tucked into wrist. Point up (usually aimed at opponent’s eye). Forearm
level, elbow about one fist’s distance from the torso.
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Explain closed line (inside/outside line).
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Extension
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Straighten the elbow and aim the point down.
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Blade should bend UP when it hits. Thumb should end up at 12 o’clock or
blade won’t bend right. Point needs to be aimed. (note: maker’s mark is
on top of foil blade, open part of "V" is on top of epee)
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Discuss appropriate force, calibration.
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LINE DRILL: Practice extending and hitting the wall (no lunging)
– feel calibration
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Extension at various distances
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With advance: Back students up 1 retreat. Extend, advance, hit the wall.
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With lunge: Back students up another retreat. Extend, lunge, hit the wall.
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Emphasize extend first!
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If time and energy permits, do the drill with Advance-Lunge. Emphasis that
Extension comes before all the coordinated body movement.
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LINE DRILL: Using the wall, get students to extend and touch the
wall from the following distances: Extension (reach out & touch), Advance,
Lunge, and even Advance-Lunge.
WARM-DOWN LECTURE:
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Part one of the rules. Cover armor and weapons. Show examples.
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Explain "Hold!"
Week 2: Direct Attacks, Parry Quarte
FOOTWORK:
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Review basic footwork.
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Add cross-over forward and back.
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Forward: weight shifts to front foot, back foot comes forward, crosses
front foot and is placed just ahead of it. Front foot comes forward, crossing
back foot and is placed in its original position, relative to back foot.
(This is the period "pass").
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Backward: weight shifts to back foot, front foot reaches behind back foot
and is set down. Back foot is pulled back to original position relative
to front foot.
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PARTNER DRILL: Distance drill. Leader advances and retreats, follower
keeps the distance. Leader invites a lunge by dropping their hand, the
follower lunges. When the follower lunges, the leader should be able to
reach out and just touch the follower's finger tips -- this is the calibrated
distance between the two partners. Checking this with each lunge helps
the partners be aware of changes in the distance. Concentrate on smooth
motion and precision, not speed.
BLADEWORK: ATTACK
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Everyone armor up!
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Direct Attack
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Calibration: Teacher hits students, students hit teacher - get student
to feel the touch
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PARTNER DRILL: Standard attack drill. En guarde at extension distance.
Leader drops blade, follower extends and hits. Do the same from advance
distance, then do the same from lunge distance. After a few rounds, add
mobility. Leader advances and retreats at will, follower keeps distance.
BLADEWORK: DEFENSE
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Upper arm remains immobile from shoulder to elbow. Forearm rotates thru
an arc to cover inside line. Wrist breaks, thumb at 12 o’clock. Point is
up, aimed at opponent.
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Do not over-parry, do not drop hand low, do not get point out of line.
Demonstrate how little is needed to cover target area. Emphasize position.
This is not a beat parry or an opposition parry.
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PARTNER DRILL: at extension distance. Leader extends into open line,
follower parries. Return to en guarde. Repeat the drill at advance and
at lunge distance.
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If time permits, introduce riposte (see Week 3)
WARM-DOWN LECTURE:
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Part two of the rules. Conduct, calibration, etc... (leave
out
melees and "no math rules")
Week 3: Disengage and Riposte
FOOTWORK:
BLADEWORK: REVIEW
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Review direct attack with mobility
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PARTNER DRILL: leader dropping blade so follower can lunge
(with mobility, leader advancing and retreating)
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Review Parry Quarte
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PARTNER DRILL: Teach the basic parry drill with mobility. Leader
extends, then advances. Follower should NOT react to the extension. When
leader advances, follower should retreat and parry at the same time.
BLADEWORK: DISENGAGE AND RIPOSTE
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Engagement
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"Finding the blade" – blades are in contact, line is closed
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Disengage
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What happens when your partner doesn't give you the opening? Must disengage
from a closed line to an open line. Point out that our parry drill was
using an open line to start.
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Control blade with thumb and forefinger; first knuckle of forefinger is
"fulcrum." Make a tiny "V" in the air with the point of the blade.
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All in the fingers!
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PARTNER DRILL: Both partners on guarde in sixte, lines closed. Follower
disengages, extends and hits.
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Riposte from Quarte
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Parry Quarte. Then lower point and straighten arm. At point of impact,
arm and blade should be in the same position as when hitting from sixte.
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PARTNER DRILL: at extension distance. Leader extends. Follower parries
and ripostes. Return to en guarde. Leader must "soften the elbow" to allow
follower a clear shot for the riposte. Do this drill again, with mobility
(Leader extends and advances, follower retreats and parries), going from
one end of the room to the other.
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From now on, all parry-riposte drills are done from a closed line with
disengage.
WARM-DOWN LECTURE:
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Have them observer other fencers. Have the advanced fencers in a
bear pit with other weapon forms. Have a question and answer session
and ask the students what they saw or what surprised them.
Week 4: Low-line
FOOTWORK:
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General review of footwork
BLADEWORK: REVIEW
BLADEWORK: QUARTE TO SIXTE AND BACK
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This is not new material, but puts quarte and sixte together as both guarde
positions and parries.
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En guarde in quarte.
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Show closed line in quarte.
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From en guarde in quarte, disengage to sixte, extend and hit in sixte.
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Parry sixte
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From en guarde in quarte, disengage to sixte, extend, then parry sixte.
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Emphasize that this is the same as guarde position.
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PARTNER DRILL: From en guarde in sixte, leader disengages to quarte,
and advances. Follower retreats, parries quarte, and ripostes. Partners
return to guarde in quarte. Leader disengages to sixte and advances. Follower
retreats, parries sixte, and ripostes. Partners return to guarde in sixte.
BLADEWORK: LOWLINE
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Attack to Octave (8 – low outside line)
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Aim at the thigh/knee of forward leg
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PARTNER DRILL: standard attack drill. Leader raises blade and gives
opening in 8.
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Parry Octave and Riposte
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Drop the point, describing an arc to the inside. Hand is supinated.
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Riposte is simply by raising the point and following the opponent’s blade
in to target.
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PARTNER DRILL: standard parry/riposte drill in 8.
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Attack to Septime (7) – low inside line)
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Aim at belly.
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PARTNER DRILL: standard attack drill. Leader gives opening in 7.
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Parry Septime and Riposte
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Drop point, move hand thru an arc to cover inside line. Elbow and upper
arm remain stationary! Do not get point out of line.
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Riposte is by raising the point, following blade in to target.
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PARTNER DRILL: standard parry/riposte drill in 7.
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PARTNER DRILL: En guarde at extension (plus a smidgen!) distance.
1.) Leader extends to a line and advances. 2.) Follower retreats on the
advance and parries appropriately. 3.) Follower ripostes. 4.) Return to
guarde. Go thru the known parries in a pattern (4-6-7-8). Do this drill
from one end of the room to the other. When students are more experienced,
the leader should be able to pick a line at random and the follower parry
appropriately.
CONTROLLED BOUTING:
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Students can start doing "controlled bouting" at this point.
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Have them "bout" with an experience fencer or teacher.
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Stick to only the moves they have learned.
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Talk about their experiences and how everyone did.
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Have them watch each other during this.
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Continue controlled bouting each week until the end.
Week 5: Feints and Beats
REVIEW
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We’re halfway through the program – good chance to review and catch up.
ATTACK:
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How to open a line for an attack: feints draw the opponent out of line,
beats knock the opponent out of line
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Feint/Disengage
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Feint: an extension with "body English"
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Designed to draw your opponent into parrying, so you can attack elsewhere.
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Demonstrate: feint to quarte, partner parries quarte, deceives (disengage
around) parry in quarte and hit in sixte.
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PARTNER DRILL: same as above. (Follower feints to quarte, leader
parries, follower deceives, hits in sixte). At extension distance, then
at lunge distance.
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Beat attack
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From sixte to quart. A sharp, precise, controlled action, striking the
opponent’s blade out of line. Roll the hand from sixte (thumb at 2 o’clock)
to thumb at 12 o’clock, with "english" on it. You want to strike with the
upper "edge." More than a parry, but don’t let point get way out of line!
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Extend after beat and hit.
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PARTNER DRILL: Leader extends blade slightly, follower beats it,
then extends and hits. Do the same with mobility (Leader advances and retreats,
invites the beat by extending slightly, follower beats, extends, hits.)
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Do the same from quarte to sixte (a weaker beat, normally).
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Beats are possible from every line.
CONTROLLED BOUTING:
WARM-DOWN LECTURE:
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Have the experienced fencers do a melee, discuss the melee rules afterwards.
Week 6: Cuts and Off-hand Parries
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Emphasize distance. The key to successful, safe cuts is understanding your
distance at all times.
DEFENSE:
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Off-hand
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Parry with off-hand, then riposte.
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Taking the blade with the off-hand. Single time action. Caution about distance!
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Transfer: parry quarte, then transfer to hand, riposte with blade. (Good
for preventing counter attack).
PARTNER DRILL: standard parry-riposte drill with off-hand parry,
direct riposte.
BLADEWORK: ATTACK
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Cuts
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Draw cuts and tip cuts.
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Put in the context of distance!
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Cuts require closer distance, cuts versus thrust. Talk about infighting.
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Cuts shouldn’t be an excuse for sloppy fencing. Be deliberate, be aware
of your distance!
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Cuts can be used to salvage a bad situation – a missed attack, a too-close
situation where the point can’t be brought in.
PARTNER DRILL: simple cuts at extension distance. Leader
gives belly opening by raising the blade high, follower cuts across the
belly.
PARTNER DRILL: (complex!)Take blade in Quarte. Advance, reverse
with the off-hand extended to take blade (beyond your own). Disengage your
blade down and under your off-hand arm, cut stomach.
CONTROLLED BOUTING:
WARM-DOWN LECTURE:
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Talk about the SCA, what we do, where they live, what happens in the area.
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Cover awards, titles and how to address people.
Week 7: Reversed Stance, Fighting from your Knees
FOOTWORK:
DEFENSE AND ATTACK
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Reverse Stance
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Emphasize need to extend first before attacking with reversal/lunge.
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Watch the distance! Distance is different with reversed stance, be aware!
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Don’t lead with your head!
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PARTNER DRILL: Leader in normal forward stance, follower reversed.
Leader advances, follower takes the blade with off-hand, extends, reverses,
and hits.
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Fencing from the Knees
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Distance.
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Defense: Protecting the head.
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Offense: review rules about circling.
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Attack and parry-riposte drills with one partner standing, one kneeling.
CONTROLLED BOUTING:
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Emphasize taking wounds (arms, legs, etc.)
WARM-DOWN LECTURE:
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Talk about how to make your own armor (they are usually asking about this
by now).
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Show the punch test, show various types and styles of armor.
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Talk about where to buy equipment and what they should be looking for.
Week 8: Off-Hand and Preparing for Authorization
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Review everything.
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Off-hand fencing
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Basic quarte and sixte, direct attacks and parry-riposte.
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Standard drills.
CONTROLLED BOUTING:
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off-hand
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Practice authorization bouts.
WARM-DOWN LECTURE:
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Go over what happens in an authorization.
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Quiz people on the rules.
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Talk about what is expected to authorize and where they go from here (this
is the last week, you are now on your own).