Sabre Fencing Techniques
There are many techniques in sabre fencing which if used will greatly improve your sabre fencing abilities thus making you a better sabre fencer. These tactics can be very easy to learn the basics of and are worth practicing and trying out with another sabre fencer. These techniques can be broken down into three main categories which include, movement, Attacks, and parries. All of these categories are listed below written in easy to understand terms.
***(Note that all of these techniques assume you right handed, if you are left handed simply reverse these instructions) ***
Movement
Movement is an essential part of sabre fencing and if you wish to fence sabre successfully you must learn these techniques. Note that these techniques are very simple and once you try them out it will seem very clear and easy.
- Basic Position- in order to achieve the basic sabre position you must stand with your right foot facing towards the opposing sabre fencer, and your left about twelve inches behind your right in a perpendicular position. You should then bend your knees and keep your right arm in front of the middle of your body raised to about the top of your stomached also about twelve inches away from your torso, also the blade of the sabre, which is held in the right hand, should be slightly pointed upward so that it is aimed to the mask of the opposing sabre fencer. This is the basic sabre fencing position and all actions will begin in this position including the starting of the bout.
- Moving Forward of Backward- In order to move you must first enter the basic position shown above. If you want to move forward, also called an advance, you should place your right foot forward, place it on the ground, and then move your back foot forward, so that you end in the same basic position forward just moved one step ahead. In order to move backward, also called a retreat, you must do the same action but start by moving your left foot back first, and again you should end in the same basic position. Also note that you should always keep your sabre in front of you protecting your body if your were to be attacked while moving. You should take some time to practice advancing and retreating until you are able to move like this naturally in a bout.
Attacks
Whether your are attacking or defending while in the middle of a sabre fencing bout attacking is an essential aspect of sabre fencing that when mastered can make you a deadly adversary. There are a few main attacks that every sabre fencer must know in order to make a successful attack. These techniques include the lunge, a slash, and a stab.
- The Lunge- The lunge is the most common and famous sabre fencing attack and is the most useful. You begin a lunge is the basic fencing position and then stretch your right leg as far forward as you can while keeping your back foot in place and maintaining balance in case you must quickly return to the basic fencing position. While extended reach your arm far forward and attempt to either slash or stab your opponent on his or lame. The slash and stab and explained below. With practice this surprise attack could be an easy way to score a point.
- The Slash- The slash involves you rubbing any part of your blade against the opposing sabre fencer’s lame. This attack can either be horizontal or vertical and changing which way you do this attack in a bout could keep things fresh and harder for the opposing sabre fencer to recognize. This attack and also be done from any position including a lunge, or any parry position which are explained below.
- The Stab- The stab involves you pushing the point of your sabre into the lame of the opposing sabre fencer’s lame. This can also be done in any position and is a nice change when you have used a lot of slash attacking in the bout and visa versa.
Parries
Parrying is the last essential aspect of sabre fencing and is only second to movement. Parrying is the act of deflecting the opposing sabre fencer’s sabre moving it out of the way of your body. Parrying also gives you right f way explained in the section called, How To Fence Sabre. There are many different ways to parry but I will explain below the mainly used ones and most likely the only ones a beginning sabre fencer will use. These parries are called the parry of four, the parry of six, the parry of seven, and the parry of eight. Make a note that while doing any of these parries your blade should always remain the way explained in the section called Basic Position listed above.
- Parry of Four- The parry of four begins in the basic sabre fencing position and then moves your arm slightly to the right moving the opposing sabre fencer’s sabre blade out of the way so it does not make contact with your body. This parry is mainly used if the opposing sabre fencer is aiming to attack your right side.
- Parry of Six- The parry of six begins in the basic sabre fencing position and then moves your arm way over to your left side causing the opposing sabre fencer’s blade to move past your body to the left. This parry would be used if the opposing sabre fencer was making an attack for the left side of your body.
- Parry of Seven- The parry of six begins in the same position the parry of six ends or the same position the parry of eight ends ( shown below) and then moves diagonally across your body so that it ends below the parry of four. This parry will help defend against an attack made aimed at the lower part of the right side of your stomach.
- Parry of Eight- The parry of eight either begins in the same position the parry of four ends or the same position the parry of seven ends and then moves across your body to the bottom of your left side below the parry of six. This parry would be used if the opposing sabre fencer was making an attack aimed at the middle of your stomach on your left side.
*This figure above clearly shows how each parry differs, note that sixte= six, quarte= four, octave=eight, and septime=seven.