Two courses of actions form the foundation for protection in all a few weapons in fencing. The 1st of these is avoidance, taking away the concentrate on from the route of the attack. The next is the parry, an action to block the attack. Like the uncomplicated assault, we can classify easy parries as these accomplished in a single continual action, in this scenario to intercept the opponent’s blade and to near a line. This post concentrates in parries attainable in foil and epee, and only addresses the main established of parries to start with through eighth.
Classically there are differences in the parries executed in the French and Italian faculties. Having said that, in present day fencing there is in essence just one established of core easy parries that are in standard use all through the activity. These parries can be divided into lateral, semi-round, diagonal, circular, and counterparries.
Lateral parries go the blade from a single line to the other in the very same horizontal airplane. The motion is a straight line across the system. Hence a substantial line outdoors parry (6th) moves laterally to the inside of to turn into a high line within parry (4th). The doable mixtures are:
(1) Lateral in the substantial line: sixth to fourth, fourth to sixth, initially to sixth, sixth to very first, fourth to third, 3rd to fourth
(2) Lateral in the low line: eighth to seventh, seventh to eighth, eighth to fifth, fifth to eighth, seventh to 2nd, second to seventh.
Semi-circular parries shift from a single line to yet another in a vertical aircraft. The movement approximates 50 percent a circle rotating toward the center of the torso and then sweeping outward to the outer edges of the focus on. The movement may perhaps be from substantial line to minimal line or low line to large line. The achievable combinations are:
(3) Vertical in the outdoors line: third to 2nd, next to third, sixth to eighth, eighth to sixth, 3rd to eighth, eighth to third, 2nd to sixth, sixth to 2nd.
(4) Vertical in the within line: fourth to seventh, seventh to fourth. Parries in the vertical inside line can also involve first to fifth, fifth to initial, fourth to fifth, and fifth to fourth. Even so, these parries are extra of a vertical motion of the bell without having the semi-circular blade movement.
Diagonal parries shift throughout the entire body from one higher line to the diagonally reverse very low line or vice versa. These are sweep parries that crystal clear the diagonal ending in the remaining line. The probable combinations are:
(5) Diagonal significant exterior to very low inside line: sixth to seventh, sixth to fifth, third to seventh, third to fifth.
(6) Diagonal minimal inside of to superior outside the house: seventh to sixth, fifth to sixth, seventh to 3rd, fifth to 3rd.
(7) Diagonal significant inside to low outside line: fourth to eighth, fourth to next, to start with to eighth, initial to 2nd.
(8) Diagonal very low outside the house to higher within line: eighth to fourth, next to fourth, eighth to initially, next to initially.
Circular parries transfer the blade in a circle to return a blade that has executed an oblique attack from outside the house to inside of or within to exterior lines to the primary line. Thus a disengage from sixth into fourth is returned into sixth by the round sixth parry. Theoretically any parry can be taken as a circular parry, whilst the frequency of use is in all probability significantly higher in round sixth and circular fourth than in the some others:
(9) Substantial outside the house line circular parries: circular sixth, round third.
(10) High inside of line circular parries: circular fourth, circular initial.
(11) Minimal exterior line circular parries: round eighth, circular second.
(12) Minimal inside line round parries: round seventh, circular fifth.
The terms counterparry and round parry are often employed interchangeably. Nevertheless, tactically they are distinctly unique parry. The circular parry returns an attacking blade to its original line a counterparry takes the attacking blade and moves it to the laterally reverse line.
(13) Lateral in the high line: counterparry fourth (moves a thrust in sixth to fourth), counterparry sixth (moves a thrust from fourth to sixth).
(14) Lateral in the lower line: counterparry seventh, counterparry eighth.
Counterparries are also doable with the pronated parries. The two that appear realistic are in the high line counterparry third (from fourth to third) and in the lower line counterparry second (from seventh to next).
This catalog addresses a massive quantity of achievable parries. Based on the fencer and the defensive process adopted by the fencing grasp, the record can and should be drastically lowered in follow. Numerous of these mixtures seem to be attainable in classical fencing, but tactically impractical in modern day fencing, specifically in epee. Coaches and fencers should really take a look at the list to discover all those that produce a defensive system that the fencer can execute below the pressure of bout circumstances.