EXERCISES
While there is always doubt as to the acceptability of formal
exercises, to be voluntarily pursued, in any sport, there are always a
few enthusiasts who are hunting for methods of improving their play. In
an earlier section, we have suggested exercises for the development of
the legs. As will be recalled, these consist in the lonely travel up
and back the fencing strip, with the advance and lunge and, later, the
retreat and lunge. Possibly it is absurd to suggest, but the fencer who
will assume the leg position of guard during the morning shave, will
get in an extra ten minutes on those legs. Again, if the man who sits
over a book, will start an open sheet of newspaper at the corner with
the fingers of his sword hand (or both hands, if he desires symmetry
of exercise and development) and gradually, by finger action alone,
crumple that sheet of paper until it is a compact ball within his hand,
he will eventually develop almost tireless fingers. Of course, these
exercises are quite outside of swordplay and may not interest one who
just wants to fence.
There are other formal exercises, with the sword, that are planned
to help develop one or another of the phases of the technique of the
sword. One series of these is planned to help perfect finger work
in the parries. Two fencers face each other well within distance in
what might be called engagement for the simple parries and reverse
engagement for the counter parries. The first term is self-explanatory.
Here, the fencers engage in sixte, or quarte, or whatever guard they
may choose. They then alternate, taking the sharp, tapping parry of
that position with the fingers alone, or with a minimal amount of wrist
play. It is recommended that the parry of prime be omitted from this
exercise. Of the other parries, seconde, tierce, quarte, and septime
are practised very easily with the fingers alone. The parries of sixte
and octave require some degree of wrist play. But constant practice
will reduce this to a minimum. These exercises, when properly executed,
help in four elements--the developing of the leg position of guard, the
holding of the elbow of the sword arm well inside the line of the body,
the effacement of the rear shoulder, and the practice of doigté in the
simple parries. They may prove of some interest, as well as of great
value, to the practical fencer. As stated, with the counter parries,
a _reverse_ engagement is employed. By this, it is meant that instead
of opposing quarte to quarte, or sixte to sixte, as would be the usual
practice if only closing the line were desired, quarte is opposed by
sixte, and similarly throughout the series of guards, so that the
various counter parries can be used. In fact, no true engagement
exists. In the stated position, first one fencer takes the counter of
quarte, whereupon the other takes the counter of sixte. Any time spent
in these exercises will amply repay the fencers in the development of
perfection in the execution of these movements.
Another series of formal exercises that permits an almost infinite
variety opposes a known parry to attack and introduces the lunge
into the exercise. For example, two fencers come on guard in quarte.
It is agreed that the defence must be by no parry or the counter
of quarte. The reason that “no parry” is introduced is in order to
prevent the fencer with the attack from starting a “spinning” double
on the agreement of a counter parry. With the privilege of “no parry”
the defender may stand fast, whereupon the “spinning” double runs
into the motionless defending sword and loses the attack. This is
fine practice in timing the attack to the defence and vice versa. In
addition to the practice in the various elements of the guard and
parries of the previous exercises it introduces: (1) the analysis of
the attack and the defence; (2) the timing of attack to defence and
defence to attack; (3) practice in holding the parry until the front
foot leaves the ground; and (4) the launching of the lunge in perfect
synchronization with the other elements of the attack. As this exercise
can be practised from all guards and with all parries, either simple
or counter, it may well command almost continuous interest for the
perfection of weak spots in attack or defence between the periods of
formal instruction. If the fencers are equally advanced, observant and
mutually critical and helpful, they may make such exercises of enormous
value.