A to Z: Parry and Piste

This awesome challenge is hosted by founder Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Tina Downey at Life is Good, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude 2.0, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Matthew MacNish at The QQQE, Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Livia Peterson at Leave it to Livia, L. Diane Wolfe at Spunk on a Stick, and Nicole at The Madlab Post

My A to Z theme is fencing and swordplay, focusing mainly on fencing terminology, but with a few favorite movie fencing moments thrown into the mix too.

Parry: a block of the attack.
This is one of the first words that a fencer learns, along with attack, and riposte. Parries save your target area from attack. Parry-ripostes are that awesome defense into offense move that keeps the action moving forward. We'll get into ripostes more in "R".

There are huge numbers of fencing videos on youtube. Why did I pick this one? Well, he goes through the parries pretty quickly, names them correctly, and demonstrates for both right handers and left handers, which is rare. As a left-handed fencer, I appreciate it when someone takes the time to show both. Sure, I can mirror a right-hander, and I can fence right-handed, but I learned left-handed and prefer left-handed fencing. Oh, and the guy reminds me of many of the guys that fence, think chess with action, not Thor with perfect Barbie hair. (Although there are guys that look like that who fence too)



His setpeme and octave are low enough for epee fencers, even though I think he's holding a "plastic" foil - sometimes these are used in beginning level fencing classes, especially with younger kids.
One issue I have a bit with this video, is that he holds his quarte, or 4, with the tip facing away from his opponent. The tip/point should remain facing the opponent at all times. You can see this problem before the video even starts. Sigh. I couldn't find the perfect video, despite the numerous ones I looked through on youtube.
I have an old fencing training video, but it's old, like VHS old.

Piste: the linear strip on which a fencing bout is fought; approx. 2m wide and 14m long. Most commonly known in America as "the strip" and we're not talking about Las Vegas. If a fencer goes off the strip with one foot, they get a warning. If they go off entirely, they get a point against them/given to their opponent. 

What many non-fencers don't like about the strip/piste: it holds fencers in a straight line, and there is no roundabout, circling action, which can be kind of disappointing when you first start fencing.

The other "P" terms:

Pass: an attack made with a cross; eg. fleche. Also, the act of moving past the opponent.

Passata-sotto: a lunge made by dropping one hand to the floor.

Passe': an attack that passes the target without hitting

Phrase: a set of related actions and reactions in a fencing conversation.

Pistol Grip: a modern, orthopedic grip, shaped vaguely like a small pistol; varieties are known by names such as Belgian, German, Russian, and Visconti.

Plaque': a point attack that lands flat. (This one really sucks in foil and epee, when you think you've got the hit/point, they move slightly, and whap, the attack lands flat against their jacket making almost the sound of this word, "plack")

Plastron: a partial jacket worn for extra protection; typically a half-jacket worn under the main jacket on the weapon-arm side of the body.

Point: a valid touch; the tip of the sword; the mechanical assembly that makes up the point of an electric weapon; an attack made with the point.

Point in Line: also line; an extended arm and blade that threatens the opponent.

Pommel: a fastener that attaches the grip to the blade.

Preparation: a non-threatening action intended to create the opening for an attack; the initial phase of an attack, before right-of-way is established.

Presentation: offering one's blade for engagement by the opponent.

Press: an attempt to push the opponent's blade aside or out of line; depending on the opponent's response, the press is followed by a direct or indirect attack.

Prime: parry #1; blade down and to the inside, wrist pronated.

Principle of Defence: the use of forte against foible when parrying.

Priority: in sabre, the now-superseded rules that decide which fencer will be awarded the touch in the event that they both attack simultaneously; also used synonymously with right-of-way. (We'll discuss Right-of-Way soon)

Prise de Fer: also taking the blade; an engagement of the blades that forces the opponent's weapon into a new line. See: bind, croise, envelopment, opposition. (opposition was covered yesterday)

Favorite fencing moments in "P" movies: The scene between Inigo and Wesley (man in black) in The Princess Bride, and in the blacksmith's shop in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I showed The Princess Bride scene on "N" day, and if you follow the link here, you can find the one from Pirates. The common thread in both: excellent sword work, and actors trained by fencing masters.

 

A to Z: Lunge

This awesome challenge is hosted by founder Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Tina Downey at Life is Good, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude 2.0, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Matthew MacNish at The QQQE, Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Livia Peterson at Leave it to Livia, L. Diane Wolfe at Spunk on a Stick, and Nicole at The Madlab Post

My A to Z theme is fencing and swordplay, focusing mainly on fencing terminology, but with a few favorite movie fencing moments thrown into the mix too.

L is for Lunge

Lunge: an attack made by extending the rear leg and landing on the bent front leg.

 

This is the move that everyone thinks of when they think of fencing, because it is THE attack position. A fencer can attack and have the right of way without the lunge, but a lunge is usually part of the attack position.

 

 

(This is a very clear picture of a fencer establishing right of way, in a nice lunge, and getting the hit/point because his opponent's parry has been unsuccessful)

 

In any attack, the attacker's blade must be moving towards the target (opponent) first to establish right of way, which then lets the director/referee know who started the attack and who "should" get the point. So, a lunge usually starts with the blade arm moving forward first, followed by the front leg and the rest of the body.

 (Inigo has a partial lunge and an attack, but the man in black successfully parries)

 

 

Of course, in a live fencing match between Olympic fencers, the blade is usually moving forward a fraction of a second before the fencer's body. Or the lunge could be preceded or replaced by any kind of forward movement. And that's just in the first established attack - this isn't getting into ripostes or what happens when both fencers seem to attack at the same exact time.

 

 

 (And this is what it often looks like and feels like in a competition - stretched out beyond the limits and in full movement)

 

Other L fencing words:

 

Lame': a metallic vest/jacket used to detect valid touches in foil and sabre. (This is worn with electrics, and not used when fencing "dry") 

Line: the main direction of an attack (eg., high/low, inside/outside), often equated to the parry that must be made to deflect the attack; also point in line.

In honor of this post today, I added 20 fencing lunges per leg into my exercise routine, and then did 20 front lunges. Ouch. I used to be in better shape. I think I need to add them in regularly.


Happy A to Z!

 

 

 

365 Days of Blessings, Day 174

Giving thanks for these amazing blessings:

1. Getting published! Whether on-line at a web-zine or in actual print, getting published is exciting.

2. Every Day Poets will be publishing four of my poems in the next five months!!! So cool!

3. Every Day Poets is putting out a print anthology of poetry, and one of my earlier poems will be published in that!

4. I just wrote a sea serpent scene for The Crystal Sword! I may be behind on my word count, but I am loving my story right now!!!

5. There is nothing like battling a sea serpent with fangs and acid venom to get me going in the morning. It's all in my imagination, but hey, it's probably more fun that way.

6. I know I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention this one again: the pep talk e-mails from NaNoWriMo have kept me writing on through the doldrums and back into the action of my novel. Thank you NaNoWriMo!

7. I like sword fight scenes and I am thankful for my favorites from the movies like this one from The Princess Bride: Princess Bride Sword Fight - who couldn't love that line "There's something I have to tell you, I'm not left-handed either." You can actually tell that although they are stage-fighting, they've had training from a fencing master. It's in the stance, and the way they grip their weapons. It's all in the fingers and the wrist.

8. Hmm, can I add fencing to our homeschool lessons today? I have my old gear, and it could be fun.

9. Looking forward to the sea serpent scene in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Anticipation + imagination = sweet daydreams. Oops, I have to get back to life soon.

10. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.

Scripture Blessings:
"Then he (Jesus) said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Mark 2:27