Chapter 7 - Fencing Training

"But first, I need to tell you about fencing."

"No problem, I'm listening."

"Fencing is a European combat sport. This is the art of hitting an opponent with the point or the edge of a bladed weapon without being hit yourself. It is an Olympic sport that uses three types of weapons: sword, saber and foil.

The term "fencing" comes from the old French "escremie" itself derived from the Frankish "skirmjan" meaning: to defend, to protect. It is therefore initially an art of defence.

The saber is a weapon where the point and the rest of the blade (edge or back) count.

The saber is the lightest weapon: 500 g for a maximum total length of 105 cm.

The saber is a weapon whose assaults are very difficult to follow for the spectators because the hits in combat are very fast.

It was formerly the weapon of the horsemen. For this reason, the hits are carried there with the edge, like the knights who avoided, for obvious reasons, to pierce their adversaries. The valid surface is always above the belt: we avoided needlessly injuring horses that we could recover after the battle.

And you, I imagine that you don't just want to learn an art of defense and that you want to use the sword, don't you? Said Clement with a smile.

"Yes! I want to attack, not just defend myself!"

"Come, I'll teach you the guard position to defend yourself, because it's still important."

Marlone moved up to Clement with his wooden saber and Clement began to show him fencing and the guard position and also explain to him deeply.

"Guard is the most favorable position the shooter takes that allows him to be ready to attack or to defend himself. The fencer stands with his chest straight and in profile, and his shoulders retracted in order to offer the least valid surface possible to the adversary . The legs are bent to facilitate movement. The center of gravity is lowered, and the rear arm is raised to promote balance. The gap between the heels is approximately shoulder width."

"Do you understand?"

"Uh, I think?"

"So try to defend yourself against my wooden sword"

Marlone quickly got into a very awkward guard position and caught Clement's sword in the stomach and failed to defend himself.

"No! It's not like that. Flex the more your legs!"

The two have now been training for two hours and Marlone has made a lot of progress, and he can pretty much master the guard position, but he still needs a lot of practice.

"Now let's take the next step. Said Clément, then he began to explain to me the next step.

The main trips are:

Walking (to approach the opponent)

Retreat (to get away from the opponent, walk in the opposite direction).

The lunge (to hit the opponent)

In addition to these fundamentals, the following movements will be added:

The forward leap and the backward leap

The forward or backward pass is a movement by crossing the legs which increases the speed of movement

The arrow: the fencer voluntarily puts himself out of balance on his front leg, which performs a sudden thrust forward, to attack.

Marlone trained for 10 hours with Clement, and he mastered a system skill on his own

[The Bourbon Royal Family Fencing {Beginner} has been created]

"Good, Marlone let's start training again in two days ok!"

"Yes, master, I will practice at home!" »

It is currently [11:36 p.m.] and Marlone has gone home and taken a shower, eaten and then he fell asleep.

Tomorrow it will be martial arts.