Quote of the week

Here's a couple for Anna Bentley, just in case she's reading this in Beijing on her five week tour of the Far East.

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized"
and
"The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy"

Lao Tzu

Those ancient Chinese knew what they were talking about!

Subtle strokes

Permit me, dear reader, to digress for a couple of paragraphs. It'll be worth it in the end (?) I am currently dipping my toes into the world of Japanese calligraphy or Shodo. Whilst my efforts are still totally amateurish I am learning a huge number of interesting things as I go along. There are many different types of script in Shodo ranging from the formal seal Kaisho script to the informal grass Gyosho script. It's fair to say that the strokes and characters are easier to assimilate in Kaisho as they are less abstract. I can 'get' the formality more easily whereas some of the characters in gyosho style are a mental test indeed. They really are the abstraction of the formal character to a degree when it almost becomes an intellectual puzzle, where the look of the final character only reflects the direction and spirit of the brush rather than the character itself. In some ways gyosho script is the distillation of the character of the particular words being inscribed. I am still puzzling this out, but perhaps that is where I am going wrong! A lot of the art of Shodo is based on spontaneity and the mind (or lack of) that is behind the brush.
But what, you cry, has this to do with fencing? Well, it dawned on me the other day in the salle that some fencing moves are like calligraphy. The basic move, say for example an engagement of sixte followed by a disengagement and attack is almost like the seal script; defined and formal. It is only when we start to look beyond this, into the character of the stroke that we see it's subtleties. For instance, if the initial engagement is too rapid or staccato your opponent will not feel obliged to push back, thus denying you an opening to attack. Chances are they won't even react at all to it, which means your whole strategy will fail. If however you understand the subtlety of the stroke you will exert just enough pressure, with just enough obviousness, to cause your opponent to push back, leaving themselves vulnerable to your ultimate intention of hitting with the disengage. Sometimes the subtler strokes are harder to master but they are all the more aesthetically pleasing and effective for it! Cool huh?

What's your point (doing)?

I'd like to talk about point control in this post. I was observing some fencing last night and it struck me that it would be a really interesting exercise if it were possible to analyse how much time the point of a fencer's foil was actually pointing at the opponent during a match. I've seen statistics for other sports on television where they give a percentage time that the ball was actually in play. In most cases it seems that the actual time the ball is in play is somewhere around 60% of the match, which seems quite poor to me - especially if you're paying money to watch.
A similar factor exists in foil fencing. The foil is a thrusting weapon therefore the only important part of the foil in scoring a hit is the point. Anything that removes the point from threatening the target area is in fact non-productive time. Even a parry is non-productive if it is not immediately followed by a riposte with the point. You may argue that a parry is productive because it prevents you getting hit; I would argue that it is preventative rather than productive as it doesn't get you anything without the riposte. So anything you do with a foil should be with the intention of placing the point on your opponent's target area. You should always as a minimum be looking to keep your point in the general direction of your opponent as you never know, they may just obligingly run onto it! Also, in moments of desperation you can stop thrust with more confidence that you may score a valid hit. So what sort of control are we talking about? Imagine you are looking at your opponent. They are in the on guard position and their body is not quite square on to you. I contend that where possible, you should keep your foil pointing at an imaginary box running across the width of their shoulders and down to the line of their hips. Obviously there may be some techniques where this may not be practical such as broken time, cut over and (possibly) flick ripostes, but in general keep your point in line. This is particularly relevant in disengage, compound and beat attacks as by removing the point from the line you jeopardise your chances of making a valid hit and are less likely to make a convincing feint in the first place. Musashi said "......when you take up the sword, in any case the idea is to kill the opponent. Even though you may catch, hit or block and opponent's slashing sword, or tie it up or obstruct it, all of these moves are opportunities for cutting an opponent down. This must be understood.... It is crucial to think of everything as an opportunity to kill. This should be given careful consideration." I think if you substitute the words "hit with the point" for "kill" this encapsulates the topic perfectly.

More tactics

I've been doing some more thinking about tactics and it seems to me that the way you consider your tactics can be divided into rough categories:
Tactics based on your own abilities
As a fencer you will know your own strengths and weaknesses so will naturally favour certain approaches over others. You may be more of an attacking fencer, you may be more defensive, you may prefer stop hits or disengages etc. My tactics have changed over the last twenty years. When I was a young tyro you couldn't stop me flecheing. Fleche, fleche and if in doubt fleche again. Why? Because I could and it tended to work against the fencers I was facing at the time. Once I graduated to local competitions I discovered the joys of the flick hit and broken time and used to put them to quite good use in an attacking sense, again mostly because they were effective and a bit trendy. These days as I've slowed up a bit I tend to be.. well, let's say more tactical as I don't want to give away all my secrets, you never know who's reading!
So tactics you decide on may be influenced by your confidence in certain techniques, which could be categorised as personal tactics. I would stress that if after considering this you feel that you are strong in some areas... practice those that you don't feel strong about!
Tactics based on your opponent
If you are observing things as you should you will become aware of things that your opponent does that will influence your tactics. This could be either regarding a preferred technique or regarding the level of their ability. For instance, if your opponent is relatively inexperienced, then complicated techniques involving feints etc are unlikely to work on them because they simply won't see them and react in the correct way (i.e. the way you want them to). Or if your opponent has a very strong attack on your preparation then you will need to lure them in with a deception and then parry riposte. I suppose these tactics could be called immediate tactics
Tactics based on the fight situation
During a fight you will come across different tactical situations; you are ahead with a few minutes left, you are behind in the last minute etc. It is best to consider these situations before a fight and decide what you're going to do so you can embed a particular response into your mind without thinking about it. These can be considered strategic tactics.
Tactics based on the referee
Sometimes you may need to consider the referee in your tactics. If he is persistently not seeing your wonderful beat attack on the preparation then it's probably a good idea to try something different! There is no point in persisting with something that isn't working.

I hope this post has served to illustrate further that fencing should never really be just about getting on the piste and thrashing around. A serious fencer will constantly analyse the situation and practice tactics that will lead to success, not just during the fight but before and after it as well!

Quote of the week

"Consider your self lightly; consider the world deeply."

Miyamoto Musashi

A few random thoughts

I've been quiet in the blog-world recently. Been struggling with a virus that's knocked me out for a while but now I'm back! Haven't really got anything coherent to say myself, but I'm working on a couple of posts whilst I'm off work with this particular lurgi....
In the meantime, here's something from my old favourite "The Book of Five Rings" by Musashi...
"The journey of a thousand ri [a ri equals 2.44 miles] proceeds step by step, so think without rushing. Understanding that this is the duty of a warrior, put these practices into action, surpass today what you were yesterday, go beyond those of poor skill tomorrow and exceed those who are skillful later. You should do as is written in this book and not think in a way that will let your mind become sidetracked."
Later he says, "See to it that you temper yourself with one thousand days of practice and refine yourself with ten thousand days of training. You should investigate this thoroughly".
I love the way he says, "investigate this thoroughly"! It's like ten thousand days of training is not enough; which in a very real sense it isn't. How many of us can really say we know something so completely and totally that we don't have to try at it anymore? Not many I would imagine. Musashi studied his 'Way' for his entire life and only just before he died in his sixties did he even begin to write it down. Even then a lot of it is difficult to express in words and was only passed on to two of his students. I guess I am lucky in some sense that the internet and PCs exist so I can share my thoughts but on the other hand I am quite pretentious as I have only a limited understanding to share as yet.
One of my ex-students popped round to visit me the other night and we got talking about fencing, amongst many other things. I explained my current thinking, this blog and what I was trying to achieve and he asked me the following question. "Where is it leading?". At the moment I am not quite sure but for now I am happy to be coaching, sharing my thoughts with a great bunch of students and getting the chance to figure it out for myself. The way is not necessarily obvious but it has a knack of leading me on....

Shake your tactics

Here are some of my (and others) thoughts around tactics.
Tactics will differ between a five point fight and a fifteen point fight as there is more room for the advantage to sway between fencers in the longer bout. However, tactics do not just apply during the match, they also apply before the match so I'll deal with this first.
Before you step foot on a piste it is recommended that you do your research. By this I mean checking out your opponent for strengths and weaknesses, checking yourself out for the right mindset and also observing the person likely to be presiding. The first point is reasonably obvious; by viewing your prospective opponents as they fence you should be able to spot little indicators of their particular style. Do they parry or attack in the same way every time? Do they favour attack or defence? Are they left handed?!?
Checking yourself out should include a little mental audit; are you in a positive mood? Do you feel confident? How do you intend to approach the fight? Have you mentally practiced the sorts of techniques you are going to do for real?
Checking out the prospective president should include whether they are experienced? Do they seem confident? Do they 'see' certain attacks better? i.e. if you notice that they seem unable to spot a right of way it might be a good idea to use definite beat attacks etc to emphasise the right of way to them. Are they swayed by a fencer's behaviour?
All these things add up to good pre-match tactical awareness.
During the fight there are several situations that may alter your tactics. If you have a substantial lead there is no need to attack recklessly and risk being picked off with parry ripostes, especially if time is running short. If you are in control, stay in control. When you are 5 or 6 points ahead it is time to be calm and collected as it is your opponent's problem to get points of you. Use the clock to your advantage. Conversely if you are behind it is not the time for inaction or hesitation. You must devise a strategy to get points quickly. In situations where your opponent is in-experienced and you have the measure of them, use simple attacks to finish them off. There is no point in doing anything complicated like compound attacks as your opponent may simply not have the experience to react to your feints etc.
I also asked my friend Anna Bentley for a few hints on tactics from the international level and she had the following tips:
"If you’re winning, never take your foot off the gas – even at 14-1 up". (I would add, as soon as you think you've won, you've probably lost)
"If you’re hit for hit then be unbelievably patient, wait for opponent to make mistakes whilst still being threatening and taking the initiative".
"If you’re getting caned then change it"!
Pretty practical advice there I think!
For a historical perspective check out the wide variety of tactics detailed by Musashi in the Fire Scroll chapter of the Book Of Five Rings. For any of my students reading this, ff you can't find it I'll lend you a copy! They might be 400 years old but they are still very relevant to the modern fencer.