Breaking Broken Time

I was asked for advice on what to do against the broken time attack in foil recently and here is some of my thinking on the subject, after some more rumination...


1. On no account stay within lungeing distance - this plays right into the attackers hands

2. Be careful if you retreat - it is likely your opponent will pursue with bent arm and lunge. Even if you successfully stop hit many presidents will give the right of way against you on a double hit due to your perceived backward movement

3. It is best to either stay still or better yet move in closer. The strength of the broken time lies in the final replacement of the blade into line to hit; this is normally achieved by bringing the blade back down from the vertical or diagonal position. If you step inside this arc you destroy the distance element and while risking a flat blow on the head or shoulder should be able to score with close technique. This is a naturally counter-intuitive movement (getting closer to an attacker) so you will need to practice it to perfect it.

By the way, this list is not exhaustive; think about it for yourself as well!