Not the Face!

I discovered a new and interesting target at the club last Wednesday; my opponent's mask. Obviously this would not apply at foil but I'd been reading something about epee fencing and it had been mentioned so I thought I'd give it a go. I noticed it was particularly effective against opponents who fell forward when attacking and as a stop hit against those who attempted to attack to foot. In general it seemed to catch people unawares and seemed quite difficult to defend against. I guess it's not something that is generally encountered and as such has a surprise effect. It also made me feel a bit underhand as it seemed 'not quite the done thing'. I don't know why I felt this way about it, after all it is a valid target and sabreurs are whacking each other round the head all the time! It is a strategy I shall continue with though as it adds a few things into the repertoire:

Surprise: Being hit in the face is unusual and can be quite unsettling - therefore it can upset the opponent, either making them nervous or even irritated. Useful!
Another thing to worry about: Anything that makes the opponent concerned about another vulnerability is a good thing
A good distraction technique: Once you have hit your opponent there a couple of times it might make a good feint for a compound attack to the arm, or a way of drawing a stop hit which you can then bind onto and score
Unusual: It is quite difficult to parry and it might just freeze the opponent long enough to prevent a stop hit

So there you are, despite it's slight sense of unfairness, it's something I shall continue to try (but not too often - predictability is bad). It's not quite Musashi's oar but every little helps......