Beginners Lesson Plan

Introduction

I've long traveled about and attempted to offer my own little flavor of assistance to those who would have it of me. In that vein this website has reflected that same 'here is some information due what you will with it' attitude. In a slight divergence from my norm, I've been asked to work with a few people on a regular basis and develop a lesson plan that we can utilize at our weekly practices. That is what you're going to find here, but what will you be able to do with it?

The intention of this lesson plan is to develop the basics. While nothing can be guaranteed: if a student; follows this plan, practices hard, and gives a “100%”, then at the end of 3 months (12 lessons) they should have gained the knowledge and skills to become a slightly above average fencer. After which further development will depend on a number of things; how often they fight, who they fight, how they handle plateaus, personal drive, aptitude, and several others.

If you feel that you are beyond practicing the basics, good. That means you'll be an easy target for the kids to sharpen their teeth on. In my opinion, every body can benefit from the basics. That 200 escudo thrust is useless if you can't do a proper lunge. So with that said lets get to it.

This course is broken into four sections, each consisting of 3 lessons. These are designed to group similar topics and build on each of the previous lesson groups.

Before each lesson starts there is a brief introduction on the topics of that lesson. When we start a new lesson group the introduction is a bit more detailed as it will go into more depth on matters such as equipment and requirements.

I'm not going to cover issues of SCA rules for rapier in this venue. The idea is to keep it as generic as possible, so that it will be of use to all of my readers. At class we will discuss the portions of the rules that pertain to the upcoming lesson(s). It is your responsibility to know the rules of your kingdom and follow them accordingly.

Note: the terms section of each lesson is not just an addendum to be breezed over. The terms are a part of the core lesson so pay attention. It’s easier when I’m standing beside you at practice and can just talk. But in a written form the common lexicon is vital so many of the lessons are woven into it.

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Lesson Group (A) - Footwork

Ah footwork; the literal and metaphorical foundation of our science. This first lesson group; lessons 1, 2, and 3 will be quite possibly the most Important lessons of your fencing life. Why you ask? Well think of your fencing development like building a house. Without a proper foundation it may stand up, but nobody knows for how long, or how well. Personally, I don’t want to live in a house that could cave in on me at any moment. In period footwork was very important, as in could save or forfeit your life, and was often a trademark feature of a fencing master or guild. Fencing masters went to great lengths in the research of these foundation issues. Even so, from diGrassi’s relatively simple angle-line-slope construction (his practice) to Thibult’s insanely complicated ground plans: period fencing masters were all discussing three basic concepts; how to stand, where to stand, and how to move. So in lesson group A we will address these issues singularly. Lesson 1 discusses how to stand (stance), Lesson 2 discusses how to move (fundamental footwork), and Lesson 3 will discuss where to stand (basics of range and distance).

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Lesson 1 (en-guard/stance)

CORE LESSON
The focus of this lesson is to establish a strong foundation for your fencing life. The starting stance or 'En Guard' position is the beginning of every bout. This alpha position may seem rudimentary but it is the forbearer of every other action you will take during the bout. If you fail to use an efficient or effective stance the further actions that stem from it will also be flawed. Another important aspect of the starting stance is that the balance achieved in it should transfer to each successive action. It's actually easier to stay balanced than it is to break the inertia of a good balanced stance. Fight well, be lazy. That's what Mel says. So let’s take a quick look at what you need to know and do to summon a good stance, and maintain it. Along the way we'll also look at some of the basic equipment that you will need to understand for this class. We will also do a quick introduction into the proper manners and positions for holding the sword.

TERMS

  • En Garde (On Guard): The starting fencing position. Everybody does it different, and most people do it differently every time they do it, so just remember that this is the ready position. (knees bent, back & lead leg straight, toe pointed forward. )
  • Stance: Think of stance as being any single frame from the movie of your fencing action.
  • Target Area: A place to put the pointy end.
  • Handle: if you don’t know what the handle is... go home.
  • (weapon) Guard: the part of the sword that (usually mounted where the blade meets the handle) is intended to protect the hand. As an interesting aside, in period weapons the density of the guard and the thickness of the blade are dead giveaways as to the intended use of that particular sword.
  • Forte: the first third of the blade, this is the strongest part of the blade. It is not only the portion closest to the fulcrum of the wrist (diGrassi talks about the same issue but refers to the shoulder, then again he was doing a lot more with cuts than the regular SCA fencer. Mostly SCA fencing is about the point, in which case the axis you should be concerned with is the wrist, sometimes the elbow, this will make more sense when you get to foible. You can read ahead if you like, I don’t mind.) but is also the thicker part of the blade.
  • Mid: The middle third of the blade, this is where the body of the work is done by the sword. (Don’t believe me? Look at a well used Rapier sometime.)
  • Foible: the last third of the blade, the business end. As I mentioned before in the SCA we primarily use the point. It is the fasted and most maneuverable part of the blade and so is well suited to following around fleet of foot opponents. And since SCA fencers have the tendency to jump around like they are coked out of their head, is the obvious choice. The down side is that it is also the weakest portion of the blade. Both in blade thickness and control.
  • Balance: PAY ATTENTION! Although you may think that this falls under the category of the handle, balance is probably in the top five most important abilities/skills you will need to have at your control to fence at a high caliber. Take an en guard stance. Now imagine if you will a straight line that runs through the points of your hips. Now imagine a straight line that intersects the first at 90 degrees and goes through your spine. These two lines form a plane at your hips (I will often refer to this as the balance plane), this plane should be parallel to the ground. Now imagine a line that goes dead center down the middle of your body and intersects the balance plane at 90 degrees and so is perpendicular to both the balance plane and the ground. Got it? Comfy? Knees bent? Back straight? Toe forward? Feet properly spaced? Point, wrist and elbow all in a line? Well now you’re in a Balanced En Guard. You should strive to maintain this balance through all of your motions while fencing, but it is extremely important to have a balanced starting stance. This is without a doubt the number one problem up for novice and intermediate fencers.

LESSON DETAIL
Before we get started you should take some time to become familiar with your equipment. This class will only be using a single blade as the mastery of that one sword holds more sway over your life than any buckler, cloak or even dagger.
  • en guard check list
  • feet at 90 degrees
  • front toe pointed towards opponent
  • apx. two feet lengths between feet
  • knees bent
  • back straight
  • sword arm extended
  • sword tip -> wrist -> elbow = straight line
  • apx. 1 hand width between elbow and rib
  • off hand up
  • minimal body target

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Lesson 2 (basic footwork)

CORE LESSON
There and back again, a fencer’s tale of moving about the field. So you may have picked up on my predisposition concerning foot work. There are many philosophical reasons to practice and refine good habits in your foot work, but at this point I just want you to start developing those good habits. This is a purely mechanical lesson. So you ask: what are the mechanics? We’ll start by getting into our nice and pretty en guard stances that we’ve all been practicing since last lesson. Knees bent, back straight, tow towards opponent, arms up, very good!

Now what I want you to do is take your off hand and mark the position of your sword arm wrist (I usually do this by putting my index finger under the wrist) then, keeping your ‘marker finger’ in place, extend your sword arm as if thrusting your blade. Do not move your feet, hips or shoulders. Just extend your arm in a straight line. Your marker finger should now be about two thirds of the way up your forearm. That distance is, according to Giacomo DiGrassi’s 1594 “true arte of defense” approximately how far you should be moving with each step. Another way of gauging the distance of the step is to use about a foot length. Do what feels better, just keep the steps small and you should be good. Now that you know how to stand and how ‘far’ to step you need to master forward and reverse. As a general rule you should keep in mind that you want to lead off with whatever direction you are moving in. Advancing? Move your front foot first. Retreating? Move your back foot first. Additionally, make sure that whatever direction you are moving you should plant the moving foot before moving the other. This will feel very jerky at first, but with time and practice it will become a more fluid motion than you would expect. While advance and retreat are pretty obvious, there is one other set of motions that we need to cover which may not be so clear cut.

Crossovers are the antithesis of the pretty, small, efficient, steps that we’ve been working on. Crossovers are big steps, huge steps, that should not (at least for the purpose of this introductory lesson) be done while within striking range of your opponent. These steps are used to cover large amounts of ground quickly. To Crossover-Advance: bring your rear foot forward so that your offside heel makes a right angle to the ball of your onside foot. As soon as your offside foot is down move your onside foot forward back to the en guard position. This should be a very quick motion to minimize the about of time that your body is out of balance. Crossover-Retreat: bring your onside leg back place the ball of your foot just behind the heel of your offside foot. As you place your whole onside foot to the ground let your body weight slide you backwards and quickly move your offside foot back to an en guard position.

Work on this for a while and just focus on the motions them self. When you’re comfortable with these I want you to think back to the previous lesson. Remember the balance plane? Remember how we said that you should maintain those ninety degree angles in all movements? Yes I meant when moving about footwork too. The key with maintaining the balance plane during footwork is segmentation, moving the legs without moving the torso. If you do your foot work in front of a mirror you’ll notice your head bobbing up and down with each step. When you’ve achieved a stable balance in your footwork that ‘head bob’ will go away, and that should be your goal. Pay attention to this the next time you watch a fencing bout. You’ll notice the more experienced fencers have a very smooth fluid motion while the less experienced fencers have a noticeable ‘bounce’ and can even seem jerky.

TERMS

  • Time: this is a relatively abstract concept with a decidedly concrete impact on your fencing. ‘Time’ refers to the pace of the fight. To say that an action occurs during the same ‘time’ is to say that it happens, not necessarily simultaneously but, in the same time increment.
  • Line: the committed direction of movement by a fencer. In basic terms line can generally be determined by imagining a straight line that extends through the points of the knee and toe for the leading foot. THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. But for the purposes of this lesson we’re not getting fancy, we will be touching on lines of engagement and angles of attack in lesson 9.
  • Time: the 'time' in which an action occurs.
  • Advance: one advance action in one time
  • Retreat: one retreat action in one time
  • Double-advance: two advance actions in one time
  • Double-retreat: two retreat actions in one time.
  • Crossover-advance: an advance action where the rear foot slightly passes the forward in the advance step. Is used to cover distance quickly.
  • Crossover-retreat: a retreat action where the forward foot slightly passes the rear in the retreat step. This step is used to cover distance quickly.
  • Slope & Oblique: advances or retreats that move at an angle from the opponents 'line'.

LESSON DETAIL
advance: A -> B then 1 -> 2
retreat: 2 -> 1 then B -> A

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Lesson 3 (distance)

CORE LESSON
The most simple way of thinking about range and distance is the first thought that most most sensible people have when raising their weapons: “Can they hit me from here?” This is a very good question. To which I would like to add: If so then how? And where do I 'want to be'? These are all very important considerations and should as such be carefully considered.

Unfortunately it has been my experience that an understanding of distance is something that it seems can only be imparted through experience, and not via text alone. To be sure, there are many facets to the topic of distance, and some do require an in depth academic review to aid in advancement. At this point in the neophyte fencers progression, however; these more advanced topics are well out of scope. For now, I will discuss the four basic ranges there values and caveats. It is worth noting that for almost every unique work on the practice of this science there is sure to be a differing opinion on the how's, when's, why's, and where's of this particular topic. These are the areas of range as I see, and teach, them.

The following plates will show the various ranges and the interaction points of combat at that range. The A line is lethal dagger range. The B line is lethal thrusting range. The C line is the lethal lunge range. As these circles connect and intersect you will see how the options and dangers to each fighter wax and wain.

As I said before: distance is something that each fighter must come to understand for themselves. The most valuable component of that understanding is the knowledge of what your personal effective range is. Some people are simply better at one range than another. As you improve and your skills develop you will learn to select and move in and out of these ranges as needed for not only each fight but for each phase of the combat. That's the goal, for now try to focus on where your point is in relation to your opponent, and vice versa.

TERMS

  • Corp-a-corp Range: Successful attacks can be accomplished with a dagger.
  • Inside or Close Range: Successful attacks can be accomplished with a standard thrust.
  • Mid or Normal Range: Successful attacks can be accomplished with a standard lunge.
  • Outside or Extended Range: Successful attacks can be accomplished with one or more steps and a standard lunge.

LESSON DETAIL


C + C/B or Outside Range: I've skipped the pure C range as you are out of combat engagement at that point. Just be aware that beyond C range you should still be aware of your opponents and there actions. From the C/B range your blade will not interact with your opponents body or blade without one or more steps plus an action of the blade, so assuming everybody stands still, you're still safe.

PROS: Good for sizing up your opponent, looking for openings, etc. But don't get lazy, a single motion (such as an advance lunge) could still put point to skin. This is the range that most fighters start paying more attention. As long as both fighters stay put nobody dies, so you live. Living is good.

CONS: No blood. Joke. Something to stay aware of at this point is that things can still change very quickly. If you loose focus at this range it could easily become the first of two things you will loose, in very short order.



B or Middle Range: Here is where things start to get interesting. This is where most 'snipers' (lesson 11) work from.

PROS: the areas of active engagement have more than doubled at this range. You can actually start some real interaction with your opponent here.

CONS: You're still pretty far out, at this point.



A/B or Normal Range: Now we're talking!


Notes:


When there is a difference in the opponents operating range you need to be aware of how much and in what ways. This does get into more advanced understanding of fight mechanics but you need to be aware of it. Notice how the fighter on the left (we'll call him Bob) is well within the lunging range of the fighter to the right (we'll call him Mel). So how can Mel possibly win the fight? As said before people work better at different ranges. If Bob is an out range fighter (as people with long arms tend to be) then Mel can quickly close distance taking the advantage of range and comfort away from Bob. Practice fighting at different ranges and against people of varying size and specialties. Find what works for you in the different scenarios.

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Lesson 4 (supinated parrys)

CORE LESSON
sixte(6)(outside high), quarte(4)(inside high), octave(8)(outstide low), septime(7)(inside low)

TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL

    Putting your hand in Supination:
    From the standard en guard position, with your sword arm in half supination (that is to say that the flat of your thumb is pointing up): roll your entire arm from the elbow until your sword hand is palm up. Practice this motion with special attention on keeping your point in the same space throughout the action. At this point your arm is rotating, but continuing to occupy the same space and so your sword has turned, but not moved. Rinse and Repeat. As a note, most people find that supinated parries to the inside feel much more comfortable and strong than to the outside. Once you’re comfortable with that move on to each of the following:

    Parries described:
    Sixte, To protect the mid to high outside lines: From the supinated hand position, keeping your point in the same place, slide your arm away from your body. Your elbow will end up approximately 1 inch forward and 3-4 inches out from its starting position. These distances are an average not a hard and fast rule. Move the arm as much or as little as would be required to move an opposing blade out of line with your body. Remember keep a straight line between sword point, wrist, and elbow. I recommend placing your tip against a wall or other firm surface so that you have a tactile gauge of where your point is. This also helps some people to move the whole arm and not just the wrist. Now reverse both actions so that you are once again in a standard en guard position. Practice this a few times until you are comfortable. Once you are comfy combine both steps into a single action, and immediately reset once your blade reaches the ‘parry position’. The entire parry should be a single continuous action. (point will rise)

    Quarte, to protect the mid to high inside lines: From the supinated hand position, move your arm across your body (towards your off side hand) raising the tip of your blade slightly as do. For this parry the point, along with the rest of the blade will collectively move across the body, keeping the point-wrist-elbow line intact. Although the angle will change the sword should still be ‘threatening’ your opponent. For most people this will change your blade angle such that you are no longer directed to the center of your opponent’s body, but rather at their head or shoulder. Again the amount that you need to move will be specific to you. For some people it helps to turn forward (along the axis of the spine) with the motion of the sword side shoulder. Practice this motion until you feel comfortable then combine into a single action.

    Octave, to defend the forward knee, upper thigh, hip and groin: From the supinated hand position drop your point down and away from your body. The apogee of this position will generally find your point threatening your opponent’s upper thigh or knee. When practicing this parry look at the difference in the line of attack. Previously your blade has been pointed toward the upper chest (super-sterna notch), now your blade is opposing your opponent’s leg, BUT their sword has been parried “opening a line” of aggression. Don’t spend too much time focusing on this right now just keep it in mind.

    Septime, to defend the rear hip, groin and the lower inside torso: From the supinated hand position bring your blade diagonally across your body so that the sloping of the blade is in a generally parallel with your rear thigh. Septime moves your blade totally off line with from your opponent. At best you may be able to angle a shot to the forward shin or foot. For these reasons I do not recommend that this parry be considered as a part of your core battery. Practice it, use it when you can, but this is simply not a staple of normal combat.

    Lesson 5 (pronated parrys)

    CORE LESSON
    tierce(3)(outside high), prime(1)(inside high), seconde(2)(outside low), quinte(5)(inside low)

    TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL

    Tierce, To protect the center to mid outside lines:
    Again starting from the three quarter supinated position.
    Components:
    Roll the sword arm to the pronated (palm down position). Counter clockwise for the right handed. Once your sword hand is pronated: Moving from the shoulder, keeping your point in the same position, roll your entire arm up and away from your body in a smooth curve. Most people find that they only need to rotate the arm as far as the horizontal position.

    VARIATION:
    Oh! something new around every corner! And you even get a little bit of odd documentation like porridge, lucky you. *grin* Period works on the use of the rapier would entertain the concept of any body portion as a valid target, but practicality led to a focus on the torso and arms. This usually manifested itself in the proclivity for heavy cuts and for binding/brawling techniques. As time went on and the martial art became more akin to a sport than it's noble past would belie. The target of many later period and extra-period duels could argued to be more in reference to asserting superiority or applying humiliation than to simply maiming ones enemy. What a better way to show superiority that to land that perfect shot upon the face or neck? (Many period texts show a head shot, some in fantastic detail. I'm referring to the specific targeting of the area rather than the utilization of opportunity) Always in motion, very few plainer surfaces, undeniable in it's validity, oh yes the head shot has a mystique. This has of course taken up residence in the SCA. This generates it's own happy little collection of issues. People will over extend over step and contort themselves into all manner of wonderful position to get at that pretty mug of yours. This of course means that the blade will be coming at you from alot of oblique (outside) angles. Yet I digress: to assist in defense of this precious appendage I offer this variant to the tierce parry.

    Again starting from the three quarter supinated position.
    Components:
    Roll the sword arm to the pronated (palm down position). Counter clockwise for the right handed. Once your sword hand is pronated: extend your arm up and away from your body in a puch 'like' motion, again keeping your tip in the same place. Your sword will now be angling 'in' and 'down' from your wrist still pointed towards the upper chest area of your opponent. Once you are comfortable with this practice the varient in a single smooth motion.

    Prime, to protect the center to mid inside lines:
    This is quite possibly the most awkward parry that you may ever want to execute. Lets move away from that for now.

    Second, to defend the forward knee, upper thigh, hip and groin:
    Again starting from the three quarter supinated position.
    Components:
    Roll the sword arm to the pronated (palm down position). Counter clockwise for the right handed. Push the hilt of the sword down and away from the body, the point should remain in teh same position. Be aware that this motion will come from the elbow, and the wrist will bend as the forearm is pushed down and out. There is no set rule for how far out or down to move the hilt, but generally your sword arm will be in a more or less straight (BUT NOT LOCKED) position.

    Once you are comfortable with these components combine them into a single smooth movement, rolling your wrist through the extension and back to a three quarter supination on the reset.

    Quinte, to defend the rear hip, groin and the lower inside torso:
    Again starting from the three quarter supinated position.
    Components:
    Roll the sword arm to the pronated (palm down position). Counter clockwise for the right handed. Push the hilt of the sword down and in, towards, the body. The point of the sword should remain in the same general position. Be aware that this motion will come from the elbow, and the wrist will bend as the forearm is pushed down and in. There is no set rule for how far out or down to move the hilt, but generally your sword arm will be in a more or less straight (BUT NOT LOCKED) position with your hand stopping just in front of your rear hip.

    Once you are comfortable with these components combine them into a single smooth movement, rolling your wrist through the extension and back to a three quarter supination on the reset.

    Lesson 6 (circle parrys)

    CORE LESSON
    circle 6 + circle 4 and defensive reviw

    TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL

    The astute student may have noticed that the parries we’ve discussed are most effective when the aggressing blade is at a different angle to that of your own. This makes perfect sense, but what about when the aggressing blade is in reflecting the same angle? What about when the blade changes angle or target? Even though the parries we’ve discussed so far are designed to cover a majority of the situations that you will encounter during standard combat there are occasions when simple stopping the blade isn’t enough. In those situations you need to redirect its energy in a safe direction. The two parries included in this lesson are intended to accomplish that very thing. These so called circle parries rely on speed to accomplish what was previously accomplished through the use of force. As such these circle parries need to be executed very quickly, and with confidence. If you’re not comfortable with these actions yet, that’s okay. If you choose not to use them ever, that’s okay. Be aware that they are out there and that they may be used against you.

    Circle 6
    From the standard three quarter supinated position, make a quick O with your point. Starting at the top moving down to the right and then continuing back through the starting position and continuing for another

    Circle 4
    This parry is a very quick flurry of movement. From the standard three quarter supinated position perform a standard parry 4. Easy right, okay now do the same thing except as you are moving your arm across your body you will make a small circle with the guard, keeping the weapon perpendicular to its original plain. Should the lunging opponent try to disengage your parry this action will re-collect their blade and continue to drive it away from your core target area.

      Tips!
    • Step out of low parries and thrust into high ones, when unsure step out.
    • Always know your next action, or two, before you execute your parry.

    Lesson 7 (basic thrust and lunge)

    CORE LESSON
    extension, thrust, stop thrust, lunge, pressure/calibration

    TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL
    stay tuned

    Lesson 8 (compund actions)

    CORE LESSON

  • parry repost
  • advance lunge
  • beat
  • bind
  • disengage

    TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL
    stay tuned

    Lesson 9 (Basic Angles/Lines)

    CORE LESSON
    finding openings, outside and inside lines, ofensive review

    TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL
    stay tuned

    Lesson 10 (Body Mechanics)

    CORE LESSON
    xxx, xxx, xxx, etc

    TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL
    stay tuned

    Lesson 11 (Mind of the fight)

    CORE LESSON
    mindset, type of fighters

  • boar: This type of fighter wants to gore your sides with their tusks, and they will get up in your shorts to try and do so.
  • rabbit: This type of fighter will run away from you at every occason.
  • ram: This type of fighter lowers their gravity and becomes a pillon. They will stand their ground and attempt to deflect your attacks rather than initate their own. When the time is right they will butt-heads but only expect a 1 shot, strike of opportunity.
  • wolf: shifty, cunning, crafty, tricksom fighters. They may be very aggressive on one pass and very defensive on another. This unperdictable fighter is very dangerous.
    Note: the "Scola Metallorum Rapier Training Manual" has a version of this, they use "shifter, charger, blocker, and runner" these are also very good analogies for the basic types of fighters. Oh the whole, I highly recomend reading their work. If for no other reason than an alternate perspective it is a fine work.

    TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL
    stay tuned

    Lesson 12 (fini')

    CORE LESSON
    wrap up and full review

    TERMS

  • term: defination

    LESSON DETAIL
    stay tuned