Classical Fencing: The Epee Straight Arm Guard

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In classical epee there are four possible guards a fencer can undertake as the basis for attack and defense.


These consist of the directly armed security guards Los Anegeles, the medium or bent-arm defend, the quick defend, and the identical fundamental protect as well-known in foil. Of these, 3 (medium, quick, and foil) live to tell the tale in contemporary fencing. This makes the immediately arm guard a pretty classical technique to the simple preventing role of the fencer who fences with a French grip. It is defined by Castello (1933), Grave (1934), Vince (1937), Lidstone (1952), and illustrations in Faire, Fildes, and Gray's records of The Epee Club (2000) show the defend in use as early as 1901, regularly with the hand located closer to the pommel give up of the grip.

The fencer assumes the instantly arm guard from a ordinary position of shield with the legs and torso. The weapon arm is prolonged absolutely, creating a instantly line between the forward shoulder and the point of the weapon within the line of 6th. The factor usually threatens the opponent's nearest goal vicinity, conceptually the hand and forearm. The muscle groups of the shoulder and arm should be comfortable to allow rapid, easy movement of the blade. In defense parries are achieved either with the blade or the bell.

The directly arm defend offers tremendous blessings:

• Like the point in line in foil or sabre, the directly arm shield presents a right away danger to any ahead motion by means of the opponent.

• The ahead role of the factor reduces the gap to goal, growing the powerful tactical speed of an assault or counterattack from the defend.

• The forward function of the arm and bell makes it feasible for highly small blade and bell movements to cut off angles to the goal and intercept attacking blades, increasing the protection it offers.

There are, but, hazards to the protect:

• The fencer the usage of the instantly arm defend must be accustomed to the protect as a way to reliably loosen up the hand, arm, and shoulder - otherwise motion is slower and can be abnormal.

• The fully prolonged blade is prone to assaults on the blade and takings of the blade. The fencer has to keep consistent vigilance as a way to mislead such movements.

• The completely extended arm is liable to digs from underneath (assaults with angulation directed upwards), and any errors in role exposes the hand as a goal.

The straight arm shield is a very well classical guard - we will document its use as early as 1901 and by means of the Nineteen Fifties its was disappearing from fencing texts. It adds to the epee fencer's tool package the capacity to trade guards, complicating opponent's offensive demanding situations. To a diploma unrivaled by using the alternative guards, it gives a balanced functionality for offense and defense, maintaining a forward chance and occupying a role that reduces opponents' get right of entry to to the fencer's goal. Any classical epee fencer should understand the strategies for its employment, and, for those faculties which embraced the instantly arm shield, be professional in its software.

Walter Green is a Classical Fencing Master Trainer credentialed via the Classical Academy of Arms and certified as a present day Maitre d'Armes by the International Fencing Coaches Association and the Academie d'Armes Internationale. He serves because the director of the Classical Academy of Arms and manages the Academy's on-line credentialing software. He currently is dealing with the Academy's self-look at for accreditation as a middle for training schooling with the aid of the National Committee for the Accreditation of Coaching Education.

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