Beginner Class - Lesson 6

This week, we are discussing the jump-lunge, as well as beginning our practice of feints.

The jump lunge is an impressive feat of footwork which can rapidly gain you ground to hit an opponent when they think they are safe. You will be combining the jump forward from last week, and the lunge you already know. You will jump forward, and use the momentum from the jump to spring farther into a lunge. 

My preferred version of the jump-lunge is the ballestra. The Ballestra increases the springiness of your lunge by bringing your feet together after the jump. When you do the jump, instead of landing in en guarde, land with your feet together as in first position with your legs heavily bent. As soon as you land, spring forward into a lunge. The ballestra is a much more difficult version of the jump lunge and I would not recommend attempting it until you have mastered the normal jump-lunge.

Feints are a two part attack which is meant to trick your opponent to covering a line which opens a line of attack you actually want to attack. In order to feint, you will extend your arm and rotate toward the cut you are feinting from (the feint). When your opponent moves to parry the feint, you will lunge and cut to the opened line. DO NOT PULL YOUR ARM BACK WHILE FEINTING! Retract your blade and rotate it around only with your wrist. We label feints at Sabre Escrime as Feint X-Y. As an example Feint 3-5 is the feint that starts from cut three and ends at cut five.

This week we are discussing the feints beginning with cut three.  The three feints we are discussing will be to to cuts two, five, and four. Feint 3-2 starts with a feint from three, then rotates back and around to cut two, with the cut two being done with either the true or false edge. Feint 3-5 is a simple feint which easily opens the attack to the head. Feint 3-4 doesn't work often against skilled fencers, but is a good set up for a double feint.