Lesson 4: The Defense, Part 1

Today we expound upon the basic concepts of the defense. As mentioned in earlier lessons, there are three areas to defense. The parry, the displacement of target and the counter attack. All three work together to form a sound defense, however we must examine each independently.

The parry is the act of using the blade to deflect an opponents attack. Pretty simply concept, however your opponent is doing everything to bypass your parry and land the point. A good parry requires preparation, alertness, speed and form. If any one is lacking, the parry will fail.

As we recall, there are 9, and often more depending on style, parries from which to choose. Different parries serve different functions depending on the attack from which you are defending, and where the defender wishes to go with the offense. In competitive fencing, there are four basic parries to begin studying. Other parries are variations of these four.

Remember, the target area of a fencer is divided into four regions labeled, cleverly enough, Quadrant 1, Quadrant 2, Quadrant 3 and Quadrant 4. Quad 1 is the top right area of the target area covering the right side of the chest and the right shoulder. Quad 2 is the top left, quad 3 is the lower left covering the left side of the stomach and left hip and quad 4 is the lower right. Each of the parries roughly corresponds to the four quadrants, however due to the conventions of fencing, the numbers of the parries do not correspond to the quadrant labels.

The first parry is parry 6. Parry 6 is realistically the natural On Guard position. It is intended to cover the upper, right quadrant (Quad 1) and part of Quad 4. The parry is held with the blade pointing at your opponent's eyes, the arm held at the comfortable 90 degree angle at the elbow, with the bell of the sword at about waist level. The length of the blade is held in such a manner that it forms a "wall" protecting the right, upper side of the body and part of the right belly. Were an opponent thrust to the right side of your chest, for example, their attack would encounter your blade and the thrust would slide harmlessly past your right shoulder, missing the target area. Although, the bell and the third of the blade closest to the bell (called the forte'), is intended to take the weight of the parry, the entire blade often comes into play.

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