- 'Best defense, no be there.' - Jedi Miyagi
Advanced footwork
A few words on distance, copied from a message in the sabre forum at the academy;
"There are three 'zones' that can be discussed and must be treated accordingly. The Zone of Safety, the Zone of Danger and the Zone of Death.
These zones relate directly to footwork.
The zone of safety is a distance from which an opponent cannot strike you with one simple action i.e. lunge, or step with a cut (The cut/thrust being considered one with the piece of footwork, hence the term attack!). Thus, the only way that an opponent can hit you is if they make a compound movement, such as two steps, or a step with a lunge. And even then, if you match their first step, you will return to the zone of safety and they will fall short. From this position a Jedi may consider his/her options and observe, assess, and evaluate the opponent from RELATIVE safety. But never allow the mind or the body to wander. Even in the zone of safety, there is danger.
The zone of Danger is the distance where a simple piece footwork with a blade attack will land. A step with a cut. A lunge with a thrust. One MUST not enter the zone of danger without a plan. To do so invites death. Ones plan could be to launch and attack; the plan could be to defend or use counter-time (more on that another day); the plan could be to concentrate on the force and trust in it. But if you are caught in the zone of danger without a plan, against any moderately competent opponent, you are dead.
The zone of death is the distance where footwork is not required to make a hit. Only blade work is required. At this distance, you must not only have a plan, but be in the process of executing it. Your parry must be in place or on its way, your attack must be in place or on its way. If yours isn't, your opponents probably is. Hence the name."
Why am I telling you this again? you might ask. Simple...unless your opponent is a fool, you are not going to be able to hit them without using some footwork to get near them. Simple, right?
Nope.
Let's talk about three more pieces of footwork, the lunge, cross advance and retreat, and the reverse on guard.
First of all, the lunge. Invented around the 16th century by Capo Ferro, it has been called by many, and adopted as the single best way of delivering an attack. It replaced the step as the main method of delivering an attack in conventional fencing.
How to lunge:
From the usual on guard (see lesson #1, hope you've been practicing or this is going to hurt!) extend the blade towards the target. It is imperative that the blade go FIRST! To begin an attack with your body telegraphs your attack, slows it down, gives you opponent time to react, and moves your target closer to his/her blade without bringing the blade with it to protect you. All in all, a very bad thing!
Lift your front (right) foot as though you were taking a step, and at the same time straighten the back (left) leg with energy. The back leg is the spring that propels you forward, the front leg is the brake that prevents you form landing on your nose.
The attack is finished with the back leg straight, the front leg bent, with the right knee over the right foot, not beyond! (see picture, although it is a one-handed version of the lunge, which is not how I advocate doing it.)
From the lunge position, you have two acceptable options:recover forward or recover backwards.
Recover forward:
From the lunge bring the back leg in and under the body, without straightening either it or the front leg. This should return you to on guard position. Check to make sure (see lesson #1).
Recover backwards:
Push back with the front leg and bend the back leg, thus returning to on guard. Check to make sure (see lesson #10).
Practice lunging and recovering in both directions. Attack all three targets, head, flank and chest. Make sure you correct your on guard each time. Some points to remember:
-the blade must precede the body. it should actually land on target before the right foot hits the ground.
-Some back swing is necessary, but most of the cut is delivered with the wrist. Do not open your self up unnecessarily
-keep your back foot flat on the ground.
-keep your heels in line, do not stray
-back leg straight, front leg bent, but not too far; you can damage your knee if you go too far.
The next piece of footwork: The cross advance/retreat.
Many people will find this easier than the advance forward/retreat backwards. That is because it is close the usual step that people walk and run with. But beware! Crossing over in either direction leaves you vulnerable for a split second, and does not allow for a change of direction quickly. It is useful, but is to be used sparingly, not exclusively. Many the fool has run themselves upon my blade or found themselves hit while trying to get close to me!
It is simple. From on guard move the back foot across the front foot as though you were talking a plain old step, then move the front foot back to its place in the on guard. Check your on guard! make sure you legs stay bent throughout! No standing up...that's death for certain!
To cross back, move the front foot back across the rear foot, then replace the rear foot behind the front foot in the on guard. Again, no standing up, and check your on guard.
Practise until you can cross forward and back, landing in a perfect on guard.
There is one more piece of footwork that I want to talk about. It is not used in fencing anymore, since fencing is done strictly in straight line. However, in lightsabre battle, that may not be the case. Thus, a reverse on guard is necessary. Look up lesson #1 and reverse all the feet. If you are right handed, a reverse on guard has the left foot forward and the right foot back. Thus the front foot still points forward, the back foot still points 90 degrees to the side, but use the other feet.
Why? You will find that switching back and forth between standard on guard and reverse will allow you to circle easier. Practise stepping forward and back from regular on guard to reverse OG.
- Jedi Lowell
Next week : putting it together into compound footwork.