Cooperative Drill: Distance and Opportunity (12-August-06)

Description
This is a simple drill for systems that use asymmetric footwork (i.e. rapier, smallsword, classical). The fencers start in guard, in measure. The Leader will move forward and backward, using steps of various sizes and at different speeds. The combination of forward and backward is entirely at the whim of the Leader. At any time, the leader can create an invitation (by moving his point offline), at which point the Follower should immediately (but first correcting the distance with footwork, if necessary) lunge at the target and then recover. It is the responsibility of the Follower to ensure he is in distance when he lunges; if he finds that his lunge falls short, he must immediately re-lunge before recovering.

Prerequisites
The lunge and the footwork of the system, plus any other techniques the participants wish to use to increase the difficulty.

Goal
The Follower should become lighter on his feet, more aware of his measure, and able to quickly attack when he sees an opportunity. His stamina should also improve over time.

Notes
This drill is conceptually simple; however, it demonstrates how difficult it is for the Follower to maintain distance and form and still be able to attack immediately. Also, the workout with a rigorous session of this drill is not insignificant and should demonstrate to the Follower whether or not his fitness level is adequate for freeplay. Note that both fencers must ensure that their footwork remains clean and correct at all times. For those systems where the weight is on the rear leg (nearly everything except Italian Classical), each fencer should pay special attention to ensuring the his weight shifts back to his rear foot after every step.

Variations
The difficulty of this drill can be increased by including feints, parry-ripostes or even parry-counters. For example, instead of just a lunge, the Follower could perform a single or double feint. The Leader, instead of allowing the attack to hit, might parry and then riposte (with correct opposition). Finally, either the Leader or the Follower could be required to perform a void and counter in contratempo against the attack of the other. However, I would recommend that this drill remain cooperative (that is, what each fencer does is scripted--except for the footwork, of course), until a high level of proficiency is achieved, at which point enough options can be allowed for each fencer to create an antagonistic drill.

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