Drill of the Week - Antagonistic Drill: The Parry Drill (15-July-06)

Description
The fencers are on guard and in measure, but with parity of swords. The Attacker can attack any line of the defender with a thrust. The defender should perform an appropriate parry-counter (in stesso tempo). For example, from the Fabris guard, if the Attacker thrusts to the high outside, a possible counter by the Defender is illustrated by Plate 43. Since the attack is out of tempo and from parity, and the Attacker is making a direct attack (i.e. without a feint), the Defender should be able to correctly parry-counter almost every the time. The Defender can also incorporate the various voids into his parry-counter.

Prerequisites
The lunge, the hand parries, parrying with the sword and possibly the voids and girati.

Goal
The Defender should learn to recognize and counter attacks made out of tempo.

Notes
This is a relatively simple antagonistic drill that should quickly become mundane (but it is still good to practice occasionally). This drill illustrates very clearly why it is a major tactical mistake to execute a simple attack out of tempo against a competent opponent.

Variations
The attacker can also be given the option of attacking with a cut.

List of Drills