A quick search of Morton's A-Z of Fencing and Evangelista's
The Encyclopedia of the Sword reveals
that the word "flying" has been used to describe a variety of blade
and footwork actions over the last 200 years, ranging from parries to
fleches. Maitre d'Armes Claude La Marche
(1898, translation by House), one of the founders of the epee as a fencing
discipline, adds to the list the "flying guard." In doing so, he harks back to a technique
taught by Laboessiere fils and recommends it for the epee fencer of the 1880s
and 1890s. This is one of two approaches to the Flying Guard that can be found in La Marche's work - the simpler version is in post E.21.3 La Marche's Flying Guard (December 2019) and represents the version taught in drills.
The Flying Guard is intended to
achieve three tactical goals:
1.
To close the distance with an opponent who believes himself or herself
to be at a distance that makes an attack unlikely,
2.
To disguise the effort to close the distance, and
3.
To allow a fast attack once a suitable distance is reached.
The Flying Guard is executed by:
1.
Coming on guard, ready for offense or defense.
2.
Taking several very small steps, each ending with an appel. These appels are taken to ensure that the
fencer maintains balance and that the legs are ready to act. At the same time the weapon is held in a
relaxed manner to ensure a fast reaction if needed.
3.
Then make a loud appel combined with a shout to distract the opponent,
as you …
4.
Bring the rear foot forward, keeping the leg well bent to avoid any body
movement that would disclose the change in foot position, to close up to the
front foot (gaining approximately 7 inches of distance), and
5.
Execute the attack with a lunge.
The final combination of advance,
distance steal, and lunge has characteristics in common with the patinando. The
distinctive characteristic is the series of approach steps as part of an
integrated, forward moving attack.
It is an uncommon thing to think of a
guard as being "flying," especially when compared to other uses of
the term in fencing. In this case, the
series of step-appel-step-appel-step-appel seems to be slower rather than
faster. Flying in this context appears to
be used to connote the constant forward movement of the guard.
The flying guard must be viewed in
the context of epee at the time (La Marche cautions that half lunges would
usually suffice to carry the attack forward) and of the broader practice of
classical footwork. We know from
accounts of professional bouts that the appel and shout combination was used in
the 1870s and 1880s. In this case we see
an interesting combination of two of the uses of the appel, as a balance check
and as a distractor. Combined with the
distance steal of bringing the rear foot forward, this makes the flying guard
an interesting action worth practicing for the required coordination and as a
surprise action that might be useful once in a classical bout.
Copyright 2018 by Walter G. Green III
The Flying Guard by Walter G. Green III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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