E21.3. La Marche's Flying Guard

From time to time one finds an example of the past becoming present in fencing.  In some cases it expands our understanding of the classical period.  Maitre Claude La Marche in his text The Dueling Sword (House translation of the 1898 edition) does just that.  Among all the various ways that the term flying has been used in fencing terminology in the last century (Morton's A-Z of Fencing cites 9 examples), La Marche adds one more, the Flying Guard.

To describe this technique he goes back to its origin in Maitre Labat's 1696 The Art of Arms or the Single Sword with Positions and cites supporting theoretical work by Maitres P. F. J. Girard and La Boessiere (all three authors of texts in the 1700s).  However, La Marche description is of a specific technique as opposed to the more generalized descriptions of manipulation of distance by the use of the rear leg.  This is one of two approaches to the Flying Guard that can be found in La Marche's work and represents the versions taught in drills - the second version based on La Boessiere is in post E.22.3.a. The Flying Guard (September 2018) and represents a version incorporating an attack.

La Marche's Flying Guard is a two tempo technique staring from a normal guard position.  Note that La Marche defines the normal width of the feet in the guard position as longer than in the foil guard to preserve stability on the terrain.

• Tempo 1 - The fencer brings the rear foot forward to the heel of the forward foot.  The front foot does not move.
• Tempo 2 - The fencer quickly moves the rear foot back, its full length or longer or shorter.  The front foot does not move.

To understand this movement we have to understand the physical length of the lunge and the tactical length of the lunge.  This distinction is not commonly expressed in classical texts, but is introduced here for the purpose of analysis.  The following rules apply:

• The physical length of the lunge is the distance the fencer can propel the point forward in a normal lunge when in a normal guard position.  On the piste the physical length is measured from the rear foot.  For the purpose of this discussion physical lunge length is not measured by the distance forward the point will move from the guard.
• The tactical length of the lunge is measured the way we normally think of lunge length - it is the distance the point moves forward from the guard position.
• Practically, the tactical lunge length is the physical lunge length minus the width of the feet in the guard.  

Opponents measure distance in terms of where the blades meet in engagement and in terms of their visual assessment of the distance of the opponent's body or the distance to the forward target. Distance stealing techniques work by doing two things to the distance that the opponent perceives.

• They camouflage the movement of the rear foot forward, allowing
• The physical length of the lunge to extend forward past what the opponent expects as the fencer's tactical length of the lunge - in essence shortening the distance for both the attack and the defense.

La Marche notes that the Flying Guard accomplishes the goal of confusing the opponent as to the distance by its quick execution - the opponent sees a body shift forward, implying some form of advance, followed by a body shift backwards which seems to return to the original guard (even though in actuality it is really only a small body feint).  The unwary opponent thinks that the fencer has executed a quick advance and retreat with no actual change in distance.  If, perhaps, you add an appel and a shout, as La Boessiere suggests, to the step forward to confuse the opponent the movement is further camouflaged (the advance, appel, and shout of "et-la" was a not uncommon feature of matches between Masters in the late 1800s).

In his discussion of the Flying Guard La Marche suggests that the lunge in epee is often a half-lunge to the forward target.  Closing the distance in the Flying Guard by half of the normal distance between the feet while not moving the forward foot effectively gives the fencer a tactical envelope for the lunge equal to a deep lunge.

To do this quickly, smoothly, and in a manner calculated to confuse the opponent obviously requires practice.  It may add a useful tool to your classical epee play.

Copyright 2019 by Walter G. Green III      

 
La Marche's Flying Guard by Walter G. Green III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.