A left handed friend made me consider that to a lefty, almost everyone is "left handed" to them. They just get a lot more experience fighting opposing handers than we rightys do.
But the thing is, then you practice at your club you practice with mostly right handed fencers so you are used to it. There are less left handed fencers than right handed so during competition they will most likely run into a right handed fencer.
What I do, as a lefty facing righties, is to either take circle sixte or beat quarte, and then go for the arm/shoulder. Alternatively, I try to bait moving my blade up and down, and if my opponent starts to follow my movements I go for the hand. It tends to work quite well, even at larger tournaments.
Just rolled my foot fencing a left-handed fencer, this video appearing now is hilarious! Thanks man, seriously, for all that you do. There's not many good fencing instructional videos with demonstration on RUclips, and your content is really appreciated!
You're still a relatively small channel (doesn't help that fencing is a niche sport) but for those of us that are here, your videos mean a lot. I've recommended your channel to the rest of my uni's fencing team (UofM) and hopefully I hope to see you grow soon!
Another great video and agree fencing left handed fencers is the best way to get used to it. Have coaching/drill partner to get used to where to hit and a sense of distance. One piece of advice I was given is to battle for the outside line when fencing a left handed fencer in foil (not sure about Epee). This means you can more easily threaten a beat and then extend/feint to their shoulder or flank but also you know are in position to deliver your carte parry. Speaking of carte parry I would say this is one of left handed fencers most potent weapons against a right handed fencer and so if your opponent shows strength here, avoid attacking that line unless you are setting up a trap (such as a counter parry or a disengage).
A big thanks! I'm a left handed epee fencer. I would like to see a vid with tips so that can use the lefthanded advantage a bit better. Btw this sounds a bit strange, but if I as a lefthanded fencer has to fence with an other lefthander, man that is strange!
All the the tips in this video work both ways. As a leftie you can use the tips in this video and the tips that other people have given in the comments to your advantage.
More food for thought, thanks. Suggestions: At 2:05, rather than angulate the hit on the riposte, rotate fist/thumb towards Quarte and pull grip with aids on contact to ensure the fix. At 4:15, suggest riposte from Sixte with opposition to front shoulder of attacker. Generally against opposite handers use good blade preparations when attacking and possibly to riposte, depending on level of opponent. At foil add an extra feint so you end up handing the hit on the chest rather than front shoulder and the flank (less chance of an off target). Pete
In foil, I find that right against right or left against left, the main disengages and parries are horizontal - 6 to 4 and 4 to 6. With left against right it’s often vertical - 6 to 8 and 8 to 6. E.g. I’ll feint to 8 and disengage to 6. Or beat feint to 6 and disengage to 8. Among other thing avoids getting parried in quarte, which is often bad. If you do get parried in quarte, try going to prime and then counter-riposting.
It’s easier for a right handed fencer to fence a left hander because it’s easier, and more comfortable, to circle 6 than it is to circle 4 on a right hander. What I’m talking about is you can start your blade outside then circle 6 to pick up the blade and attack the shoulder and back with the blade. And if you pick the blade up right, there is almost nothing they can do to control their blade or get out of your blade take.
If you are a left handed fencer Go for the armpit shielding the your body with the cup of your sword also practice parrying it is extremely useful for left handers because you can push the blade to the inside instead of forcing it outside
What I experienced fencing left handed people in epee, is that the distance should be a bit larger than usual. Your visualization is perfect! The quart parry is the key to win against most of them, but you have to pull it super late. Otherwise your opponent has an easy time. Left handed fencer have become really good with hand touches so be sure to get your arm in motion but be carful. I have seen a lot of octave parries /contra parries / octave flash attacks from really strong left handed fencers to avoid that is also key. The rest I guess is similar to other fencers. Stay focused and adapt to the moment. Go for second intention if the preparation worked and you have the moment/ tempo and most of all stay patient. Don't force your action, don't be disappointed when it doesn't work. Analyse short and sharp what was wrong (tempo, top of the epee, technic, distance) and stay calm. I hope that it helps some fencers to improve. :)
Great video!👏 Now I understood why leftys beat me nowadays more often. My favourite staight blade foil doesn't work, so I have to use my spare one with an angled blade. I haven't got the right angle. It just sucs😕
I find a lot of value in your videos.However, as a lefty myself, I really wish you had referred to "same-handed" and "opposite-handed" fencers, so I wouldn't have to do so much translation inside my head before I can use them or transmit them to my students.
I’m a lefty and I think the hardest part for me and my friends fencing other lefties is the distance problem, even a slight step might change the distance and mess u up
I was taught to watch the bell of the blade and have an emphasis on taking the blade or fencing defensively thru quick parry and riposte. Also closing the distance is vital in order to score.
If you are fencing Epee or Saber, I would focus your attacks to the arm and try to keep a safe distance. When you do attack the body try to control their blade with beats or binds before you commit to the attack.
Sabre depends on many things. Who was off the line first, did they go step lunge while you went step step lunge. Did you pull your arm back when coming forward. Did you miss and go again? Did your feet land before the extension of the arm during your lunge. Because there is so much going on the best thing I would suggest is record your bouts (friendly or at a competition) and then have someone such as Fencer's Edge or FencingReddit review it. Even just by watching it yourself you can see actions from a side on view that you just don't see when fencing. Hope this helps.
@@tremendous1163 as far as I am aware a step lunge will beat a step step lunge. Reason being is that the steps are preparation and the lunge (which now days an extension of the arm will suffice) is the attack. I am however not a sabruer (I fence foil) but imagine this is the same for both weapons. Other things to be aware of is that if you both step together, but one lunges and the other just extends, the person lunging will score the touch.
A left-handed coach/fencer, I would suggest attack the high-low outside lines and a deep feint to 4 and disengage for foil. It's natural for a LH fencer to parry 4 so it's good to feint there and go to 6. I did this lesson last week, extreme targets are hard to parry too.
A left handed friend made me consider that to a lefty, almost everyone is "left handed" to them. They just get a lot more experience fighting opposing handers than we rightys do.
But the thing is, then you practice at your club you practice with mostly right handed fencers so you are used to it. There are less left handed fencers than right handed so during competition they will most likely run into a right handed fencer.
What I do, as a lefty facing righties, is to either take circle sixte or beat quarte, and then go for the arm/shoulder. Alternatively, I try to bait moving my blade up and down, and if my opponent starts to follow my movements I go for the hand. It tends to work quite well, even at larger tournaments.
Great suggestions! Thanks for sharing!
Just rolled my foot fencing a left-handed fencer, this video appearing now is hilarious! Thanks man, seriously, for all that you do. There's not many good fencing instructional videos with demonstration on RUclips, and your content is really appreciated!
You're still a relatively small channel (doesn't help that fencing is a niche sport) but for those of us that are here, your videos mean a lot. I've recommended your channel to the rest of my uni's fencing team (UofM) and hopefully I hope to see you grow soon!
Another great video and agree fencing left handed fencers is the best way to get used to it. Have coaching/drill partner to get used to where to hit and a sense of distance.
One piece of advice I was given is to battle for the outside line when fencing a left handed fencer in foil (not sure about Epee). This means you can more easily threaten a beat and then extend/feint to their shoulder or flank but also you know are in position to deliver your carte parry.
Speaking of carte parry I would say this is one of left handed fencers most potent weapons against a right handed fencer and so if your opponent shows strength here, avoid attacking that line unless you are setting up a trap (such as a counter parry or a disengage).
Getting around their gaurd is also important, knowing to angle your blade as you come in for the attacks at the write time come in handy alot
A big thanks! I'm a left handed epee fencer. I would like to see a vid with tips so that can use the lefthanded advantage a bit better. Btw this sounds a bit strange, but if I as a lefthanded fencer has to fence with an other lefthander, man that is strange!
All the the tips in this video work both ways. As a leftie you can use the tips in this video and the tips that other people have given in the comments to your advantage.
@@FencersEdge it still would be nice
I am epee left handed fencer and i am a beginner thanks for this video
More food for thought, thanks. Suggestions:
At 2:05, rather than angulate the hit on the riposte, rotate fist/thumb towards Quarte and pull grip with aids on contact to ensure the fix.
At 4:15, suggest riposte from Sixte with opposition to front shoulder of attacker.
Generally against opposite handers use good blade preparations when attacking and possibly to riposte, depending on level of opponent.
At foil add an extra feint so you end up handing the hit on the chest rather than front shoulder and the flank (less chance of an off target).
Pete
Thanks for the advice! Great suggestions.
In foil, I find that right against right or left against left, the main disengages and parries are horizontal - 6 to 4 and 4 to 6. With left against right it’s often vertical - 6 to 8 and 8 to 6. E.g. I’ll feint to 8 and disengage to 6. Or beat feint to 6 and disengage to 8. Among other thing avoids getting parried in quarte, which is often bad.
If you do get parried in quarte, try going to prime and then counter-riposting.
Great advice! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you soooo much! Finally i found a video for left handers! I was starting to feel alone😆
Came over from Skallagrim's Channel subscribed
It’s easier for a right handed fencer to fence a left hander because it’s easier, and more comfortable, to circle 6 than it is to circle 4 on a right hander. What I’m talking about is you can start your blade outside then circle 6 to pick up the blade and attack the shoulder and back with the blade. And if you pick the blade up right, there is almost nothing they can do to control their blade or get out of your blade take.
Great video!
If you are a left handed fencer Go for the armpit shielding the your body with the cup of your sword also practice parrying it is extremely useful for left handers because you can push the blade to the inside instead of forcing it outside
What I experienced fencing left handed people in epee, is that the distance should be a bit larger than usual. Your visualization is perfect!
The quart parry is the key to win against most of them, but you have to pull it super late. Otherwise your opponent has an easy time.
Left handed fencer have become really good with hand touches so be sure to get your arm in motion but be carful.
I have seen a lot of octave parries /contra parries / octave flash attacks from really strong left handed fencers to avoid that is also key.
The rest I guess is similar to other fencers. Stay focused and adapt to the moment. Go for second intention if the preparation worked and you have the moment/ tempo and most of all stay patient. Don't force your action, don't be disappointed when it doesn't work. Analyse short and sharp what was wrong (tempo, top of the epee, technic, distance) and stay calm.
I hope that it helps some fencers to improve. :)
Parry in 2 with an advance step, to close out the righty's blade works well also.
So interesting and helpfull, thank you so much!
In my club almost all (including me) are left-handed!!!
My high school team was all left-handed. Man did it throw the other teams off. 😂
Bro that's so cool.
Can you give insights for Sabre fencers who compete against lefties.
Great video!👏 Now I understood why leftys beat me nowadays more often.
My favourite staight blade foil doesn't work, so I have to use my spare one with an angled blade. I haven't got the right angle. It just sucs😕
I find a lot of value in your videos.However, as a lefty myself, I really wish you had referred to "same-handed" and "opposite-handed" fencers, so I wouldn't have to do so much translation inside my head before I can use them or transmit them to my students.
Thanks nice epee advices. How about the parries, anything different there?
Thanks! Yes, there are a few differences with the parries when fencing lefties. I plan on doing some videos in the future about parries. Stay tuned!
I’m a lefty and I think the hardest part for me and my friends fencing other lefties is the distance problem, even a slight step might change the distance and mess u up
And who help us, the lefthanded?🤔
This applies to lefties facing righties just much as it does the other way around,
Great video! Would you be able to make a video for left handed fencers, and how we can take advantage of it? Thanks!
All of the tips in this video and the tips others have put in the comments work both ways!
How do you flick against a left handed foil fencer, please?
any tips for fencing someone taller than you and they have greater reach
I was taught to watch the bell of the blade and have an emphasis on taking the blade or fencing defensively thru quick parry and riposte. Also closing the distance is vital in order to score.
If you are fencing Epee or Saber, I would focus your attacks to the arm and try to keep a safe distance. When you do attack the body try to control their blade with beats or binds before you commit to the attack.
Thank you so muchhh i will try some of these at my next class
You're welcome! Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for the video!
hi sir, sometimes i go for a attack and get a hit but still the point is given to the opponent (sabre). please explain these conditions.
Sabre depends on many things. Who was off the line first, did they go step lunge while you went step step lunge.
Did you pull your arm back when coming forward. Did you miss and go again? Did your feet land before the extension of the arm during your lunge.
Because there is so much going on the best thing I would suggest is record your bouts (friendly or at a competition) and then have someone such as Fencer's Edge or FencingReddit review it.
Even just by watching it yourself you can see actions from a side on view that you just don't see when fencing.
Hope this helps.
@@dudeofvalor9294 thanks allot, i will try to improve all these things
@@dudeofvalor9294 is step lunge better or step step lunge?
@@tremendous1163 as far as I am aware a step lunge will beat a step step lunge. Reason being is that the steps are preparation and the lunge (which now days an extension of the arm will suffice) is the attack.
I am however not a sabruer (I fence foil) but imagine this is the same for both weapons. Other things to be aware of is that if you both step together, but one lunges and the other just extends, the person lunging will score the touch.
@@dudeofvalor9294 ok thanks allot :), i'll keep clearing my doubts further if thats okay with you?
Very helpful. Thanks.
Awesome video. Can you upload a video for tips for left handed fencers?
All of the tips in this video work both ways!
A left-handed coach/fencer, I would suggest attack the high-low outside lines and a deep feint to 4 and disengage for foil. It's natural for a LH fencer to parry 4 so it's good to feint there and go to 6. I did this lesson last week, extreme targets are hard to parry too.
HELL YEAH