BCAF Introductory Youth 7.28

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This week’s class is looking at blade control and balance

We will use Jump to guard and tap tap drill to work on balance and floor contact and as always follow the leader to train ourselves to watch our opponent.

We are going to play the glove drop game again with movement.

Coach Blanchard will hang the tennis balls this week to practice hitting the tennis balls with extension lunge and advance lunge.

Then we will play some open bouting while coach Blanchard works with each student individually to review parries.

BCAF Intermediate Youth 7.28

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This week’s class will continue to build on skills to develop options to execute the simple direct attack.

Warmups will revisit the boxing hops drill to get the body moving and facilitate balance and coordination:

Boxing hops: 6 count traveling warmup

  1. Snap both arms forward and back to chest and hop forward with both feet on the ground
  2. Snap right arm forward and back and hop forward with right knee high
  3. Snap right arm to the side and back with hop forward with right knee lifted high and to the right (outside)
  4. Repeat of # both arms and feet together
  5. Snap left arm forward and back and hop forward with left knee high
  6. Snap left arm to the side and back with hop forward with left knee lifted high and to the left (outside)

Exercise is completed down the strip and then backwards back to the back line of the strip.

A-B-C-D Footwork Game:

Reintroducing the progressive sequence:

The Progressive exercise is a canned footwork exercise that takes the fencer forwards and back with constant changes in direction. Each sequence is 4 pieces of footwork with a lunge and recovery in the middle. Each full set is one lap:

  1. 3 adv, Lunge and Recover (L/R), 1 ret
  2. 2 adv, L/R, 2 ret
  3. 1 adv, L/R, 3 ret (should be back at starting point)
  4. 3 ret, L/R, 1 adv
  5. 2 ret, L/R, 2 adv
  6. 1 ret, L/R, 3 adv (should be back at starting point)

This week we will be incorporating the check step forward and back into the sequence. If the footwork is considered 1,2,3,4 then we shall execute Normal short short Normal, so the sequence will look like this:

  1. Adv, check, check, L/R, ret
  2. Adv, check, L/R, check (back), ret
  3. Adv, L/R, check, check, ret

And so on….

Pursuit Game:

Described the check step to move forward and back. The check step is a short, fast half-step where the trailing leg drives the body similar to a short hop or stutter step. This is used to make minute changes in distance and to change timing without giving up forward motion. The check step can also be used to pre-load the leg muscles for a powerful lunge (check-step lunge).

Drills:

The class practiced integrating the check-step into the attack with a lunge. First as a rote drill then as a semi-competitive drill where the attacking fencer can manipulate the timing with a direct attack in 1-2-3 scenarios (1: check step lunge, 2: adv check step lunge, 3: adv x 2 check step lunge) with the defender maintaining distance and attempting to read the acceleration to parry-riposte (P/R) in distance.

BCAF Introductory Youth 7.21

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This week’s class is looking at feeling the floor and managing weight distribution.

Class starts with a couple exercises that emphasized the feel of the floor

Jump to guard – advance, Jump to guard – Lunge

These exercises focus the fencer on feeling the floor and springing forward off the landing. This replicates the pre-loading action we instinctively do when trying to jump straight up. The fencer needs to learn to use that spring to propel themselves forward and back.

Tap-Tap Adv/Ret

These exercises focus the fencer on managing the center of gravity evenly between the feet and to drive through the floor to move forward and back. The exercise is intended to train the fencer to drive with the trailing foot rather than step forward with the leading foot when initiating a movement.

1-2-3 partnered drill

After further working on our motion the class took their blades in hand and worked the 1-2-3 partnered drill. (1: adv lunge, 2: adv x 2 lunge, 3: adv x3 lunge). The attacker is to hit with a simple direct attack and the defender shall allow the initial hit and then hit with a lunge in counter-time (on the attackers recovery). This integrates distance control and timing control into the footwork exercises. I am looking to see that the fencer is trying to manage the center of gravity and driving foot to incorporate what was learned in the previous drills.

Distance game:

The distance game takes the elements from the partnered drill and opens up the options into a competitive game.

Rules:

One fencer is the attacker. The attacker is allowed an adv-lunge to hit before the front foot hits the ground in the lunge.

The other fencer is the defender and is allowed any footwork  to retreat and keep the attacker from hitting.

The roles are reversed as soon as the attacker’s front foot hits the ground on the lunge.

Strategy:

The attacking fencer must be able to reach the opponent on the attack without over-committing the weight forward which will compromise the recovery.

The defending fender must only retreat just enough that make the attacker fall barely short at the end of the attack (front foot landing, NOT leaning forward)

Both fencers need to think at least one step ahead, retreating too far initially or under-committing to the attack will make it impossible to set up the following attack.

BCAF Intermediate Youth Class 7.21

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This week’s class is looking at how to change time and distance using the check step. The check step is a short half step made quickly and can be used to accelerate.

Class started with a couple exercises that emphasized the feel of the floor

Jump to guard – advance, Jump to guard – Lunge

These exercises focus the fencer on feeling the floor and springing forward off the landing. This replicates the pre-loading action we instinctively do when trying to jump straight up. The fencer needs to learn to use that spring to propel themselves forward and back.

Tap-Tap Adv/Ret

These exercises focus the fencer on managing the center of gravity evenly between the feet and to drive through the floor to move forward and back. The exercise is intended to train the fencer to drive with the trailing foot rather than step forward with the leading foot when initiating a movement.

Check Step:

Described the check step to move forward and back. The check step is a short, fast half-step where the trailing leg drives the body similar to a short hop or stutter step. This is used to make minute changes in distance and to change timing without giving up forward motion. The check step can also be used to pre-load the leg muscles for a powerful lunge (check-step lunge).

Drills:

The class practiced integrating the check-step into the attack with a lunge. First as a rote drill then as a semi-competitive drill where the attacking fencer can manipulate the timing with a direct attack in 1-2-3 scenarios (1: check step lunge, 2: adv check step lunge, 3: adv x 2 check step lunge) with the defender maintaining distance and attempting to read the acceleration to parry-riposte (P/R) in distance.