Fighting a more athletic opponent: four rapier concepts for controling the fight

Four concepts for controlling the fight:

Measure: Particularly for opponents with more reach, stay out of their misura larga (lunging distance). Quickly move through their measure and into yours. Complete your attack and recover out of measure. Practice passing lunges. Do not close without advantage (i.e. gaining the blade and having the tempo).

Finding the blade: Gain mechanical advantage when the point of intersection is closer to your hilt than theirs (strong on weak), your hilt is above theirs, and your true edge is aligned with their blade. Stronger opponents require more exaggerated gaining of the blade, such as crossing your sword over theirs. Also, extend into your gain rather than changing position and negating your advantage (ex. Guard changes).

Taking the tempo: Using the time of your opponent’s actions to perform movements that are smaller/take less time (ex. Gaining the blade while they are stepping into measure, and then immediately following it with a closing action while they attempt to retreat/change the line). This is the best way to handle a fast fighter. Additionally, avoid giving them opportunities to attack you in tempo while in misura larga (avoid wasteful actions, retreat if needed).

Structure/body mechanics: The way in which we stand, hold the blade, and move all contribute to whether we control the fight, or if our opponent can seize the advantage. Read more

General considerations for facing athletic opponents

1. Don’t get discouraged. It can be rough to have 20 years of experience on someone who is getting the advantage in the fight without even applying good technique. Or, to be new and see other new fighters picking it up the concepts more quickly. You have to modify your strategy to the fighter’s style and discover what works against different types of fighters.

2. Fight smart and patient by controlling the fight with measure, tempo, and finding the sword.

3. Watch for opportunities and commit without hesitation when they arise.

4. Don’t expect to be able to put an athletic opponent into ‘obedience’. They tend to have faster reflexes, can overcome gains and parries by being stronger, and may not react as expected. Therefore, many of the fancy plays and counters don’t work against these fighters.

5. This is a 2-way learning opportunity. Maybe you can help them with technique. Maybe they can show you a new trick (i.e. driving your heel to spring into a lunge) or how to train and think like an athlete.

6. An athletic opponent will exploit openings you didn’t realize you had. Use this feedback to re-examine your core mechanics. Capturing video of your sparring is an excellent way to do this. 

7. I highly recommend reading  Fabris' Scienza d’Arme section “some advice for when you face…” (p. 29-31). This contains advice for fighting someone who is stronger, taller, or more aggressive.