Q&A: Direct, indirect, short measure, and long measure attacks
From a reader: “I bought the book and I really like the information and content. There are some section I need some help understanding. Mainly on indirect attack, short arc and long arc. When you...
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Week 7: Counterattack by Attack-on-Preparation
Dear Instructor: Welcome to Week 7. This session covers the most conceptually simple but technically challenging move in Level 1: the Counterattack by Attack-on-Preparation. Counterattacks are all...
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Week 10: The Tactical Wheel
Dear Instructor: Welcome to Week 10. This is the last session for Level 1; we typically use these end-of-Level sessions to revise everything we have done in the Level and prepare your students for the...
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Week 41: Archetypes in Sabre
Mom, I want to be like (one of) these guys! Dear Instructor: Welcome to Week 41, the beginning of Level 5. Up to this stage, we have taken your students through a large number of moves and...
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Week 11: Watching in the 4m Zone
Dear Instructor: Welcome to Level 2. This Level is all about Timing in sabre. Timing is often vaguely described by fencing coaches: a case of “I’ll know [good timing] when I see it”. This is at best...
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Week 12: Accordion – prep steps, fakes, and finishes
Dear Instructor: Welcome to Week 12. This week, we expand on the timing ideas we introduced in the previous session for watching in the 4m zone to the Attacker on the March. Back in Week 2, we...
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Week 13: Jump-back Parry Riposte
Dear Instructor, Welcome to Week 13, the third week of Level 2. This Level focuses on timing in sabre. In the previous two sessions, we introduced the idea of rhythm and change-in-rhythm – or cadence...
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Week 14: Advance and Double-Advance Lunge
Dear Instructor: Welcome to Week 14. We continue our exploration of timing in sabre as per the rest of Level 2, but indirectly this time: we introduce the concept of technique backups, and reinforce...
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Week 15: Counterattack Timing
Dear Instructor, Welcome to Week 15, almost halfway through Level 2. We have spent the last few sessions exploring the idea of timing in sabre, focusing on rhythm. Much of this has been on applying...
View ArticleQ&A On the pros and cons of Advance step preparation
John, I was reading your blog about watching in the 4 meter. You talked about “Advance Step” prep. Most Korean fencers use “advance” prep. Who frequently uses “Advance Step” prep? Can you...
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Q&A: On training without electrics and games to teach right-of-way and...
Hey Sydney Sabre, I started a free youth sabre club in the States in XXXX. Not a lot of parents can afford electric gear so I have been coaching dry. This has the kids fencing clean as I am training...
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Q&A: On archetypes for shorter fencers
Hi Sydney Sabre, My name is Vik. I am a sabre fencer in the USA. I started when I was around 10, quit for many years and returned to the sport earlier this year as a rookie once again. I fence at my...
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John’s Guide to Sabre Gear (updated JAN 2024)
tldr; version: “Buy the minimum. For your body, now. The best quality you can afford. Start with things you can’t borrow.” If you’re fencing with us, you can always use our gear. But you may want to...
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The Sydney Sabre Course (Updated JAN 2024)
When we started Sydney Sabre there were few guides for teaching adults how to fence sabre. The manuals we found focused on children and the foil: the standard training weapon of civilian duelists for...
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