Core skill 3 was similar to the others as my performer has a lot of work to do; her lunging isn’t extended enough and therefore would not be effective, also she doesn’t use her rear arm effectively.
B4
Core Skill 4- Parry
Core skill 4 involves a defensive action made to ward off an attack. This will be compared between my performer and a former Olympic athlete to compare their techniques and how their abilities differ.
MY PERFORMER
OLYMPIC PERFORMER
B5
Core Skill 5- Riposte
Core skill 5 involves my performer going up against a former Olympic athlete, to carry out a Riposte, which is an offensive move, carried out after a successful parry. I will compare the technique of my performer against the former Olympic athlete.
MY PERFORMER
OLYMPIC PERFORMER
B6
Match analysis sheet
B7
Qualitative Observations
This was an activity in which my performer went up against the former Olympic athlete for a match in which she had to put the skills she learned from core skill 3, 4 and 5. This was timed three-minute limit in which points were only scored if the foil was met above the highline target of both opponents. The highline target is a horizontal line midway through the fencer’s body. I was observing how many of the points my Performer had landed and also how many her opponent landed. I did this by making a tally chart, and recording the points scored by each person.
In the three-minute limit I observed my performer to how she moved and whether or not she landed her points in the correct manner i.e., whether or not it was above the highline target. I recorded the stats in a table as shown on the previous page (B6).
B8
Quantitative Observation
Looking at the results of this I think that my performer didn’t capitalise on the number of parries that she made. This is because she has made a number of parries but not done enough to score a riposte. Whereas the former Olympian has, by scoring over half the amount of ripostes after taking advantage of those parries, this shows an obvious difference in ability and this is why the professional was a former Olympian.
My performer did not land as many Ripostes or lunges as the former Olympian, which again shows a difference in ability, but she has done well to land some of the moves she made. The Results show me that my performer did attack a fair bit; this is because from looking at the Olympic performer, you can see that she parries a lot more than my performer. This means that she was on the defensive and my performer was on the offensive. But because of the former Olympian’s vast knowledge and experience of the game she capitalised from the parries and attacked from it landing several ripostes. This was something that my performer didn’t do too well.
C1
Performer’s major Strengths/ Weaknesses for Core Skill 1
Strength
My Performer’s major strength in Core skill 1 was her ability to hold the foil in the correct manner. This is one of the most important techniques of all to learn, as it is the key to accurate foil fencing. She kept the pommel in her wrist, this is important because the foil is used as an extension of the forearm, and must be pressing in the centre of the wrist. It also enables my performer to gain a better grip when using the foil; this is essential, as you will also gain more control when using the foil. Also if you refer to the picture below you can see that her index finger is clearly curled under the handle and her thumb is on the top of the handle close to the cushion, this also contributes to a better grip of the foil. In being able to hold the foil in the correct manner you will successfully be able to:
- Pick the target area on your opponent with better accuracy.
- Bend the blade correctly without using excessive force when you have successfully hit your target area.
Weakness
My performer’s major weakness in core skill 1 was the positioning of her legs/ feet whilst in an on guard position. The position of your feet in on guard position is important, as you need to stay balanced and be able to move around in the correct way when you are facing your opponent. Looking at my performers on guard position I can see that she has a poor stance, in terms of her footwork. This is as I can see that her knees are not sufficiently flexed which could be vital to her first move when facing an opponent as she needs to be quick but retain her balance, for example if she went for a lunge she’d need to have quick footwork and balance to get into that position. The On guard position is the get ready position, so you should be balanced and ready to move when necessary.
C2
Performer’s major Strengths/ Weaknesses for Core Skill 2
Strength
My performer’s major strength in core skill 2 was her ability to land on the ball of her foot while moving forwards and landing on the heel of her feet whilst moving backwards. She shows a good rhythm in doing this and she always lands correctly on her feet whether she is moving backwards or forwards. If my performer follows the pattern of landing correctly on her feet it is seen as an advantage as she will be ready and on her toes to make an attack or defending against her opponent, she will be prepared for what her opposition tries to do.
Weakness
My performer’s major weakness in Core skill 2 is her footwork whilst she is vigorously moving. The reason for this is because I saw that her steps were rushed and at the same time they weren’t consistent in terms of distance between each step. Footwork is very important in fencing and the reason that these points can be a disadvantage to her is as, rushing her steps can cause her to be unbalanced. When facing an opponent keeping the right distance between yourself and your opponent is of a great advantage as you can proceed with an attack with a forward step. A combination of rushed steps and inconsistent distance between each step can lead to poor balance and prevent quick movement for either attacking or defending. In fencing it is good to be fast but if the movement is rushed it can lead to errors and mistakes being made. Another weakness that I have spotted is the she doesn’t tend to bend her knees sufficiently. It is important to bend your knees because you need to move around fast and keep the correct technique; it also assists the performer in performing attacks such as lunging and defensive movements.
C3
Performer’s major Strengths/ Weaknesses for Core Skill 3
Strength
My performer’s major strength in Core skill 3 was the use of her attacking arm, as you can see from the picture it is both straight and relaxed. This is good because a straight and relaxed arm will allow the foil to get perfect contact on the opponent. A perfect contact of the foil will be for the tip of the foil to touch the target area and for the foil to bend. The reason it is good to have a straight arm is because when you want to go for a lunge it is more likely that my performer will get good contact. My performer shows good technique in the lunge from her attacking arm.
Weakness
My performer’s major weakness in Core skill 3 is her poor lunge, as you can see from the above pictures she has a very short lunge and her arm is not extended enough. She needs to be able to get lower so that she can improve her lunge and extend far more. It is a disadvantage to the attacker on her opposition if she has a short lunge, as there is more chance of my performer not making contact with the opposition or of her lunge being parried. Also I think she can improve upon her kick forwards when attempting a lunge as this will give her both the momentum and better extension that is needed for a successful lunge.
C4
Performer’s major Strengths/ Weaknesses for Core Skill 4
Strength
My Performers major strength in Core skill 4 is her use of the forte, this is a strength because if she has good use of the forte then she will be able to have better control of the foil which could result in better accuracy. This is also good because she will have a better grip over the foil and because when she goes for the parry she will have a stronger wrist and more control over the move.
Weakness
My performer’s major weakness in Core skill 4 is her inability to take her parry across instead of down. This is a weakness as my performer could capitalise from taking the parry across instead of down by using it to riposte quickly and score a point. If the parry was taken down then it would take longer for the defending opponent to riposte whereas if the parry was taken across the riposte could be taken on quicker and there will be less distance for the foil to travel
C5
Performer’s major Strengths/ Weaknesses for Core Skill 5
Strength
My performer’s major strengths in Core skill 5 are her ability to control her foil and keeping her back leg straight when going for the riposte. As you can see from the pictures below my performer has good control over the foil and her rear leg is fairly straight which is good as she can retain her balance when she goes to move. Another strength that my performer shows is her ability to transfer weight onto her front foot, this is good as she uses this foot to kick forward and stay in that position so that she can make an attacking action.
Weakness
My performer’s major weakness for Core skill 5 was that she was not at the correct distance for a Riposte, you can see this on the picture above. This is seen as a weakness as when she parries the attacker’s action she won’t be able to take advantage of the of it by making an offensive movement as she will be too far away from her opponent.
D1
Appropriate areas for development.
Riposte
My performer needs to work on a single that makes this sill build together. My performer is not at the correct distance for a riposte. She seems to e quite far from her opponent a lot of the time and this is quite a bad situation to be in, as she can’t take advantage of chances for to make an attacking action. To improve this she must work on staying at consistent distance, this can be done by practising with an opponent. This is quite a key area for development as it can help my performer score points against an opponent so it must be worked on for her overall game to improve.
On guard
My performer needs to be in the correct stance as it is of advantage to her as she will be ready for attacking or defending. When in an on guard position she needs to flex her knees so that she is in the correct stance. This is something my performer needs to work on as she doesn’t always do this, and it is an area that could use development.
Parry
My performer needs to improve her parry because it is always rushed, and as ripostes are a key skill in fencing I think this is a major area that needs to be developed further through practice. The reason it is bad to rush ripostes is because you will have less control over a parry. It is important to gain control while doing a parry, as you want to be able to have good accuracy and speed while attacking.
Movement
My performer needs to keep her feet same distance apart. This is so that she can retain her balance as she is keeping in constant movement whereas if it was more varied there is more of a chance that she will lose balance. She needs to keep a good rhythm if she is to improve her movement; also she needs to have the same distance between her feet the same so she can make lunges with greater accuracy.
Although this is to d with movement I still think this is a key area that I think my performer needs development upon. She rushes her steps and this can lead to her making an error. To further develop this she needs to practice her steps. It is important not to rush steps because she needs to keep balance and when your steps are rushed you are more likely to fall over.
D2
Justification for focus
The reason that I think that the development of these 5 skills are important is because this could help improve my performer’s overall Fencing techniques. I think that concentrating and developing upon each skill is a great idea as my performer will be able to understand each skill specifically before being able to implement them into her overall performance.
Focusing on these core skills could also help my performer tactically understand the game better as she would know each of the skills better and she will be able to apply these tactics into her own performances. If she develops these five skills by practicing she will gain a much better knowledge of each skill, and she will know when best to use these skills, for example, in a game situation.
