User talk:Samuel Levine

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(This is some information I'm saving for the Fencing article, as I don't have time to absorb it right now, but will soon want to merge it back into the section it was cut from.

The most commonly used footwork is the advance and retreat. Other types of footwork include the cross-advance (which is illegal in sabre) and cross-retreat.

Generally, feet are placed a shoulder-width apart at right angles to each other. The front foot (the right foot for a right-handed fencer, the left foot for a left-handed fencer) faces the opponent, and the back foot faces to the left (or to the right for a left-handed fencer). The fencer's knees should be slightly bent to allow for more mobility. The feet are reversed if one is left-handed. This allows for fairly easy advances and retreats, while allowing the side of the torso to face the opponent. This makes one's target area less open to attack by the opponent. This is called the en garde, or on-guard, position.

To execute an advance, the front foot is moved forward, landing with the heel and rolling forward. Then the back foot is raised and moved forward so that the fencer returns to the en garde position. The process is reversed for a retreat. During this process, the back foot does not move forward of the front. However, in a cross-advance (also known as a cross-step advance or crossover advance), the back foot moves forward of the front, and then the front foot is moved forward so that the fencer returns to the en garde position. The reverse is called a cross-retreat. These steps allow the fencer to gain or close distance more quickly, but it is not as stable or as versatile as a standard advance or retreat.

Variations and portions of the above movements can also be used by themselves. For example, a check-step forward is performed by moving the back foot as in a retreat, then performing an entire advance. This maneuver can trick your opponent into thinking you are retreating, when in reality you want to close distance.

Other footwork actions include the appel (French for "call"), which is a stomp of the front foot; and the jump (also know as a balestra when paired with a lunge), which is a small jump forward used in conjunction with a variety of attacks.

Good footwork is essential to the performance of a fencer. Although fencing is the sport of bladework, it is very much a game of distance, and having superior footwork can easily determine the outcome of a bout. Even expert fencers almost always include a session of footwork drills in their practice sessions, some more so than bladework exercises.)

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