Foil Syllabus
The Fencing School at The Royal Academy of Dance
Syllabus for Grades 1-9
Grade 1
- The Grip
- The Salute
- The On guard - Guards of Sixte & Quarte
- Steps Forward and Backward
- The Lunge - Hitting - Direct Attack
- Simple Parry with Direct Riposte
- Simple Parry with Direct first Counter-Riposte
- How to use your foil safely
- How to fence safely
- The Target Area
- The Principles of Fencing with the foil
- Fencing Etiquette
Demonstrate: (with coach or partner) - While following your partner's steps forward and backward
- Maintain fencing line
- Maintain correct distances for hitting with - Riposte - Lunge - Step forward lunge
- Maintain lunging distance and make a direct Attack with a lunge each time your partner pauses
- Guards of Septime and Octave
- Engagements in Sixte, Quarte, Septime and Octave - Changes of Engagements - Pressures
- Disengage Attack with a lunge on partner's pressure from:
- Engagement in Sixte
- Engagement in Quarte
- Circular Parry of:
- Sixte with Direct Riposte
- Quarte with Direct Riposte
- Courteous and respectful behaviour and fencers "Pledges of Honour" (cf. t.114, t.116, t.120)
- Parts of the Foil
- Dimensions of the Piste
Demonstrate: (with coach or partner) -While following your partner's steps forward and backward:
- Maintain engagements in Sixte, Quarte, Septime & OctaveDisengage
- Attack with a lunge from Sixte each time your partner pauses and attempts to engage blades in:-
- Sixte from a low line guard
- Quarte from a low line guard
- Two types of lunge:
- accelerating
- explosive
- Balestra - Balestra step forward - Balestra lunge
- Beats and change Beats in Sixte, Quarte, Septime & Octave
- Semi-circular Parries with Direct Ripostes
- A One-two Attack with an accelerating lunge when your partner attempts to:-
- Engage blades in quarte then parries into Sixte
- Engage blades in Sixte then parries into Quarte
- Simple Attacks and Ripostes, and name three types of Parries
- Difference between Simple and Compound actions
- Duties of Referee and Judges
- Timekeeping during competitions
- Rules regarding the boundaries of the Piste
Demonstrate: (with coach or partner) -While following your partner's steps forward and backward:
- Continuously change engagements in high line and low line guards
- Maintain lunging distance with blades engaged and when your partner pauses, attack by One-two with a lunge
- When your partner attacks with a lunge, Parry with:
- Circular Party of Sixte with Direct and Indirect Ripostes
- Circular Parry of Quarte with Direct and Indirect Ripostes
- Maintain lunging distance and when your partner pauses and lowers his/her foil point, make a feint Direct and Disengage with a lunge, when your partner:
- Parries into Sixte
- Parries into Quarte
- Double, Low-High and High-Low compound attacks, with an accelerating lunge
- Direct and Disengage attacks with Beats and Change-beats, with an explosive lunge
- Successive Parries
- Scoring on a pool sheet; first and second indicators
- Electric foil recording apparatus
- Fencers electrical equipment
- Testing the equipment before the start of a fight
- A foil test weight and how it is used
- The correct responses of a judge, and demonstrate your ability to judge in a pool
Demonstrate:(with coach or partner).While following your partner's steps forward and backward:
- Maintain step-lunge distance and on one of your partner's steps forward, attack with:
- Beat Direct with an explosive lunge
- Beat Disengage with an explosive lunge
- As your partner attacks with a lunge, step back to avoid the attack and attack with a step lunge as your partner returns guard
- Parry your partner's attack with a Circular Parry of Sixte and hit with a Disengage Riposte - if your Circular Parry is deceived, then Parry Quarte with a Direct Riposte
- Engage your partner's blade in:
- Sixte, and attack with Coule direct and Coule Disengage and accelerating lunge
- Quarte, and attack with Coule Direct and Coule Disengage and accelerating lunge
- Diagonal Parries
- Direct Attack, with Fleche
- Engage your partner's blade in Sixte, Quarte, Octave and Septime, with a step forward
- Successive Parries and the reasons for them
- Rules and penalties regarding:
- Illegal use of back arm
- Corps a corps
- Turning
- Hard hitting and dangerous fencing
- Faults in the foil electrical recording apparatus when fencers are correctly connected and when:
- One fencers is hit correctly on target and white light appears
- A white light continually flashes on one side
Demonstrate: (with coach or partner)-While following your partner's steps forward and backward:
- Maintain step-lunge distance and when your partner pauses, engage blades with a step forward in:
- Sixte, and attack with Double and an accelerating lunge
- Quarte, and attack with Double and an accelerating lunge
- Maintain step-lunge distance and as your partner begins a step forward, Beat attack direct, with a Fleche.
- Maintain step-lunge distance and Disengage Attack with an explosive lunge as your partner steps forward to engage your blade in Sixte and in Quarte.
- When your partner attacks into the low line, Parry Octave and Riposte into the high line - if your Riposte is parried, then Parry into Quarte and hit with a Direct second Counter-riposte.
- Cutover Attacks with a lunge, on partner's pressure from Sixte, Quarte, Septime and Octave
- Compound Ripostes and Counter-ripostes
- Opposition Counter-attacks in Sixte, Quarte and Octave with a step forward
- Preparatory actions and their tactical use
- Counter offensive actions
- Fencing time: single and multi-time actions
- What is meant by 'taking the initiative" and why is this important in a fight?
Demonstrate: (with coach or partner)-While following your partner's steps forward and backward:
- Maintain step-lunge distance and attack direct with lunge as your partner steps forward or, if your partner attacks on your step forward, Parry Quarte with a Direct Riposte
- Maintain step-lunge distance and when your partner pauses, attack with feint direct with Balestra and Cutover with lunge
- Maintain lunging distance and at the start of your partner's attack or step forward preparation:
- Beat Parry into Quarte with a Direct Riposte
- Beat Parry into Septime with a Direct Riposte
- Maintain step-lunge distance and as your partner pauses and attempts to engage blades in Quarte and then Parries Sixte, attack by One-two with a step lunge
- Parries ending in guards of Prime, Seconde, Tierce, Quinte and Neuvieme
- Maintaining line, Simple and Compound Derobements
- Remise, Redoublement, Reprise
- Second-intention actions
- Importance of mixing one and two tempo attacks and when you would use them
- Open Eyes' Actions
- Duties of Arm Judge
Demonstrate:(with coach or partner)-While following your partner's steps forward and backward:
- Maintain step-lunge distance and choose the moment to attack your partner using a mixture of lunges and step-lunges:
- Taking the blade into Quarte and direct attack
- Taking the blade into Sixte and disengage attack
- Feint direct and attack with one-two
- At lunging distance, maintain line and:
- Hit with Simple Derobement as your partner steps forward and attempts to engage blades in Sixte or Quarte
- Hit with Compound Derobement as your partner steps forward and attempts to engage blades and parries in Sixte or Quarte
- From step-lunge distance, make an invitation by step forward, jump forward or half lunge and if your partner attacks, parry Neuvieme and riposte direct
- From step-lunge distance and low hand position, make a feint with a step forward and:
- Attack direct if your partner does not react
- Attack by disengage if your partner takes a parry of Quarte or Circular Sixte
- Parry Neuvieme and riposte direct if your partner attacks with a Beat Direct
- Bind, Croise, Envelopment
- Froissement direct attack with lunge
- Your understanding of distance, timing and speed in fencing
- Counter-Time
- Ceding and Opposition Parries
Demonstrate:(with coach or partner)-While following your partner's steps forward and backward:
- Maintain step-lunge distance and when your partner pauses, engage your partner's blade into Quarte with step forward and:
- attack by Coule direct with a lunge if your partner does not react
- Attack by Disengage if your partner changes the engagement or closes the line
- Attack by Croise if your partner deceives your attempt to engage with an extended sword arm
- Maintain lunging distance and when your partner attacks, parry Prime with a step forward and riposte at close quarters
- Maintain step-lunge distance and on one of your partner's steps forward, attack with a Beat direct and:
- Hit if your partner fails to parry
- Remise if your partner parries and steps forward with an indirect feint
- Reprise Disengage with Fleche if your partner parries with a step back and delays the riposte
- At lunging distance, attack with feint direct and disengage with various sizes of lunges (short medium and long) depending on whether your partner parries Prime with a step forward, standing still or a step backward
- From step-lunge distance, engage your partner's blade in Octave with a step forward and:
- Attack by Cutover if your partner does not react
- Parry Quarte and direct riposte if your partner attacks into your high line with a lunge
- Attack by Beat direct lunge if your partner deceives your blade with an extended sword arm.
- Fence your partner for 5 hits and explain how all the hits were scored; if your partner is successful in scoring hits, explain how you should have avoided them
- Preside a fight for 5 hits
- Give your partner a short "warm-up" lesson with mobility, involving direct and indirect attacks, single parries and direct ripostes and counter-ripostes