This is an exercise for feeling out the strong and the weak of the sword at engagement. Incremental complexity is added by modifying the distance the exercise is performed at and adding subjection to the success criteria.
Setup: Two fencers are sufficiently close to each other than they can engage each others sword in the middle of the blade.
Objective: The aim of the exercises is to capture the weak of the opponent's sword in the string of your own. In doing this, the participants learn to feel through the blade when they have achieved mechanical advantage in the engagement.
Success Criteria: A fencer's action is successful is it can achieve capturing or deflecting the opposing fencer's weak with the strong of their blade.
Action: One fencer starts and makes an action, then the other fencer acts in an “I go. You go” manner. Although an action to disengage to re-take the line is allowed for practicality, blades should remain in contact for as much of the time as possible.
Fencers A and B engage swords around the middle of the blades.
Fencer A extends their arm (or takes some other blade action) which ends with the weak of Fencer B's blade caught in the strong of Fencer A's blade.
Fencer B now acts to correct this misfortune and capture Fencer A's weak in Fencer B's strong, whether by
disengaging to re-take the line,
cutting over Fencer A's point,
cutting around Gencer A's blade,
transporting (parrying) from one side to the other,
stepping laterally (without chamging the distance between the fencers), or
some other method.
It is now Fencer A's turn to redress the imbalance, as per step 3. Continue in this manner until one or other fencer gets bored.
There will arise situations in which one fencer physically cannot capture the blade of the other. In these cases, simply reset and start again.
Note: There are a couple of points to keep in mind while performing this exercise.
Key to success is maintaining the blades in contact (disengages excepted) with persistent positive pressure.
There is a tendancy for the arms to lift higher and higher with each iteration. This should be resisted at all costs. The point of the sword of the fencer who is capturing should always be directed as a threat at the opponent.
Variants and Increments:
Distance: Modify the starting distance such that the fencers cross blades weak-on-weak, rather than middle-on-middle. This is the measure of expected blade engagement in the sparring environment. The exercise likely now demands use of the half-thrust and moving the weight forward and back between the front and rear feet.
Subjection: As well as ensuring strong on weak engagement, each fencer additionally strives to subject the opponent's blade. (Subjection is, as always, defined as your point directed at the opponent and the opponent's point directed away from you.)