Physical Chess: The Role of Measure in Fencing

Last week’s sparring session with Doug (right).

I went to HEMA yesterday and got another smallsword fencing lesson. It was the same gentleman that taught me last week. I don't know his name.

Last week I couldn't figure out how to get the strong part of my blade onto the weak part of their blade to gain control of it. I said that to do so, I would have to get so close that I'd put myself in range of being stabbed. He said there's a better way.

He thrusted the tip of the smallsword at my chest and told me to bring the tip of my blade up while moving slightly to the side. Sure enough, this resulted in the tip of his blade being parried by the strong of my blade, and I was able to lunge at him with a clear path to his chest.

Yesterday was a different lesson entirely. We did a few sparring sessions, and he noticed that I wasn't retreating after my attacks. This left me vulnerable to a deadly parry and riposte from him. He ran a few drills with me to get me into the habit of backing out of his attack range once my attack was parried. He called this "measure" — the distance between two opponents, dictating whether one can safely attack or must defend.

He told me he is constantly aware of measure, or distance management, when fighting someone. Always stay just out of range, but close enough to lunge and attack if necessary. Sometimes it's better to be out of range entirely, so the opponent can't lunge either.

I've heard fencing referred to as "physical chess" more than once, but it's lessons like these that really help me appreciate why the two are compared. I am aware of my physical limitations because of my back, but I don't engage in combat sports with the expectation of being a competitive fighter. It's just something I do to stay in shape — and it's fun. Do I need any other reason?