Fixing your En Guard

Something I have noticed in the past few years is that a lot of fencers do not really understand why their arm position is so important in their en guard. This is especially important for epee and sabre. Call it logical, call it "position six," I don't really care, I'm not one to get hung up on diction. Neither am I claiming to present to you the only working method of en guard, but my method works, and I see at least one new fencer every week who's en guard does not. I digress, and that is neither here nor there. The important thing is that all of you are doing it correctly. These tips are best carried out in front of a mirror, but a friend will substitute in a pinch.
There are several points that are common to all three weapons. Begin in your usual en guard position, facing your ideally full length mirror. I'm going to assume again that you have a fairly basic, at least, understand on what you're doing, but for the hell of it, I'll go over your basic checklist of non-awful things to do. Are your feet properly making an L and not a T, are your knees bent, are you holding a weapon, are you facing the correct direction? Good. Make sure your off hand is back, but not far enough back that it pulls your body and your head. You should be fairly comfortable in your en guard, assuming you have the leg strength to sit in it for a while. You may choose how to set your balance, I personally prefer an en guard close to even 50/50 back/front weight ratio, but there are good arguments for weighting either foot more than the other in any weapon. Your fencing position will likely represent your fencing style, if you are offensive you are more likely to adopt a stance that will allow you to launch your attacks, while if you prefer to parry or counter attack, your stance will reflect that. Of course, your en guard will be most affected by which weapon you fence.


Epee
Still in front of your mirror, raise your weapon to en guard position. Your next step is to ask yourself, the following questions. Does this look stupid, aka, is this so non-conventional that I lack the ability to fence properly. Don't laugh, many fencers believe that if they fence differently enough, they might win. While there are successful non-conventional fencers, there is a good reason that most fencers stand in one of several 'accepted' positions. They work. Your next assessment will be to consider if you were fencing your reflection, how easily would you be able to pick at his or her wrists. If your bell is far above your elbow, then you may be giving away touches. Position your hand and arm so that you are not exposing target area. This can be done in one of several ways, and your coach will be able to best instruct you on the finer points of your arm position. Finally, decide how far your elbow will be from your body, it should not be skewed outwards in what I can only think to describe as a chicken-dance esque fashion, but may be bent in varying degrees depending on how you feel comfortable. Personally, I prefer having my arm more bent than average. As for your hand itself, your thumb should be somewhere between 1 and 2 o'clock, if you were to imagine yourself facing a clock.

Sabre
Sabre has a fairly similar en guard to epee, at least in comparison to foil because the fencing arm is valid target area. This manifests itself in the degree of bend you have in your elbow, as well as the way in which you hold your sabre. First, your sabre should be angled out so that if there were a clock drawn on the floor, your sabre's bell would be further than 1 o'clock, but not as far as 3. As with epee, you may decide how much you want to bend your sabre, and this will likely be a product of your coaching, but as a general guideline, you're en guard should not have your elbow touching you, nor should your arm be extended more than 60%.

Foil
The foil en guard is subject to less scrutiny than it's other counterparts because the arm is not target area. As a result of this, we see a greater variety of fencing positions. As with the other two, no online help guide will really be able to teach you propperly how to fence, and with this in mind I am not going to tell you what is right and what is wrong, merely propogate what I have seen and directly experienced. The foil en guard is designed for quickness of movement. This movement is obviously in the agressive or defensive position, with the arm positioned for whichever goal the fencer wants to achieve. That said, we generally see more bend in the elbows, and often a departure from a 50/50 balance point. It is also worth mentioning that the off hand can not be blocking target. As with epee, a thumb position of 1-2 o'clock is advisable.

For whichever arm position you have adopted, and I recommend that you consult a live coach or contact me directly via email or comment, practice in front of a mirror. Come en guard, fix it, and then relax. Come en guard again, etc... Again, I must emphasize that if you are practicing on your own, make sure you talk to an experienced fencer who can help you before actually practicing. Practicing is only helpful if you practice the correct things, and practicing bad habits only makes them harder to break later. These tips are designed for a more experienced fencer who is either getting back into the sport, or would like to refine their en guard, but probably would be most effective for a fencer who is picking up a new weapon. I hope these tips and pointers have served you well. Keep practicing