Fencing masters frequently use three types of drills in their lessons: block, serial, and random drills. Each has benefits and applications that meet specific training needs. Each should be part of your standard tool kit for your fencing lessons.
Blocked exercises are the first step in developing students’ proficiency in a specific fencing action. A blocked exercise delivered by the teacher to a student consists of a series of cues that elicit the same technique in response. For example, the master opens the line of 6 by moving his sword to the inside line as an invitation. The student extends with a direct push, lunges to strike, and then recovers, ready to execute the technique again. Blocked drills can be used for offensive, defensive, and counter-offensive actions.
The advantage of the Blocked Drill is that it builds repetitions of the technique. This allows the student to develop fluency in execution, improve accuracy, and develop the ability to recognize the conditions under which the technique will be successful. These results make it a favorite for the teaching lesson.
However, research indicates that excessive reliance on exercise lockout actually impedes the development of skillful performance. As soon as the student has a basic understanding of the technique and can perform it generally within acceptable parameters, the use of Locked Drills should be discontinued in favor of drill patterns (Serial and Random Drills) that force the student to make decisions as to to which technique to execute. The decision-making requirement actually improves the performance of alternate skills better than using them in separate Locked Drills.
The Serial Drill increases the difficulty of the exercise and introduces a very basic level of decision making on the part of the student. In this model, the teacher provides cues that prompt a sequence of techniques, always the same techniques and always in the same order. For example, the teacher first opens the line of 6 by moving his sword to the inside line as an invitation, and the student executes a straight thrust with lunge at 6th. After the student recovers, the teacher presses the student’s blade from the 6th hook, and the student executes a lunge disengage. The teacher then repeats the sequence of the direct push attack, followed by the disengage attack.
The Serial Drill builds repetitions of more than one technique. Although two or three techniques seems to be a reasonable maximum for new skills, and more techniques clearly increase the difficulty, more experienced students working with their eyes open can execute larger numbers without too much difficulty. However, its main advantage is that it begins to develop very basic decision-making in the form of recognition of a tactical pattern of actions by the teacher and selection of the correct action, even if the student knows them in advance.
The final step is the random exercise. The random exercise requires the student to recognize the signs and select the correct answer for each sign. The keys are presented in random order for the full set of techniques being worked on. If, for example, the teacher is working with the student on three simple attacks (straight thrust, disengage, and counter-disengage), these three skills can be presented in the following order: direct thrust, counter disengage, disengage, counter disengage, counter disengage, straight thrust. , disengage, push straight, etc.
The random exercise introduces more complex decision making. Now the student must decide what cue the teacher is presenting, decide what action is appropriate for that cue, and initiate the action. Because the action is random, the student must continually observe the teacher’s action; this includes evaluating any movement to determine whether or not it is a signal for tactical action. When the cue triggers a multi-part action, the student must open their eyes to identify the next cues presented after the initial ones. This is much more demanding than the Serial Drill.
At each level, the realism of the exercise can be increased by introducing movement, with the teacher or student controlling the distance. Similarly, the timing of the actions can be changed along with the speed of signal delivery. All of this increases the difficulty of the exercise and makes it more like combat conditions.
These exercises can stand alone and be used as a single component of the individual lesson. Therefore, the locked drill is a required component of the teaching lessons given by candidates for certification by the United States Fencing Coaches Association. However, they can also be used as an integrated teaching and training system. Short, locked drills delivered in sequence can be used as a lead-in for a serial drill using the same techniques and sequence, and the serial drill can then transition to a random drill.
Effective drills develop technical competence, build speed, and help develop tactical decision-making skills. Develop your proficiency in doing each of these exercises and choose the best exercise for the student and the lesson. The result will be better shooters.
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