Fencing Revisited

[Chris Bentley]

Rip

I’m working to a training template based on your Strength and Conditioning for Fencing article, as modified for what I’ve gleaned from your later books and articles, and for the specific style of fencing I’m training (historic German longsword - two handed, no really deep lunges, punching/kicking/grappling allowed).

The article includes jerks alongside power cleans and snatches, and since ‘casting’ the weapon away from the shoulder explosively and as a full body movement is a basic technique in this style of fencing, I’ve included them in my programme. Two questions:

1. Does my logic make sense? Would you still include jerks for this particular programme, even though they’re not covered in your later books?

2. I’m doing power clean and push jerks as a single, compound movement (5x3). If you would still advise jerks, does it make sense to do this or would you advise doing them as a movement distinct from the power cleans (maybe on another training day)?

Many thanks
Chris

[Mark Rippetoe]

I think that trying to be too specific with strength training exercises for any sport is missing much of the point. The purpose of the program is strength, and power comes along for the ride. Power cleans are included in the program for the purpose of harnessing your new strength to an explosion. Power clean and jerk is fine, but the general objective is to get more explosive by getting stronger, and power gets practiced in the context of the sports practice.

What is your practice weapon for this sport?

[Chris Bentley]

The practice weapon is either a synthetic ‘waster’ or foiled steel ‘feder’. In both cases, a simulated longsword approximately 4 feet in length, with a steel crossguard and thick, extended pommel, and weighing around 4 lbs with the centre of gravity quite near the cross guard (the waster has a steel screw running through the hilt and the pommel is also weighted). Scoring is with the tip or either edge (or the pommel or body weapons for that matter). The fighting style is referred to as ‘kunst des fechtens’.

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjT4JepA-Vc for an example

For reference, this is my training template:

Day 1 Power clean and push jerk, squats, press/bench press, curls
Day 2 Deadlift/power snatch, bench press/press, high rep box jumps, forearm work
Day 3 Squats, press/bench press, chins, forearm work

I’m 47 and probably in the permanent early intermediate category you refer to in PP.

[lisward]

He doesn't seem to be practicing the Olympic sport of fencing because there is no such thing as a double handed sword :/

[Slim]

As a fellow practitioner of the longsword strength helps. I've only been following SS for a short while and it as helped tremendously. The squat is the most useful with the hip drive which is where the power comes from for the grappling. Don't worry about specifics just do the program as defined, it's brilliant.

[Mark Rippetoe]

He doesn't seem to be practicing the Olympic sport of fencing because there is no such thing as a double handed sword :/

A brilliant analysis.

The practice weapon is either a synthetic ‘waster’ or foiled steel ‘feder’. In both cases, a simulated longsword approximately 4 feet in length, with a steel crossguard and thick, extended pommel, and weighing around 4 lbs with the centre of gravity quite near the cross guard (the waster has a steel screw running through the hilt and the pommel is also weighted). Scoring is with the tip or either edge (or the pommel or body weapons for that matter). The fighting style is referred to as ‘kunst des fechtens’.

How do you learn to pull the thrust? How many people do you kill every year?

[Kregna]

It's all about the epee

[Mark Rippetoe]

Continue with your enlightenment, Kregna.

[yorick]

It's all about the epee

You have Foiled my idea of a perfect fencing sword.

[jgalak]

Cool, one of my major motivators for starting SS is to be able to get back into a swordfighting sport I used to do years ago. Not quite the same thing (I used to do SCA rattan combat), but close. I'll be following this thread with great interest, though I am much, much earlier in the strength-building program than the OP.