Distance mirror game

Setup

1. Pairs en garde, facing each other along the length of the hall, with at least 2 metres between pairs and plenty of room behind both fencers.
2. No weapons. Start the pair just out of lunge distance: the leader's full lunge with an outstretched hand should finish a hand short of the follower.
3. Decide who leads first. The follower's job is to keep that starting gap the whole time.

How it runs

1. The leader moves freely with advances and retreats, changing speed and the number of steps. The follower mirrors: leader advances, follower retreats; leader retreats, follower advances.
2. At any moment the leader may lunge, reaching with an open front hand towards the follower's front shoulder. If the follower has kept the gap and retreats in time, the hand falls short.
3. A light touch on the shoulder is a point to the leader. Hands go to the shoulder only, never towards the face.
4. Forty-five seconds, then swap roles. Play three rounds each and keep score.
5. Last round: the follower may also step in and close the gap on purpose when the leader recovers from a lunge, as if to attack.

Coaching points

• Watch the leader's chest and hips, not the feet; the feet are too late.
• Match the size of the step as well as the direction. A short step answered with a long one changes the distance.
• Stay en garde the whole time: bent knees, side-on, head level.
• Leaders: hide the lunge. Lunge from the middle of a pattern, not after a pause.
• Distance is the first skill of fencing. Every attack and every parry later on depends on it.

Common mistakes

• Followers standing up out of en garde and running backwards.
• Drifting closer bit by bit without noticing.
• Leaders telegraphing the lunge by leaning or dropping the shoulder first.
• Retreating with a straight back leg, which makes the next step slow.