The most efficient way to win your sword fight is to know exactly what your opponent is going to do and know exactly how to counter their action. One would at least need be a mind reader, right? The good news is you don’t need to be Professor X to know how your opponent will react. You just need good intel gathering via probing actions.
Probing actions are actions that give you insight into how your opponent reacts to various stimuli.
Almost any action can give you information into your opponent if it’s done with the intent of learning about your opponent. However, there are three common ones we look at in the Academie:
- Blade Pressures
- Probing Attacks
- Beats
Let’s look at probing attacks.
Probing attacks are like feints in that they’re not real attacks but they should look real. The difference is the feint is used to set up a hit while the probing attack is used to get intel on our opponent’s tactical preferences. They’re uncommitted attacks, meaning we’re not trying to hit our opponent. In fact, often it’s better to know how they’ll react before doing committed attacks.
For example, let’s say you attack with a straight thrust in fourth. Instead of a full lunge, you perform this with a demi-lunge (half-lunge) to see how your opponent reacts. Do they perform a simple parry? Circular parry? If it’s rapier, do they use their secondary to parry instead? Do they not parry at all but instead counter-attack into your attack or try to void your attack?
Knowing how your opponent likes to respond gives you powerful information you can use to defeat them. If after doing some probing attacks you learn that your opponent likes to perform circular parries, you can set up an action where you feint direct in fourth and then elude their parry with a disengagement to their outside line. If they prefer to counter-attack, you’ll want some sort of counter-time action ready, etc.
Figure out what they like to do against various stimuli, prep your counter, then spring the trap.
In rapier class during September, we’ll be exploring in more depth the use of probing actions and building tactical blue prints for defeating our opponent.
Happy Swording!
—Justin
Head Coach, Instructor at Arms
Boston Academie d’Armes
(he/him)
