Dr. Kogler has asked me to share my experiences of how I learned to fence at the right distance. By way of introduction, I am a long-time student of Dr. Kogler and had the privilege of taking lessons from him for over 15 years. This was a truly priceless experience that gave me a better-than-average understanding of the sport of fencing. I started working with Dr. Kogler as a freshman on the Columbia University fencing team and I stayed with him throughout my collegiate career. As I rose to the level of the US National team, I continued to work with Dr. Kogler for many years after.
One lesson that Dr. Kogler tried to teach, that I had a very hard time learning, was the correct distance to keep with my opponent. While my fencing lessons with Dr. Kogler covered the full syllabus of Hungarian épée technique, it was this subject that he correctly identified as my chief failing. Dr. Kogler observed that I fenced at a distance that was too far and this made my actions much less effective.
To help explain this, it's necessary to discuss the underlying principles. I'll start by saying that fencing, at its core, is really a very simple game; one that can be encompassed in a formula we learn in elementary school science class. Rate multiplied by time equals distance, or in terms more relevant to fencing, distance divided by speed equals time. What this means for fencing is that if we can shorten the distance between the tip of our weapon and the target, then we can reduce the time it takes to make a hit. Of course, we could also increase our speed, and a quick fencer will always have an edge over one who's not so quick. But in my experience, most competitive fencers are already pretty fast and there's not much room for improvement in that regard. However, simply by stepping closer to their opponent, a fencer can reduce, or 'close' the distance and thereby reduce the time it takes for their attack to reach the target.
This is of supreme importance because the more time it takes to complete an attack, the more time there is for the opponent to respond with a counter action, whether that be a parry, a counter-attack, a stop hit, or a retreat. An attack launched from too far will quickly be nullified by the opponent's response. The attacker may still hit but not on their first action. They may hit on their second or third action after a counter-parry riposte, remise or what have you. Of course, in this kind of extended phrase, the defender also has chances to hit when the attacker fails on their first action. This introduces a large element of chance into who finally scores, and makes the match more of a knife-fight than a proper fencing match.
Far superior and more effective is the attack launched from the right distance that will hit the target before the opponent can counter. To illustrate the power of being at the correct distance, here's a drill you can try at your fencing club. One fencer picks a spot on the ground and sets their front foot on it. The other fencer positions themselves at whatever they feel is a comfortable distance apart. The first fencer, on their own initiative, makes a lunge to the second fencer. The second fencer makes a parry but no riposte. Then, the first fencer returns to their spot and the second fencer positions themselves an incremental space closer. Again, the first fencer lunges and the second fencer parries. This is repeated until the second fencer has moved close enough to the first fencer so that the first fencer can hit the second fencer despite their attempt to parry.
What I have found in doing this drill is that the attacking fencer, the first fencer, is easily parried until they reach a critical distance, at which point the attacking fencer gets past the defending fencer's parry and is able to make a hit. What's astonishing about this drill is the difference between being too far and being sufficiently close. It's an infinitesimal length, perhaps a centimeter. One centimeter too far, and the attacker can be parried with ease. A tiny, tiny step forward, 10 millimeters, and the attacker is able to plant their point right on the defender's chest. A step backward by the same very small amount returns the advantage to the defender who is then able to parry the attacker with a comfortable margin.
What this shows is how an attack launched from a correct distance is very hard to stop, but an attack launched from just a little further away is easily countered. Therefore, if we can maneuver ourselves into the right distance from our opponent, then our attack will more likely hit and will be less vulnerable to our opponent's counter actions.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let me help you visualize what I am describing. I have observed that the optimal attacking distance for épée is when the point is just short of the opponent's guard while both you and your opponent are holding your weapons in a modern 'bent-arm' en garde. Such a distance looks remarkably short and if you're not used to it you would think it would be crazy to fence so close. However, I was surprised to find that you can fence a lot closer to your opponent than you might think. If you are ready, and you are on your toes, then you can effectively defend yourself with quick counter attacks and parry ripostes. Also, when you are that close, your actions become much more threatening, which means that you will more effectively provoke your opponent with your feints and prise-de-fer's, which in turn will create more opportunities for you to make a hit.
A note of caution; I am not suggesting you should artlessly blunder forward into this close attacking distance and then passively remain there. When you achieve the critical distance, combined with a hand or foot tempo, that's the moment to attack! Otherwise, if there is no opportunity for an attack, then step back and try again later as you continue fencing the bout. This is where 'good' footwork comes into play. If you can advance and retreat more quickly and more precisely than your opponent, then you can 'step inside' their steps. For example, when your opponent starts an advance, if you can start and finish your own advance before they finish theirs, you'll be ready to make a lunge before your opponent can react with a retreat or an attack of their own.
In hindsight, I wish I had learned these lessons much sooner in my fencing career, as I would have been much more successful. Unfortunately, I spent many years not understanding these principles and I always shied away from taking that final step to get to the critical close distance. Therefore my attacks were from too far away and would usually degenerate into remises and counter-parry ripostes. Fencing in the US, I still had success due, I think, to the superior technique I learned from Dr. Kogler. Internationally, however, it was a different story. Fencing against fencers who understood distance, I did not have success. My out-of-distance attacks were easily disrupted by the French, German, Hungarian, and Russian fencers I would meet in World Cup tournaments.
During the course of my fencing career, I paused from active competition for a few years to focus on other things in my life. Later, the sport drew me back and again I started training and competing. This time however, I was not so motivated for results but rather I found that I enjoyed more than anything else just the experience of fencing. Armed with many years of experience as well as the benefits of so many lessons from Dr. Kogler, I was able to ask myself some basic but meaningful questions, and to come up with insightful answers. This inquisitive spirit naturally extended to the question of distance. 'What happens if I move closer?'
In my bouting at the club, I took the step forward that I never took before. I closed the distance with bouting partners just to see what would happen. And it was an epiphany! Suddenly, all of my actions became so much more effective. My feints would provoke bigger reactions from my opponents, my attacks would hit on the first intention, and no longer would I get into a 'knife fight' of remisses. I thought, 'Oh! This is what my coach had meant all those years when he told me to get closer'.
Fencing at the right distance created a virtuous cycle and I became more and more comfortable with being close. I then went on to have the best results of my career. Most significantly, I finally had success internationally with a peak result of winning a bronze medal at a World Cup tournament.
What followed was the 2000 Olympic year and after my recent successes I naturally had ambitions to make another Olympic team. As the year progressed however, I wasn't having the same results. Alex Abend, a teammate of mine, offered a very helpful observation. He noticed that I wasn't fencing at the closer distance that I was just a few months prior. With hindsight, I know that I was again fixated on my results and this attachment caused me to fear failing. This fear came back, imperceptibly, so that I no longer made that last tiny step forward to get to the critical distance. How easy it is to upset the delicate balance that must be maintained in the mind of a successful fencer, and what a razor's edge separates victory from defeat!
I didn't succeed at making the 2000 Olympic team, but I certainly learned a lot about fencing and also myself. I still fence, although now I do more part-time coaching than competing. And in my coaching, what I've learned about distance is among the most important lessons I can pass along to my students.