Left Pic. Ash (at Left) thrusts at James (at Right) low line. Take note of James’ rear leg on the red line.
Right Pic. James (at Right), maintains his guard and intercepts Ash (at Left) attack by quickly shuffling his rear foot backwards. This will cause his line of defence to drop.
I’ve always said that the evolution and development of FFS is through feedback and questions through my students.
Today’s lesson was typical of that situation. I had a session with one of my new students (Sean Reilly). It was actually his 2nd lesson with me. But even though he is new to FFS, Sean actually taught me something that would improve one of my moves.
His first lesson was the standard introduction to FFS; complete with the “Floro Shock” (i.e. getting hit in the face several times with non-telegraphic strikes). It is also “tradition” that we put into practice what was taught through sparring.
I find that one of the hardest things my students find when starting out with the sparring is how to deal with strikes on different levels i.e. High and low strikes.
When defending against a low line attack (e.g. to the stomach), it is a mistake to drop your hands to block or fend off the attack. The reason for this is that if you do drop your guard, you will also expose the “high line”. Hence, if you opponent fakes low, you are an easy target for a face shot.
The way I normally teach how to deal with this is to maintain the position of your guard, and instead of dropping the hands……you DROP YOUR BODY. This will effectively cover the low line.
The dropping of the body is made via bending the knees, much like doing a squat (do not bend the upper body like a “bow”).
Although an effective method, it can somewhat be hard to do, and slow, when taken by surprise.
Sean was trying to practice this move at home, and found it difficult. Especially since he is just recovering from a previous knee injury.
To compensate for this, he “invented” a new move.
Instead of squatting and bending both knees………..
From the guard position; when the low line attack comes. He shuffled just HIS REAR FOOT backwards. The front foot remains in the SAME position. It is only the rear foot that shuffles back. This in effect spreads your legs wider, hence making your body drop in height.
I think the move is genius…….as it is faster than squatting, and moving the foot back IS instinctive. The wider leg spread gives greater stability as well.
Well, there you go……the teacher being taught.
It is instances like these that one would call “Priceless”.
Ray Floro
Raymond,
That’s not a bad idea at all. I never liked the squatting very much because I always felt slow and “stuck in the mud” so I took to using a replacement step a-la fencing (of the old school or Italian style). I have found that this allows one to pivot the body slightly and the incoming attack usually goes harmlessly bye… The movement of the rear foot backwards makes good sense too because it leaves you poised for a lunge-counter if you desire. simple, effective and easy to learn and teach.
When are you coming to the States again!!!
All the best!
Hi Wildcard,
My experience in fencing has provided me with valuable attributes that STILL influence a lot of FFS
Thanks for the comments
Raymond
ps…….our dollar is so low now that going to the USA would be really feasable. I just need to find people that would host me
Looks good!
By the way, hello, I’m a reader but this is my first comment here. I haven’t trained in FFS, my training has mainly been in Lameco Eskrima.
I can see how that would be a good move. However, what I usually do in the same situation is the Illustrisimo Retirada, stepping back with my front foot. I think it’s fast and it feels natural to me, and I still have the same space between my feet which keeps me mobile. Wouldn´t that give the same advantage of lowering the body a little?
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