Hitting the target is one of the essential tasks for a fencer. This means that precision training is an important part of any fencer’s development as an athlete. Unfortunately, precision comes with practice, lots of practice. Experience in the martial arts suggests that 10,000 or more repetitions of a skill are needed to develop mastery. As you can imagine, your fencing master and fencing partners really get bored of being targeted to get to those kinds of numbers. This means that a training aid that is simple, inexpensive and portable is worth exploring.
There are a variety of sophisticated target trainers available: the Target Speed is a prime example, and the various flex-arm systems are another. However, these are a reasonable investment for a club, but can be quite expensive for the individual. Plastic balls with holes in the shell, the practice ball, offer one option.
These balls are available in three sizes: a softball-sized ball, a softball, and a golf ball. Each of these represents a different goal. Softball approaches the spade shoulder or any of the flat surfaces in the primary target zone from the low line under the weapon arm, up the inside of the front chest. The baseball is a rough forearm, the target available as an opponent quickly changes direction with a stop after seeing the beginning of the final action of a feint attack, or the target on an opponent with a large bib and a crouching guard . The golf ball is roughly the exposure of the hand and forearm on a sloppy sword guard.
The ball you select as a practice partner depends on the target you are training to hit. But it also depends on the level of your training. Start with the largest ball available. As you progress through the exercise, return to the big ball each time you start a new level. When you are reliably hitting it, even when it moves, move to the next smaller ball.
The exercises with the ball seem quite simple. A logical progression is:
(1) From off guard, strike with a simple extension from a standing position.
(2) then lunge with a step forward.
(3) then hit with a lunge and lunge
(4) then lunge forward.
(5) then crossbow-lunge.
But there are variants that will make the exercises more difficult and increase the training load. For example:
…on guard with toe level with the ball, immediately take a step back and charge.
…on guard with the toe beyond the ball, withdraw the arm and extend it to strike.
… forward lunge to a ball of one size, followed by a forward lunge to a second ball of a different size behind the first and offset laterally by about half the width of the strip.
… changing hand position for lunge pointing up or with opposition.
I’m sure you can identify other patterns that simulate fencing situations. The key point is that to get better at hitting the target, you have to practice hitting the target. Assorted sizes of practice balls give you an inexpensive option to do just that. With 100 practice actions a day, you get to 10,000 quickly.