Bio-mechanics and the Effect of Body Shape

Greetings,

Bio-mechanics is something that as fencers is often ignored. What is important is that there are many elements of bio-mechanics which can be very useful to the fencer if they are understood. Being that fencing is the actions performed by the body and this is affected by bio-mechanics. This blog will be addressing some of the elements of bio-mechanics from a very basic point of view which affect the fencer. It is more designed to encourage the fencer to consider bio-mechanics and their effect.

Bio-mechanics is something which most fencers will not take into account in their fencing, but it is something that really cannot be ignored. This particular element effects all of the actions on fencing and needs to be considered, even if it is only to examine in from a personal point of view about how the individual moves. For the teacher, bio-mechanics becomes more important especially in dealing with students of different body shapes. It is important to realise that a brief study in the elements of bio-mechanics can greatly assist in fencing, and also the teaching of fencing. The awareness of bio-mechanics and how it can affect your fencing will greatly enhance the fencer's ability to perform.

There are some supposed advantages and disadvantages in body shape when fencing is considered. The tall fencer with the long arms, in general, is supposed to have an advantage over the shorter individual with shorter arms. This is due to the range that the tall individual has and their ability to move because of their long limbs. Even with this taken into account it does not mean that the shorter individual has no hope of excelling in fencing, actually quite the opposite. While the longer limbed individual has an advantage at range this can be taken away, thus both the advantages and the disadvantages must be taken into account when considering body shape and its effect on bio-mechanics. Each fencer needs to be able to use their body shape to their advantage, and needs to consider how bio-mechanics can enhance their advantages while compensating for some of the disadvantages.

It has already been stated that bio-mechanics will have an effect on all the movement elements of fencing, but it also needs to be realise that it will have an effect even on the individual's on guard position. In the on guard position, especially for Renaissance fencers, there are choices to be made with regard to the on guard position. Even when considering the basic on guard position with the weapon held in the natural on guard position of third or terza, there are elements which can come into effect which will affect the way the fencer moves. The first choice is with regard to the feet, sword foot forward or off-hand foot forward. This will affect the body position in the on guard position and change the options available, and affect those options which are available. The refused stance promotes the off-hand for use in defence. The forward stance promotes the sword. The refused stance withdraws the body, the forward pushes it more forward along with the weapon. Next is the consideration of whether the weapon is extended or more withdrawn, this will affect the way the weapon will be used and also the timing of the actions. All of these elements, even in the on guard stance, are affected by bio-mechanics.

Bio-mechanics also has an effect on the actions of fencing. This is because all of the actions are the result of the movement of the body and therefore are reliant on bio-mechanics for their effect. If a person understands how bio-mechanics affects their actions they can learn how to do them better, and one of the keys to this is flowing through the action. The action performed needs to be moved through and completed in a fluid motion. Some fencers will attempt to use their strength in the performance of the action, it is important that where the action is performed fluidly and accurately there is very little strength required for the action to be effective. This is a perfect example of how bio-mechanics affects the performance of an action, and how it is the body movement of the fencer that really needs to be considered in the action. This needs to relate to the fencer and how they move naturally.

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The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.