Learn the counter-riposte in fencing: parry the opponent's riposte and answer immediately. With the chain, milestones, rule notes and protective gear.
The counter-riposte is the offensive action you perform after parrying your opponent's riposte. You attack, he parries and ripostes, you parry that, and then you answer yourself. The FIE rules name it as the third offensive action beside attack and riposte [1].
The honest answer to “Isn't that just another attack?”: no, because at the moment of the parry you are already on the defensive. Many fencers pull the blade back after an attack and go on guard. If you then have no parry at hand, you are hit. I found no study on the counter-riposte itself. What is documented: in a measurement of 24 elite fencers, defenders needed 0.353 seconds on average for the defensive movement [2]. For you that means you must prepare your parry before the riposte arrives.
The HFV examination booklet sums it up in one sentence: if a riposte is parried in turn (counter-parry), the attack that follows is called a counter-riposte [3].
The counter-riposte is won by whoever is already on the move again after his own attack.
Four steps in a fixed order: attack (you) – parry (he) – riposte (he) – parry (you) – counter-riposte (you). The definitions are in the FIE rules: the riposte is the offensive action of the one who parried the attack; the counter-riposte is the offensive action of the one who parried the riposte [1]. Milestone: you explain the chain in two sentences and perform it in slow motion with a partner.
After your attack you return to the on-guard position and cover the line. The parry of the riposte is a normal parry: quarte, sixte or octave, depending on where the riposte is aimed. Milestone: ten parries against ripostes that your partner delivers after an attack from you.
Straight after the parry you answer in the same line. The FIE glossary names as forms, among others, the simple counter-riposte, the compound one and the one with taking the blade, which can be executed lunging, retreating or stepping forward [4]. Milestone: ten counter-ripostes in a row that hit in the same line without a pause after the parry.
If your partner closes the line, you switch: as with the riposte, you can go into the opposite line by disengagement or over the blade with a coupé [1]. The FIE rules know both forms for the riposte; the same applies to the counter-riposte (coaching practice). Milestone: against a partner who closes the line, you hit with the indirect variant in six out of ten attempts.
In foil: the parry gives the right to riposte, but it must follow immediately, without indecision or delay, to annul any further action by the attacker [1]. The same principle carries the counter-riposte (coaching practice). If you react to more options, the reaction becomes slower: in a study with 20 fencers, beginners were 25 to 35 % slower than experienced fencers, and the differences grew with the number of response options [5]. Milestone: against randomly delivered ripostes you answer in seven out of ten cases immediately with the matching parry and counter-riposte.
Injuries are rare in fencing, but not impossible. In an analysis of 809 FIE competitions, 72.4 % of the time-loss injuries involved the lower extremities, and the most common was the ankle sprain (25.3 %) [6]. The counter-riposte requires fast changes of direction after the lunge, so warm up thoroughly. Always wear full protective clothing [1]. Stop if your ankle or knee hurts. This guide explains and motivates, it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Practise the parry and the answer separately and only put them together at the very end. If you can do both parts securely on their own, you lose no time in the middle. This is coaching experience, not a study.
The offensive action of the one who has parried the opponent's riposte. It follows the chain attack, parry, riposte, parry [1].
The riposte is made by the fencer who has parried the attack. The counter-riposte is made by the fencer who has parried the riposte [1].
Yes. The FIE glossary names the second counter-riposte as the hit after parrying the opponent's counter-riposte [4].
Yes. In foil the answer after a parry must follow immediately, without hesitation [1]. The same principle applies to the counter-riposte (coaching practice).
With controlled ripostes from your partner, starting in slow motion, with mask, glove and jacket [1]. Only increase the speed once the chain is secure.
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