Learn the quarte parry in fencing: the high inside parry against attacks to the inner line. Build-up, drills, mistakes and rules for foil, épée and sabre.
How do I fend off an attack without retreating? The honest answer: with a parry – a defence made with the weapon that prevents the hit [2]. The parry in quarte (the fourth position) is a high inside parry: it deflects the opponent's blade inward, i.e. to the side opposite the weapon arm. For foil and épée it is one of the three most important parries alongside sixte and octave; in sabre it is one of the three main parries terce, quarte and quinte [1].
This guide applies to all three weapons, with one difference: in foil and sabre a successful parry gives you the right to riposte, the counter-attack [1][2]. In épée there is no right of way – there the parry is mainly protection, but the riposte is still your way to the point [1].
Realistically: you learn the basic movement in one or two sessions. Landing it reliably in a bout takes months – experience.
From the guard you draw the hand so that the upper inside of your trunk looks "open": the quarte invitation [1]. Your coach corrects the exact hand position – what matters is that the point keeps pointing at the opponent.
Your partner makes a slow straight thrust to the inside. Look at the upper body and weapon hand, not at the blade: experienced foil fencers read the upper body and weapon hand and look markedly less at the blade [3].
You move the hand to the inside so your blade pushes the opponent's blade inward. The path is small, the point stays directed at the opponent. As a practice rule you stop the blade with your forte against its foible – the third nearest the guard against the third nearest the tip (the federation explains the three-part blade [1]).
Hold contact briefly. When you have the blade securely, you can riposte – see the riposte guide.
The simplest form is the direct parry: sixte to quarte, without a circle [1]. Later the circular parry: quarte to quarte, where your blade describes a small circle around the opponent's [1]. Drill: switch quarte – sixte in both directions, slowly at first, then with a partner.
Milestone: when you defend ten slow straight thrusts from your partner in a row in quarte without your point tipping away from the opponent, move on to sixte and the riposte.
Drill (practice): in pairs, three stages. First your partner thrusts at half speed always to the same inside line, you parry quarte and do not riposte. Then he switches randomly between inside and outside, you answer with quarte or sixte. Finally he may raise the speed. Each stage until ten parries in a row work. Whoever starts stage three too early trains hecticness instead of technique – better to spend more time on stage one.
Parrying is faster than you think – train it slowly first with a partner who thrusts in a controlled way. Both wear mask, glove and jacket. The injury risk in fencing is low: 0.28 time-loss injuries per 1000 starts at international competitions, just under three per 10,000 starts; most are sprains and strains of the leg [4]. This guide explains and motivates – it does not replace supervised training.
Remember the parries as an answer to a question, not as a position. Ask yourself: "Where is my target open right now?" The Hessian fencers teach invitation and parry as a pair: you deliberately show an opening (for example with the quarte invitation), the opponent attacks it, and your parry plus riposte scores [1]. That turns defence into a plan.
A high inside parry: it protects the upper inside of the trunk by deflecting the opponent's blade inward. It is a basic parry for foil and épée [1] and one of the three most important parries in sabre [1].
In foil and sabre: yes, if executed cleanly, the parry gives the right to riposte, and it must come immediately without hesitation or pause [2]. In épée there is no right of way [1].
Quarte protects the upper inside, sixte the upper outside, the weapon-arm side [1]. Both are among the three most important parries of foil and épée [1].
With a mirror and the quarte – sixte switch, using a light training weapon. Alone you only train the form; for timing you need a partner and your coach.
Parry Sixte in Fencing: The High Outside Parry for Foil and Épée