Learn the sixte parry in fencing: the high outside parry, switching with quarte, circular parry against disengages. Weapon notes for foil, épée and sabre.
Which parry do I need first? The honest answer: sixte and quarte – together they cover the upper half of your trunk. Sixte (the sixth position) is the high outside parry: it protects the upper outside, the side of your weapon arm, and deflects the attack outward [1]. For foil and épée it is one of the three most important parries alongside quarte and octave [1]. A word on weapons: in sabre the main parries are terce, quarte and quinte – sixte is not a main parry there [1].
Under the FIE rules a parry is a defensive action made with the weapon that prevents the hit [2]. If it succeeds cleanly you get the right to riposte in foil – but the counter-attack must come immediately [2]. In épée there is no right of way [1].
Realistically: you learn sixte in one or two training sessions. Landing it reliably in unplanned situations takes much longer – experience.
From the guard you deliberately show the sixte invitation [1]: the upper outside looks covered, the point points at the opponent. Your coach corrects the exact hand position.
Your partner thrusts slowly to your upper outside. You move hand and forearm outward so that your blade pushes theirs out. The path is small, the point stays on the opponent.
The simplest parry is the direct one: sixte to quarte, without a circle [1]. Now switch rhythmically between both parries, first without, then with a partner. This is the backbone of every defence.
If your partner feints (changes from outside to inside), the simple parry is not enough: under the FIE rules a parry is simple when made in the same line as the attack, and circular (counter-parry) when made in the opposite line [2]. In the circular parry your blade describes a small circle around the opponent's [1]. Practise it slowly; it catches disengages.
As soon as the opponent is parried, the riposte follows – without hesitation [2]. More in the riposte guide.
Milestone: when you defend ten slow thrusts from your partner in alternating sixte and quarte without your point tipping away, and the circular parry works at least at slow speed, move on to the riposte.
Drill (practice): in pairs, three stages. First your partner thrusts at half speed always to the outside, you parry sixte. Then he switches randomly between outside and inside, you answer with sixte or quarte. Finally he adds a disengage and you train the circular parry. Each stage until ten parries in a row work. With sixte especially it pays to fix the movement in front of a mirror first so the hand does not swing wide on its own.
When parrying, too: practise with mask, glove and jacket – both partners in partner drills. Fencing is low-injury: 0.28 time-loss injuries per 1000 starts at international competitions – just under three per 10,000 starts –, mostly sprains and strains of the leg [4]. Warm up your wrists before practising many parries in a row. This guide explains and motivates – it does not replace supervised training.
Train the pendulum: sixte – quarte – sixte – quarte in a small rhythm, point always on the opponent. You learn that the hand leads the parry, not the arm. Once it runs, let your partner break the rhythm: once inside, once outside, without warning. Then you find out whether you really read or merely defend by rote.
Sixte is the high outside parry: it protects the upper outside of the trunk, the weapon-arm side, and deflects the opponent's blade outward. In foil and épée it is one of the three most important parries alongside quarte and octave [1].
Sixte defends attacks to the upper outside, quarte attacks to the upper inside [1]. You decide by the opening the opponent is aiming at – and by the line he is moving his blade into.
In sabre terce, quarte and quinte are the most important parries [1]. Sixte is therefore not standard in sabre; ask your coach which defence counts for your weapon.
In foil and sabre: yes, a clean parry gives the right to riposte if it follows immediately and without hesitation [2]. In épée there is no right of way [1].
The Riposte in Fencing: Counter-Attack Straight After the Parry