Learn the stop hit in fencing: counter-attack in time, one period of fencing time, rules in foil, épée and sabre, common mistakes and a milestone check.
How do I hit an opponent who is just about to attack? The honest answer: you hit before him, in the middle of his attack. That is the stop hit. Under FIE rules it is a counter-attack made into an attack [1]. A counter-attack is an offensive or offensive-defensive action that you make during the opponent's offensive action [1].
That sounds like a gamble. It is a question of timing. The American federation describes that you must catch the moment of hesitation, feint or a poorly executed attack [2]. And it states clearly what happens if you are too late: then the referee may award the touch to the attacker [2].
Realistically: you learn the movement in one training session. You learn the feeling for time over many bouts, not weeks – that is experience, not a study result.
The stop hit is a counter-attack made into an attack. The rule book names three forms: the simple stop hit, the stop hit with opposition, in which you close the line in which the attack ends, and the stop hit in time, i.e. within one period of fencing time [1]. A period of fencing time is the time you need for one simple fencing action [1].
If your opponent attacks with a compound attack, for example with feints, you have the right to stop-hit [1]. But it is only valid if it arrives before the conclusion of the attack, namely one period of fencing time earlier, i.e. before the attacker has begun his last movement [1]. For you that means: you hit into his feint, not into his lunge.
If your stop hit and a simple attack meet without a period of fencing time in between, under the foil rules only the fencer attacked is counted as hit [1]. That is the price: against a fast, simple attack the stop hit is risky in foil. Parry and riposte are often the better choice there (practice). So practise with clear agreements: who attacks, who counters and who calls at the end what would have counted.
In the stop hit with opposition you close the line in which the opponent's attack would end [1]. Practice standard: your arm is straight, your blade covers the line, and you hit while doing so. That way you combine attack and cover.
In épée there is no right of way, and the attacker has no priority [3]. That is why the action in time has its greatest significance there [3]. The Hessian Fencing Association calls these actions in time a time thrust with or without blade contact (opposition) [3].
Milestone: if in ten feint attacks announced by a partner you hit before his last movement at least seven times without being hit yourself, you move on to the counter-attack. That is a practice standard, not a study value.
The stop hit is an action into an attack in which fencers often come very close to each other. Deliberately provoked body contact is penalised [3]; wear mask, jacket and glove and choose tempo and force so that a collision stays harmless (practice). Warm up: at international FIE tournaments 72.4 % of time-loss injuries affected the lower limbs, in 47.1 % without opponent contact [6].
This guide explains and motivates – it does not replace supervised training.
Read the hesitation, not the movement. Anyone who has to make a decision is slower: in a reaction study, reaction time rose with the number of possible stimuli and responses, and beginners were 25.5 to 34.8 % slower than experienced fencers [4]. So reduce the choice: first practise the stop hit against a single known stimulus only, such as your partner's feint. A small measurement on six épée fencers also showed that muscle activation began 15 to 30 milliseconds before force development [5]; preparation takes part in the decision. Small sample, only a hint.
A stop hit is a counter-attack made into an attack [1]. The American federation describes it as a counter-action at the moment of the opponent's hesitation, feint or poorly executed attack [2].
When it arrives one period of fencing time before the conclusion of the attack, i.e. before the attacker has begun the last movement [1]. If it arrives later, the touch may go to the attacker [2].
Under the foil rules only the fencer attacked is then counted as hit, provided no period of fencing time lies in between [1].
Yes. In épée there is no right of way, which is why actions in time are particularly important there [3].
The Counter-Attack in Fencing: Countering the Right of Way, Especially in Épée