“Blows of your blade upon your opponent’s weapon—whether
light or heavy—with a view of deflecting his point or opening a way for the
thrust, are called Beats. They can be
applied, in one way or another, from any position and against almost any
position of your opponent, and are of extreme importance in the practise of the
assault.”
--From The Art of the Foil, by Luigi Barbasetti
Bollocks. Beats
are nearly useless.
Over and over again, one of the most common mistakes I see
beginning fencers make is to overuse the beat. Barbasetti’s classical definition above is antiquated, as it is
much more applicable to fencing as martial art then to fencing as
sport. In reality, a beat does
nothing to deflect your opponent’s point, nor does it open a way for the
thrust. The only thing a beat is good
for is to surprise your opponent.
Modern weapons are so light—even the epee—that unless you
wind up and swing as hard as you can, you can’t generate the momentum you need
to actually deflect your opponent’s point or blade any meaningful
distance. Moreover, even if you did
deflect your opponent’s blade, you’ve also deflected your blade from
your original line to execute the beat, so you haven’t really gained any
ground. (If you really want to get your
opponent’s blade out of the way you’re going to do a bind or a prise de
fer, which are whole different bags of worms.)
Plus, with the present right-of-way rules, a beat is
meaningless—it doesn’t exist. The only
thing that grants you right-of-way is the extension of your arm. Taking your opponent’s blade does not give
you any material advantage as far as determining the priority of your attack.
Furthermore, when you beat you’ve pretty much just
telegraphed your attack. You’ve done
something substantial to let you opponent know that an attack is forthcoming—unless
you just do nothing after the beat, in which case making the beat was a waste
of time in the first place. Advancing
without beating, while aggressive, leaves your opponent in a much worse
position as far as determining when your final action is going to commence.
Assuming that the beat isn’t used frequently, however,
beating can serve as a good way to momentarily “stun” your opponent. Consider: You attack ten times, varying your
tempo and lines but never beating. Then,
on the eleventh attack, you beat for the first time in the match. Perhaps it will accomplish nothing, but
perhaps your opponent will be surprised and confused enough at your change in
tactics enough to momentarily drop his guard and allow you to score an easy
touch. That is how I employ the beat,
and in my opinion the only time to ever do so.