The Appel (also known in English as Call) is one of the misunderstood actions of classical fencing. An instructional tool for ensuring proper balance in the guard position, it has also been claimed to be able to scare opponents and increase the effectiveness of attacks, even in modern fencing. So we have to ask, how was the Appel described during the classical period?

1877 – French Ministry of War (Fencing Manual) – two taps with the lead foot on the ground. The body remained motionless. The Call was used as part of warding off.

1890 – Heintz (Foil Fencing Theory) – Double Appel with the front foot slightly elevated to strike the ground in the same spot twice to test the fencer’s balance.

1890 – Pollock, Grove, and Prevost (fencing, boxing, and wrestling) – a strike to the sole of the forward foot. They point out that it had been abandoned by elite fencers and comment (page 42):

“In the days when idiocy played such an important role in fencing, the Appel was thought to frighten the opponent. Of course, it never frightened anyone over the age of five, and it did nothing more than put the antagonist on guard and delay the attack of the fool who did it.”

The authors describe the fencing masters in displays beginning from the guard with an Appel and a cry of “Voila Monsieur”, presumably for dramatic effect. The suspicion that it was a performance art is strengthened by his note that the Appel was the favorite of the public.

1892 – Rondelle (foil and saber) – the call strikes the ground sharply once or twice with the lead foot without changing the position of the body to test the fencer’s balance.

1898 – La Marche (L’Epee, House translation) – use of the Appel in the flying guard, short advances with Appels, and finally with a forward gain and a shout, to alarm the opponent.

1908 – French Ministry of War (Fencing, translation of the League of Amateur Fencers of America) – action of striking the ground with the lead foot to: (1) disconcert the opponent, (2) reinforce the effect of a false attack and ( 3) make sure the students’ bodies are correctly balanced.

1920 – Manrique (Illustrated fencing foil class work) – the call as one or two stamps of the forward foot, with the body immobile, to control the fencer’s balance or to signal an opponent to stop the fight.

1930 – Cass (The Fencing Book) – The call made after the guard is assumed with two lead foot stamps as a test of balance.

These sources agree; the Appel is a footwork move that makes a distinctive sound with a strike of the front foot onto the court from the guard position. When making the call, the fencer does not move the torso. This can only be done by lifting the toes of the front foot and striking from the knee. To avoid additional knee impact, do not do this as a seal.

There is wide variation in descriptions of how the technique should be employed:

• Everyone agrees that the Appeal is made to check the balance of the shooter on guard. Attempting to execute the Call with your weight forward provides instant feedback that your weight is not evenly distributed. The Appel is consistent with the formal process of putting oneself on guard taught in the classical period.

• The Call to emphasize a false attack calls attention to the action. However, to be effective, enough real attacks with Appels should be made to prevent opponents from immediately recognizing an Appel as a fake action.

• Appeals to alarm, bewilder or frighten the opponent may work against unduly nervous or inexperienced opponents. However, Pollock, Grove, and Prevost were correct in their assessment that it alerted opponents to the intent to attack. The extra pace in the attack for the foot strike would add time for the opponent’s reaction. If done as a throttle to break inertia at the start of a lunge, the Appel can actually increase speed. However, descriptions of use in the classical period do not include speed as a goal.

• There are better ways to signal an opponent to stop than to call; is an ambiguous signal. As late as the 1960s, a sequence of Appel, stomping back foot, and Appel to signal the referee to stop was taught.

• However, if you do display classical fencing, a loud Appel and the cry of “Voila Monsieur” were crowd-pleasers at the time and would add definite color to such events today.

Use the Appel in the role it was designed for, as a training tool. As for its use in combat, perhaps most telling of the Appel is its absence from a wide variety of highly respected fencing texts of the classical period.