Range Control

Range control is your ability to effectively control the distance between you and your opponent.  This starts concretely with where your feet are vs where your opponents feet are and then begins to take into account details from the waist up.  Range control comes down to being able to measure/control your own threat range relative to that of your opponents.  Your threat range is the area in which you can quickly swing.  For most people this is the length of their weapon when swung to full extension plus a single step.  There are ways to improve your reach that I’ll get into later but for now get that picture in your head.  The range that you threaten also includes the full range of the arc of every swing that you can take, so it’s not JUST the maximum distance you can swing but also the left and right of the peak of your arc.  For most blue weapons this is just a normal strike, but for reds this often involves “casting”, IE, throwing one handed swings that lose speed/force and gain a significant increase in reach.  Knowing a person’s threat range is supremely important when fighting florentine because literally every support weapon will out range you.  Knowing by how much is the difference between skating safely outside of their threat range and being skewered.

Swing Arc

Range control is done primarily with a person’s feet but also takes into account where a person is vertically (as controlled by how much they crouch/stand tall) as well as the position of their arms.  Your maximum reach for any weapon will always be directly out in front of you.  Additionally the most force you can generate will always be in the center or the apex of the arc.  The more you go to either side of the center the more of the maximum force you can deliver is being given up.  This becomes important later but just table that in your mind for now.

So your range for a shot at arm level is going to be greater than your range for a shot above or below your arm level.  If you want to get more reach vertically you can do so by either standing up more straight or by crouching lower.  As previously mentioned a red user can throw a one handed shot to extend these arcs, making it so that by giving up more of their power they gain reach instead.  This actually becomes an excellent opportunity to block, but more on that later.

Coiling  

Range control can also be done with the positioning of a person’s body.  By starting with your body coiled, IE, all joints slightly bent, you will get slightly more range then you would if you started with your body at full extension.  For those who don’t believe me there’s a simple way of testing this.  Set yourself sword distance away from an opponent and set your stance so that one hand is forward and one hand is back.  Without moving your feet, or rotating your back into the opponent's range, place your sword as though you were going to swing it with your forward hand.  Now repeat with your back hand.  What you’ll find is that the back hand has 2 to 3 inches on the front hand in terms of range that it can safely deliver.  The reason for this is that because your front hand is already at extension it’s range is only the range of your weapon plus the range of your arm.  Your back hand meanwhile is coiled so it’s range is the range of your weapon, plus the range of your arm, plus the range of your shoulder joint, plus the range you get from pulling one shoulder back to put the other shoulder forward, plus any range you can get from your back knee.  With your front hand engaging your shoulder joint means breaking your line and giving your opponent a shot at your back.  Engaging your back knee while swinging with your front hand doesn’t do anything, and if you engage your front knee for reach then you’re bending over which again exposes your back to being struck.  That’s a practical example.  Here’s an easier one - sit down, take on hand, put it into a fist and reach out as far as is comfortable.  Next, using the other hand in a fist simply punch into the air.  You’ll notice that one fist is now further in front then the other fist.  If you do this backwards you’ll notice that it still works.  Both of your arms have the same reach but when you punch you pull the forward hand back slightly so as to give your new forward hand more distance.  This is just body mechanics but it’s important for understanding your own reach as well as your opponents.  This is also an example of transferring momentum - by taking energy from your extended right side (for example) and shifting it to your left hand (for example) your left hand is able to move faster and go farther than it would have been able to if lock up the right side of your body and prevent it from moving at all.

Putting it all together

Range control then is broken down into three basic pieces that you control - the placement of your feet, the positioning of your body (crouched, standing tall, leaning forward, leaning backwards) and the placement of your arms (forward vs backwards) - as well as a few things you don’t control - the length of your arms and legs, the distance you can make in one step, and the length of the weapon you are currently holding.  There are things that you can do that will increase the distance that you can make in one step through training, but at any given moment that will be a static attribute.  You can also of course change the gear that you’re using but moment to moment that is also a static attribute.  The only exception to the last bit about gear is that how you hold a weapon can increase/decrease its range.  By choking up on a weapon you’ll lose reach but gain power and speed for your swings and blocks.  When in close and grinding on an opponent this is a great thing to do.  By pulling your grip down towards the pommel you’ll lose some power and speed but get additional range.  One of the easier feints is to miss a shot while choked up on a weapon to show an opponent that they are out of range, only to then hold a weapon down by the pommel and strike them easily.