Prise de Fer - Opposition

In the opposition, a fencer takes an opponent's blade in any line and then extends in that line, diverting the opponent's blade, until the action is complete. The opposition can be done from any line, and it is a strong attack when done with a straight thrust. The amount of power needed to complete an opposition is just enough to carry the opponent's blade barely out of line, but not so much as to force it into a different line.

The opposition is typically classified as an action in the French style of fencing, and it is similar to what the Italian school calls a glide. However, some doctrines teach that the opposition and the glide are separate actions, but the glide can be done using an opposition. William Gaugler defines the opposition as an action completed during a thrust in which the hand is shifted against the opponent's blade in an attempt to close the line, while the glide slides along the opponent's blade onto target. Louis Rondelle instructs that a glide should be kept in opposition and that it is "in reality a feint of direct thrust." Julio Martinez Castello refers to the glide as a "sliding thrust" that will dominate the opponent's blade by forcing it to the side.