Combat Flow Chart: Fencing

Ron asked me to make a flow chart that mapped out what happens in a Fencing match. After attempting to make a flow chart I came to some basic conclusions. Here is the basic flow of action first:

1. Opponents face off
2. One opponent (Combatant A) will advance with an attack (usually a lunge or an advanced lunge)
3. The other opponent (Combatant B) has to defend. [This is a formality in official Fencing. This rule tries to represent a real combat scenario where the weapons are deadly. In a real fight, combatant B most likely will be stabbed if he tries to counter immediately with an opposing attack without any type of defense.] His defense usually consists of two simultaneous actions; first, he steps back to increase the distance and provide more reaction time; second, he uses his own sword to parry.
4. If the parry is successful, then Combatant B is now in a position to attack, which is called the reposte (basically a counterattack). An unsuccessful parry does not necessarily mean the attack was successful (the step back could have been enough to evade the attack). If the parry in fact is unsuccessful, Combatant A still has the opportunity to pursue attacking.

Conclusions:

1. When battling with real weapons, where one hit can potentially kill you, simultaneous attacks do not happen!!! (This is a big knock to the Simultaneous-Bridge Theory) A fist-fight or wrestling/grappling would be a better model for the aforementioned theory, because a single hit does not kill (typically).
2. The attacker has the potential to attack repeatedly if not correctly parried. This means that the parry is more than just blocking or deflecting an attack. A parry is a way to gain the advantage. Basically, it is keeping your sword/foil in the inside or on top of the opponent's sword.