At one time I was interested in fencing. The thought of swordplay, of engaging an opponent with long sharp pointy things appealed to me
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See, as I understand it, Olympic fencing is about honor, and discipline, and giving your opponent a target to hit.
You lost me at that last part. The point is not to get hit. You're not supposed to present yourself like some punching bag; in fact, they spend a lot of time teaching you how to stand so as to present the smallest target possible while still being in a position to strike yourself.
And the one time my coach, who had 11 years of fencing on me, really went after me instead of just pretending to, trust me, there was no quarter there. On either side. It was a little like having a four minute panic attack. :)
the reason I said that was because I've heard it to be a cardable offense when you close off a target or by using your elbow, say, to block an opponent's strike. My own extrapolation of that is this: If a strike is to be blocked at all, it is a proper parry with the forepart of the weapon, and not by dodging to the side / turning differently / with the weapon's bell or grip / with the off hand.
In the martial arts I'm familiar with, you don't give your opponents any targets at all. If an opponent does strike, anything is fair game for parrying or retaliation. Surviving and getting the job done is tantamount to anything else.
Cardable only if you use the non-weapon arm or do some contortion to, say, bring a leg or your head up to cover target. Nothing wrong at all with twitching your upper weapon arm to intercept an inbound foil point! Ditto with dodging to the side (as long as you don't go off the side of the strip) or turning differently or using the bell to block/deflect the hit. In fact, fencers should be taught how to use the latter two as part of their defensive (and sometimes offensive) games. Now I'm turning 'coach mode' off -- no worries, I don't expect you to agree or to change your mind. I just didn't want to let a couple of easily corrected misconceptions stay out there in your mind. :)
But anyway, as you've absorbed, fencing isn't about fighting or survival. It's a game. If you want to keep with the dueling idea (i.e. light weapons like foils), look up the SCA or Ampguard (sp) groups in town. Their 'light fighting' is closer to what you describe wanting to do. Er, never mind, just read the rest of the comments. Good news is if you decide
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You might try Western Martial Arts, basically swordfighting with blunted steel once you get good enough to be trusted with something beyond a waster (practice weapon). I'm not sure where you are located, but Southern Circle of the Sword has groups all over the place and they are a pretty good bunch. It's not like SCA or LARP groups that focus on the roleplaying and being 'in the times' it's about learning to swordfight basically. Here's one link I found http://www.medievalcombatskills.com/
You might enjoy SCA Light Weapons fencing. But then again, you'd have to join the SCA, and that's not everyone's idea of fun. And though I had a blast with the fencing back about 9 years ago when it was getting its popularity in the South, I don't for a moment underestimate the ability of the lawsuit-phobic rulemongers of the SCA to suck all the the pleasure, (and authenticity) out of the combat.
Edit: I was replying to the main post rather than this comment but hit the wrong button. I really must get some sleep sometime...
I was in the SCA for a short time, and I did enjoy light fighting. I didn't mind being called a swishy-poke, too much :)
People there were generally pretty good about lending their equipment, but I got tired of borrowing all the time and never having my own. Poor students and all, you know :)
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You lost me at that last part. The point is not to get hit. You're not supposed to present yourself like some punching bag; in fact, they spend a lot of time teaching you how to stand so as to present the smallest target possible while still being in a position to strike yourself.
And the one time my coach, who had 11 years of fencing on me, really went after me instead of just pretending to, trust me, there was no quarter there. On either side. It was a little like having a four minute panic attack. :)
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In the martial arts I'm familiar with, you don't give your opponents any targets at all. If an opponent does strike, anything is fair game for parrying or retaliation. Surviving and getting the job done is tantamount to anything else.
Make more sense now, I hope?
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But anyway, as you've absorbed, fencing isn't about fighting or survival. It's a game. If you want to keep with the dueling idea (i.e. light weapons like foils), look up the SCA or Ampguard (sp) groups in town. Their 'light fighting' is closer to what you describe wanting to do. Er, never mind, just read the rest of the comments. Good news is if you decide ( ... )
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Here's one link I found
http://www.medievalcombatskills.com/
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Edit: I was replying to the main post rather than this comment but hit the wrong button. I really must get some sleep sometime...
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People there were generally pretty good about lending their equipment, but I got tired of borrowing all the time and never having my own. Poor students and all, you know :)
I might very well get back into it. Thanks!
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I'm also considering kendo, the japanese art of swordfighting, which I know nearly nothing about.
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