So I am two days into Epee Fencing and I am beat (sadly I won't have time to fence again till next Monday or Wednesday). I know I am not in the shape I was when I first started fencing. I was an active youth always doing something, but these days between work and college studies (at 33 years old) I've fallen a bit behind. I joined a gym because the fencing club doesn't have equipment like FEX (The Fencing Exchange, my first fencing club) did. This new club is completely devoted to skill training, all other training like endurance and strength is up to me.

I remember being able to step on the strip and going for at least an hour, sometimes more. Now i'm lucky to last 20 minutes. Yesterday was a lesson day and I stood on guard in front of Master Rolland (He likes to be called Rolly). Although I haven't fenced in years i've made it a point to work on foot work and hand position and it paid off. In the on guard 4 Rolly suggested that I widen my stance about 6 inches and pulled my guard towards him about an inch telling me that my hand showed under the bell guard only slightly.

Next my fellow fencers and I advanced, retreated, extended, and lunged. I stayed in perfect form throughout everything except my extension it was a little low. Following that we did a few drills on parry 6 followed by extension. I wavered a little at first but I performed well once my body remembered the move.

After 1 hour of class it was free bouting. Already I was tired because I am not in the shape I once was but I was paired up against a senior member of the club and also someone that has done Foil in the past. He noticed many of my movements and attacks were predominately towards the body and pointed out where I could have hit his arm with less movements. Rolly was also there pointing out that my parry was great but that I need to immediately extend after. I'm still focus'd on right of way and torso as target but i learned so much last night that I can't grasp it all at once.

Tonight I fenced and older gentleman and a young man about 17. The older gentle man lacks in foot work because his body doesn't move that way anymore but his hand work is stunning he is able to reach second intent without pause and we went all the way to fifth intent at least 3 times and each exchange lasted no more that 4 seconds. He explained to me that I was to intent on his blade and where it was. He told me that once I engaged his blade and moved it to where "I" wanted it that I need to disengage, extend, and find a line to attack, and worry about everything else after. I scored some great touches against him and he taught me alot.

My next bout against the 17 year old was tough. I was tired, I went to the gym today and did some endurance training with my trainer. It was supposed to be an example of what edurance training is all about but I am so out of shape it tired me out quick! Well I squared off with the young man and he scored 8 touches on me without sweating. In the background I could hear Kelly (the older gentleman) saying extend better, get it fully extended, don't back up. I knew he was talking to me and I did my best to listen. Out of the next 8 touches 6 were mine, I parried and extended and held my line and the young man walked right into my blade. Once I had to change my line slightly to get the touch on his hip but all other 5 touches were on his arm. It felt great and I thanked the young man for the bout and that he taught me a lot. I also thanked Kelly for his inspiration in my ear.

 

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you do gay things.

 

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Hmmm no you are wrong. Fencing is a sport that is big in the Olympics as well as a world wide recognized competition.It is one of the few that has a world wide recognition and world wide set of rules. Not gay but is strange. You could do it if you tried because there is more arm requirement than leg. I've fence against a woman with MS, another was a man in a wheel chair, a bout against a one armed person, and i've fenced against someone with one leg. No this sport is intensive and athletic. Not gay. To be gay it would have to be something like WWE. Which i'm sure you TIVO every time it's on.

 

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If a gay person calls something gay, you can bet your ass its gay.

 

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there's more risk in fake wrestling than there is in getting bedecked in padded armor and swinging a bendy poker about with a ball on the end so no one gets hurt.

 

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Not when it's Cao because that just means she doesn't understand what's going on. So when she calls something Gay it's a huge flag of "I can't wrap my limited brain around this so it's dumb. I'll call it GAY and everyone will agree with me!"

I don't think even half of ACF could endure to work out that a fencer needs to face in a week. Hell I can't even handle half of what I used to do 10 years ago. I'm lucky that my muscle memory was good enough to do as well as I have.

Any ACFer that hasn't Fenced and wants to talk crap needs to try it. You'll learn that you suck and you suck against a 10 year old that will score hits against you while you are huffing and puffing and complaining that fencing is unfair.

 

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No one ever said it was easy.

 

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Three layers of less than 1/64 cloth and a tip that isn't baited. In electric fencing (Foil and Epee) it is a push button tip not a rubber tip. Blades can break and will when you least expect it. More people die in fencing bouts than wrestling. Which is why stricter protective gear is encourage. The last person to die in fencing had a blade break against their mask and pierce it. Their skull was pierced with a blade smaller than an unsharpened pencil cut in forths. You gonna take that risk? The muscle power needed for fencing as well as the endurance is beyond any other sport you know that last less than 20 minutes.

I can't even begin to tell you about the leg strength and explosive leg strength need to make lunges. The arm, elbow, wrist, and finger control to make a touch. On top of that you are reacting to another persons movments. Their distance from you. The height of their blade. The stance of their feet. Where they are looking. How long they have been fencing.

Again Cao my sport is not Gay. It's unusual. It's a martial art. But it is not strange and unusual at the same time. More people perform a form of Fencing (the way if the sword) than any other martial art.

 

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I know what fencing is... but whenever I see the word I now think of Fencing... Like Planking... and picture this:

 

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you fenced some old dude's "sword" away and thrust forcefully at his "opening". that's pretty gay dude.

 

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