Fencing is considered an unusual sport in the USA, but has a long and honored tradition in Europe. Of course, it was originally practiced as preparation for war and deuling. In fact, in a less direct sense, it is still used in some countries to propare soldiers for combat.

Some of the reasons that people like fencing as a sport are the same reasons that it is used as preparation for combat. It sharpens perception and readiness, reaction time, coordination, and tactical "smarts". But there are more ephemeral, almost "spiritual" reasons for fencing. Fencing creates a feeling of well-being, as do most active sports, and, best of all, involves the whole self, challenging mind and body, requiring moves so fast that they look and feel like "instinct."

The rewards for correct, coordinated, and clever moves are immediate, dramatic, and memorable. The first time a beginning fencer successfully executes a feint and makes a touch, breaking through the teacher's seemingly impenitrable defenses, he or she is "hooked."

FOIL

EPÉE

SABRE

For those who don't speak French, "touche" is not pronounced by fencers as "too-shay", as is common and even possibly correct in America. It is pronounced as "toosh."

A touch may be too light for a fencer to feel with certainty. Fencers gert so wrapped up in the action, they may not feel even a fairly solid touch against them. The solution to that is electric scoring, which also resolves the questions of whose touch landed first, and whether touches landed on- or off-target.

That leaves the more complicated question of right-of-way. In foil especially, it's not so much a matter of who landed first, although that can be imprtant, but of who "owned the attack." In foil, if two touches arrive within the same "beat of fencing time," the fencer who attacked is awarded the touch. Right-of-way can pass over to the opponent if the attacker pauses, bends the sword are, is parried, or is otherwise interrupted. If the attacker is touched while preparing to deliver the attack, the opponent gets the point, but if the attack is well under way when the attacker is touched, the point is awarded to the attacker, even if the opponent's touch landed a bit before the attacker's touch. When you realize how fast all this happens, you have an idea of what a challenge it is to accurately judge fencing bouts.

A director analyzes the action and decides points. When electric equipment is not available, the director requires the help of four judges, to declare touches and to say whether they were on- or off-target.

All fencers are expected to take turns directing for other during practice or loose sparring. Even if the director is inexperienced or lacks confidence, the fencers appreciate having someone watching, to help them decide points. In turn, the director learns to concentrate, keep up with the fencing exchanges, and identify the progresses. It's just a blur at first, then gradually comes into focus as the moves become more familiar.

E-mail me at sonja_crocker@yahoo.com

Go Home!