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Occasionally Asked Silly Questions There is no such thing as a stupid question. Okay, maybe there is. Is fencing for snobs? Absolutely! We welcome only our equals; that is, individuals keen to learn and to strive constantly to improve. We are all irrepressible romantics who are fiercely proud of the traditions and unique aspects of our sport. We readily glare down our noses at those who just come to whack uncontrollably, those who think after a week, a month, or a year, that they know all there is to learn, and those who fence only in an attempt to impress people with how cool they think they are. These fools, we do not suffer gladly. Can I make millions as a fencer doing athletic celebrity endorsements? While top ranked European fencers often get endorsement deals with fencing equipment suppliers and athletically oriented companies like Adidas, in Canada the opportunities are somewhat slimmer. In the event you should ever bring home an Olympic medal in fencing (and you would be the first Canuck to do so) you would have one of three endorsement possibilities to look forward to: McCain Frozen Foods Maple Leaf Meat products. Toothpaste In the past, our club has received free movie passes in exchange for doing fencing demonstrations at the premieres of swashbuckling flicks. This remuneration, we feel, is far better than standing in front of a camera, telling everyone about how much whiter your teeth are than your fencing jacket. Did fencing really start in ancient Egypt? "And Moses said unto Pharaoh, 'Parry-riposte, What are you blind?!' And Pharaoh said unto him 'May I remind you I am the Director of this tournament! One more comment from you and I'll give you and the entire Hebrew fencing team a black card!' But Moses could not abide the lousy presiding and thus were the Jews expelled from Egypt." We can blame this fencers' urban legend on the discovery of a relief carving from around 1190 B.C. in the temple of Madinat Habu in Egypt. It depicts a form of fencing using weapons with small basket-like hilts, slightly resembling sport sabres. The combatants also appear to be wearing some type of protective helmet, evident from the chinstrap. The left arm may have been used for defence. One must wonder just how friendly the competition is, though, seeing as the one participant is being carried off the field.       Of course, while it does bear a surface resemblance to our sport, there is no direct historical link. Other forms of fencing with sticks exist around the globe to this day. Wow, I got through all of that without any Mummy jokes! Are you guys like the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism)? No. The SCA attempts to recreate medieval and renaissance (pre-1600) combative techniques while role-playing period characters. Their weapons may be anything from historically accurate rapier reproductions to home made "swords" with fibreglass blades. The rules regulating equipment vary from "kingdom" to "kingdom." Our fencing is the modern Olympian style sport, consisting of the 3 modern competitive weapons: foil, épée and sabre. Rules of engagement and equipment requirements are standardised by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (International Fencing Federation). The rules used at the regional level are the same as those used at the Olympics. But we should mention that the F.I.E. is infamous for tinkering with the rules on an annual basis. How many fencers does it take to change a light bulb? Check the latest F.I.E. rule update. Fencing? Do you guys do white-picket or chain-link? Huh huh. It never fails. The day some knob asks me this is the day I've left my sharps at home. What, you think you're a musketeer or something? No, but if I had a musket right now... Why don’t you try a real sport? Select the answer of your choice: Why don't you try it? Do we not wear enough corporate logos and gold chains to qualify? Sport? Who said anything about sport? Only one of these fencers is walking out of this gym alive! Yah, you come back and talk to me when the NHL signs you, floor-hockey boy. It's like the old saying; it's all fun and games, until someone loses an... Oops! Sorry about that. I guess now we officially are a sport. Do you want me to get you a baggy and some ice? They might be able to put that back in. How similar is fencing to real sword fighting? About as similar as Wild Cow Milking is to practical farm chores. All of the basic actions and concepts of modern fencing originate in practical fighting techniques, but the sport has been somewhat abstracted from these roots over the years. The transition to sport from killing art began with the introduction of the fencing mask in the 18th century. Originally intended to make training safer, the mask allowed for faster, riskier actions than one would employ if one's skin (or eyes) were actually at risk. It also made fencing, for fun's sake rather than in preparation for combat, safer. The rules of fencing developed from those of the formal duel, rather than street fights, brawls, or warfare. These rules set minimum standards for manners and outlawed certain actions or techniques. Where the duellist's goal was to protect his own skin and wound the opponent, the modern fencer seeks only to score a set number of points before his opponent does, within the confines of the rules. And if you don't know what Wild Cow Milking is, check out the Calgary Stampede Rodeo events. So would fencing be good to learn as a form of self-defence? Yes, but only if: You intend to always carry a sharp sword with you. Your assailant isn't packing pocket artillery. You realise your assailant isn't likely to listen to arguments about priority or rule infractions. You don't expect the University of Calgary Fencing Club to pay your bail when you are arrested for carrying that sharp sword around. Do you ever fight real duels? What are you nuts?! You could put an eye out that way! Besides, it's illegal. According to You Can't do That in Canada by Bev Spencer, provoking, issuing, or accepting a challenge to duel, or participation in a duel, are punishable by up to two years in prison. One assumes this is before any additional charges for wounding or killing one's opponent. Is the groove on a sword blade for the blood to run down? No, and the next person I hear refer to it as a blood-groove dies! The groove is called a fuller, and it gives the blade a cross-section resembling an I-beam. This shape has an excellent strength to weight ratio. If you compared two blades of equal length and weight, one with a fuller and one without, the fullered blade would be significantly stronger. The fuller also occasionally serves a decorative purpose. Stories about it being to guide the flow of blood, or reduce suction while passing through a body, are old-wives-tales, perpetuated by the same twits who buy their swords from cutlery stores in shopping malls. In case you haven't noticed, modern épée and sabre blades have fullers. Neither of these weapons is designed to draw blood. Ask an engineer to tell you about I-beams. Okay, so like, in a death match between a kendoka and a fencer, who would win? Assuming sharp weapons, no protective armour, no rules, and equal skill, it's still a stupid question. I am kinda fat/skinny, tall/short, young/old, awkward/graceful, geeky/cool, slovenly/well-groomed, stupid/intelligent, immature/mature; would fencing be good for me? Perhaps if you are all those things at once, you should see a psychiatrist first. Stupid, slovenly, immature people need not apply. I'm an actor. Can you teach me how to swashbuckle? Swash your own friggin' buckle! However if you want to learn to fence, so that you'll look half-decent in the event you ever have to fence in a play, we might be able to help you. Our club has been known to teach basic skills and choreograph fights for local theatre groups in the past. (Note to theatre groups thinking of asking for our help: Get your actors to us as soon as they're cast, and make them take as many lessons as you possibly can!) Ideally, any actor who ever expected to do period plays would take at least a couple of years of fencing. It takes at least this long to learn how to handle a weapon with anything resembling ease. The more experience you have handling swords, the more natural you'll look swinging it on stage. While the goals of competitive and theatrical fencing are different, the techniques are all transferable. Sport fencing offers all the basic sword handling skills and theory the actor requires (except swinging from chandeliers). It is also the only internationally standardised system for learning European swordsmanship, and most theatrical combat systems of are based on the sport system (parry numbering, terminology etc.). Learning to actually fence gives one a better sense of what the actions are for, and helps the actor get into the combative mindset. If nothing else, join a club and write it off in your taxes as "professional development." (And truth be told, our club used to be called the U of C Swashbucklers.) I'm a dancer, will I be good at this? Maybe. Dancers have the advantage of being very aware of their bodies, and they are quite used to people telling them, "Put your foot like this and your arm like this. Okay, now twist this and move like that." In other words, they pick up on physical instructions quickly. Occasionally dancers get hung up in the habit of trying to make things "pretty" or "expressive," which has a tendency to interfere with combative performance. Well-executed fencing actions are inherently graceful, but this is the by-product of perfect technique, co-ordination and balance. It is interesting to note that at late 19th and early 20th century fencing competitions, medals were awarded not only for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, but for artistry as well. I've done other martial arts. Will I be good at this? Maybe. While the same concepts of speed, timing, measured aggression, and combative theory are applicable, specific techniques are rarely transferable. Individuals who have studied a variety of martial arts generally pick up on the lessons quicker, as they usually have the right mind set for learning the skills and are quite adaptable. They are also generally more "physically aware." Those who have studied only one martial art often get stuck in the habits of their former pastime. While these habits may be good for what they've studied before, they are usually detrimental to proper fencing technique. It is always entertaining to panic one of these students while fencing, and watch them leap into whatever "ready" stance they're used to. We once had a fencer who had done a year or two of Karate, and every time he thrust, he would "punch" the hit the way he had previously learned. Of course he had no point control to speak of and gave us all a lot of off-target bruises. We had another guy who refused to lift his feet when doing footwork, shuffling along instead. His martial arts instructor had told him that if he lifted his feet at all, his opponent would trip him. Tripping is not exactly a common occurrence in fencing. Does fencing hurt? What, are you a wimp or something? Most weapon-inflicted injuries are caused by over-excited beginners (not to mention former martial artists, see above). Seriously speaking, you should expect occasional bruises. It is a combative sport, after all. Is fencing really safer than golf? Yes, unless you plan to fence outside, in the open, while wearing electric fencing gear, during a thunderstorm. Do you get zapped when fencing with the electric equipment? Yes, but only because the gear at our club dates back to a period when coaches felt negative feedback, in the form of mild electric shocks, would encourage fencers to parry better. I don't want to learn foil. Could I just skip to sabre or épée? No, and stop asking! We don't let anyone flail away with a sabre or thrust with a nice stiff épée blade until they show us they can keep a light, flexible foil under control. Foil teaches all the basic techniques, concepts, and discipline required for the other two weapons. It is also by far the safest weapon to learn on, particularly for the people you will be hitting. How long does it take to learn to fence? Ed Gruberman, you must learn patience. Which is the best fencing weapon? Your brain, nitwit! If you don't know how to use that, even a bazooka won't be of much use. Is fencing really better than sex? If the choice is to do either in a gymnasium, on a metallic mesh piste, while plugged into a scoring box, with people standing around watching, and a referee awarding points, then yes, fencing is definitely better than sex. Are you guys better than the other clubs in Calgary? Of course! Epic Fencing Club is a highly competitive club, which regularly produces some of Canada's top ranked fencers, but you have to start by the age of 3 or so. That, and their website is pretty boring. Calgary Fencing Club is like a big family and also produces some excellent fencers. However, some of their coaches are kind of weird (especially you, Dennis), and a club bylaw requires that at least 51% of club members must be named Alex. If your name isn't Alex, be prepared to change it. CFC's website is also pretty boring, a surprise when you consider that their senior coach is a computer expert by day. Gladiator's Fencing Club, the city's newest, is actually run by two of Epic's champion foilists, Jeremy Hill and Elya Perritt. Neither of these guys could hit the side of a barn (provided that barn was at least 50 kilometres away and hidden behind an even bigger barn). Their website is also boring. And then there is us, the good ol' U of C Fencing Club, who are here to have fun, and bask in the romance and camaraderie of the sport (and we have a few competitive fencers who occasionally take medals at regional competitions). We pride ourselves on our friendly relationships with the other clubs in town. We also have the niftiest website by far! Hooray for us! 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