Fencing: The Argument

"It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first." -Pride and Prejudice

If you've read my post on the trends of modern fencing, this article will make some sense.

If you haven't, read it: http://sentimenttodiferro.blogspot.com/2009/12/fencing-is-really-romantic-sport.html.

This understanding of Postmodern/Electrical Fencing, Modern/Classical Fencing, and Classical/Historical Fencing is a relatively recent division. Up until the 1950's there was just "Fencing". With the advent of the electrical foil for competitions, the traditional, visually-judged standard foil game became relegated to beginner's tournaments. It was (and is) thought that learning standard foil not only gave one a solid discipline in clean and effective fencing, but could also serve as a bridge to studying its electrical cousin.

The discipline needed to demonstrate a visually-clear touch in standard foil fencing puts more emphasis on form and phrase, on "clean" fencing. This is a wonderful game in itself, and recently has been revived,

though with varying approaches.

As a side note, the standard foil is also referred in the U.S. as a dry or practice foil, while in the U.K. it is given the quaint name of "steam foil", a semi-snub referring to the old days of steam (perspiration) power before the advent of electrification. Perspiration hasn't been rendered obsolete yet.

A Standard foil bout. Note the judges.

As much as I like the standard foil game--and sabre for that matter--some people take it far too seriously. Some classical/historical fencers treat fencing as a martial art, with absolutely no sporting connotations, and go about training for the hypothetical duel they'll never have. I do not agree with this overly bellicose view. Fencing is a martial art, but in contemporary times it is also and inescapably a sport. Yes, fencing was originally training for a duel, and when dueling died out, the sport of fencing was left. I think standard foil, just because it is older retains more elements of the duel than electrical foil, such as side judges (originally the duelists' "seconds"), and an overall more defensive, technical approach to the bout. However, the proponents of the electrical game and the standard game should not be at odds with each other. It's a bit like volleyball. There's indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. They're almost identical, but with enough

differences to have two distinct versions of the sport. You might prefer one over the other, but that doesn't necessarily mean the other version is anathema. Besides, ultimately it is not the technology that matters. You will have to adapt technique to whether you are fencing standard or electrical, but the short-term tactics and long-term strategies of fencing is equally as important in both. Again though, you might prefer one over the other. Either way have fun. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Good Fencing!

p.s. The term "classical", until recently, referred to the traditional European approach to teaching fencing. It is still used in the best fencing schools, though slightly adapted to the faster pace of modern fencing. There are two great classical schools, the French and Italian. Nowadays, the two schools have blended into each other, creating the modern international style.