Sword fencing - fencing for fitness and fun

Sword Fencing – sport of mind and body

Fitness for body and mind

http://www.pegasusroyalfencingclub.com/ 1

Sunil Kumar – Fencing Coach in Delhi NCR


Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Benefits of Sword fencing

Fencing for Fitness –

• Lower body strength, speed and flexibility because of quick footwork you need to develop

• Great hand-eye-footwork coordination

• Agility, Balance, over all flexibility

Mind workout -

• Focus

• Hand-Eye-foot coordination

• Analytical and problem solving skills

• Quick decision making

• Fun with skills and hence a stress reliever exercise

Career and education –

• Lot of national and international universities offer sports quota’s to fencers for higher studies

• You can build your career as Olympic fencer and later as fencing coach or a teacher as intelligent people are

natural fencer


Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Go for it Fencer

Exercising for Fitness tends to be very monotonous and boring sometime, as you follow certain routine exercise

that doesn’t help you work out you mind. May be you have solution – Fencing for Fitness .

You exercise for body workout and play chess for mind workout. May be you can workout both body and mind

with Fencing.

Smart people are natural fencer. Sword fencing not only requires you develop completely new set of fun skills

but also strategic intelligence that many of the smart people find only in chess.

Fencing sport is not confined to be sports of youth or elite only, but there are many academies that conduct

group classes at a very reasonable prices and also friendly bouts against your group partners or other academy

to test your progress..

So don’t think its too late or too expensive. Go for fencing for fitness while living that child hood dream of

being a brave, adventurous knight with shining sword in hand.

The sport of fencing is an art of strength and strategy, unlike the choreographed bouts

one sees in movies or on live stage show.

In a real bout you don’t swing from a chandelier or hang in the balconies, but two

fencers perform an intense footwork on a six-fee-by40-feet strip.

The movements and steps of two players are so fast that one has to keep a score

through an electric machine called apparatus.


Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Sword Fencing


Three types of weapons are used in fencing in modern fencing -

1. Foil

2. Epee

3. Sabre

Until recently, in history of sports fencing, women were permitted to compete only in foil for reasons explained later in the article. USFA and FIE offer national competitions for epee and sabre. Post these national competitions in two countries, in 1989, Women’s epee became part of World Championships. Later in 1996 Olympic Games, women’s epee was introduced as competition in second international and even more prestigious event.

One can play in all three categories but each weapon has its own characteristics and way of use and player tend to specialize in one of these based on their interest and ease to handle it. Nedo Nadi is the only person who has won Olympic medal in all the three disciplines in same Olympic game in 1920

The three weapons differ for the target area. While Foil and epee are similar in terms of point-thrust, Sabre is not only a point-thrusting but also a cutting weapon. However, all the three weapons required quick witted strategic fast moves by the player and hence have to be scored electrically.

Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Sword Fencing

An object in fencing bout, is nothing but “game”. In modern day fencing in Olympics we have

• Direct elimination play and • Preliminary pool play format

In direct elimination play one player has to effectively score 15 points, while in preliminary pool play one has to score five points on opponent play before he or she scores that number on first player. Every contact between weapon and opponent players’ body in target area would earn a point for first player. Direct elimination matches consist of three three-minute periods.


Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Fencing sports

Features of foil weapon – • Flexible rectangular blade • Approximately 35 inches in length • It weighs about less than one pound

Target area of foil weapon –

• Player scores point with the tip of the blade. • The tip must land within the torso of the body


Target area in detail (valid target area in foil) – • The valid target is the torso which is essentially from the

shoulders to the groin, front and back. • It does not include the arms, neck, head and legs

Uniform of a Foil fencer –

• It includes a metallic vest which is also called Lame. It covers the valid target as explained above. The metallic vest would help register weapon tip touch on the scoring machine.

Tip of the blade and its networking with uniform - • A small, spring-loaded tip is attached to the point of the foil weapon. This tip is connected to a wire inside the

blade. • The fencer wears a body cord inside his uniform which connects the foil to a reel wire, connected to the scoring

machine

Reading the score on machine – • There are two scoring lights on the machine. One shows a green light when a fencer is hit, and one shows a red

light when her opponent is hit. • A touch landing outside the valid target area (that which is not covered by the lame) is indicated by a white light.

These “off target” hits do not count in the scoring, but they do stop the fencing action temporarily

Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Foil Fencing sports

The epee, pronounced as “EPP-pay” is actually a descendant of the dueling sword.

Features of foil weapon –

• Like foil it is 35 inches in length • But it is heavier than foil, weighing approximately 27 ounces • It has larger guard to protect the hand from a valid hit • A stiffer blade

Target area of Épée weapon –

• The entire body is valid target area • Touches are scored only with the point of blade


Uniform of a Épée fencer –

• It includes a metallic vest which is also called Lame. It covers the valid target as explained above. The metallic vest would help register weapon tip touch on the scoring machine.

• The blade is wired with a spring loaded tip • Player needs to press it beyond a pressure of 750 grams to complete the electrical circuit • The process of pressing the tip to complete the electrical circuit would cause the colored bulb on the

scoring machine to light • Epee fencer’s uniform does not include a lame or torso jacket because entire body is valid target area • Also off-target hits do not register on the machine

Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Epee Fencing Sports

If you take it literally sabre is the oldest way of sword dueling. It is modified modern version of past slashing cavalry sword.

• Like epee, Sabre weapon also has hand protection but molded as bell guard. • A socket for body wire is found underneath the bell guard • Entire standard weapon is about 41 inches and of maximum weight of 500g. • It is shorter than foil and epee and lighter than the epee

Target area of Sabre weapon –

• The major difference is that sabre is a thrusting weapon as well as a cutting weapon. Which means you can not only use tip to score but entire blade can be used to score.

• Target area is from the bend of the hips, both front and back, to the top of the head. • Notice that Head and body above hips is part of target area. This is what makes it very similar to cavalry rider on a horse.

Blade and its networking with uniform and scoring on machine -

• The fencer’s uniform includes a metallic jacket which is called lame • This covers the target area to register a valid touch on the scoring machine • Since head is part of valid target area, the mask is different from foil and epee, with a metallic covering • Just as in foil, there are two scoring lights on the machine. One shows a green light when a fencer is hit, and one shows a

red light when the opponent has hit. Off-target hits do not register on the machine.


Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Sabre Sword Fencing


Pegasus Royal Fencing Club – Benefits of Sword fencing

Fencing for Fitness –

• Lower body strength, speed and flexibility because of quick footwork you need to develop

• Great hand-eye-footwork coordination

• Agility, Balance, over all flexibility

Mind workout -

• Focus

• Hand-Eye-foot coordination

• Analytical and problem solving skills

• Quick decision making

• Fun with skills and hence a stress reliever exercise

Career and education –

• Lot of national and international universities offer sports quota’s to fencers for higher studies

• You can build your career as Olympic fencer and later as fencing coach or a teacher as intelligent people are

natural fencer

Sword fencing - fencing for fitness and fun

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