I'm currently re reading "Epee Fencing" by Imre Vass and for the first time I'm lucky enough to have the original "Párbajtőr Vívás" alongside to compare. I have to admit initially I got a bit angry at some of the errors and then I was reminded that not even all the Hungarian coaches understand this stuff properly and recently heard that even one of Vass famous students made some similar mistakes when he began coaching.

I have a pretty good idea of where the mistranslations and errors from the editor came from. The essential problem is that the American system of fencing, reflects very much the path that the English system has which is to say that they are developments of the French system, however the system that Vass produced has its core in the Italian. It may not seem that this is significant at first glance but when you try to force the Hungarian system to fit the terms as defined in the French system it doesn't fit. The names are different and the execution is different in way more of the actions than most people realise.

We've got the classic numbering the parries issue (come on America, if your kids learning Karate can learn some Japanese, you can handle a handful of French words to describe parry positions.) Normally it's not that big of an issue except that in this book Imre Vass used numbers to refer to how the hand is rotated. These "hand positions" (kéz helyzet) are not "parry positions" (védés helyzet). Normally it's not a problem but here if Vass says to make a parry four and then rotate your hand into position five for the ripost, using the french understanding you will turn your hand the wrong way. The next issue is the word "bind". The words for bind (kötés) in the book and bind thrust (kötött) are a definition that is often misunderstood. Kötés is not an attack but rather a grazing movement that redirects your opponents point. Clearing the line of attack. A better translation of kötés for me is "graze" it is similar in some ways to the concept of "engage" in the French system, however you might also say "coulé" in reality it sits somewhere between the two, which is why I like the word "graze". Throughout the book the editor uses the term "filo" in place of "bind thrust" this word is used interchangeably in Hungary very often as much as kötött. (I believe it has some origin in the Italian). Unfortunately this use of the word "bind" prompted the editor to move the "change thrust" to be the fourth chapter instead. Change thrust (váltó szúrás) requires the blades to begin in contact (engaged/kötés) in one line, and then to change to a new line by way of passing the tip around the guard. By switching the chapters you are asking someone to make this change before they have learned how to touch the blades together. My old Hungarian coach used to ask, "how can you disengage something that is not engaged?" The problem then appears again as you go through the book, the word bind is used and might mean kötés or kötött (graze or filo) this creates a world of problems when you are in the section on feints especially (Relegated to an appendix and yet probably the most important to have a complete focus on.) I'm honestly not sure why there is a reordering for the placement of renewed counterattacks as well but it doesn't make as much difference. One useful addition in the newest translation was at least the explanation of why destructive parries (bontó) are named differently from the rest. This definition had been largely lost even in Hungary, with most coaches asked why it's called that, giving the answer "because it is". I'm hoping one day to work on a more accurate translation. But my hope is that in the meantime these clarifications help people to start getting more from this book.

I watched a few videos but I saw different things, and I don’t know if the Leon Paul sockets in those videos correspond to the Absolute Fencing socket I have.

Another question: how much of the wire should I strip when I’m wrapping it around the socket?

Thanks!

I plan to write an article for the USA Fencing magazine soon on mental training in fencing.

Are there any specific questions you have, or specific topics you’d want to see covered?

I plan to write an article for the USA Fencing magazine soon on mental training in fencing.

Are there any specific questions you have, or specific topics you’d want to see covered?

So, I’ve been fencing for about eight years. I feel like I haven’t made all that much improvement. Besides getting physically stronger and getting some more stamina over the years, I wouldn’t say I’ve actually made much of an improvement. Has anyone else had issues like that? The best explanation I can think of is that I’ve never had an experienced coach before (I do now that I’m on a college team).

I’ve been told my footwork and lunges are decent and I have generally good form. But I just keep getting beat by people with far less experience. Any ideas or suggestions on what I’m missing?

I recently picked up fencing again from about 5 years ago and found my gear in my old bag. Unsurprisingly one of the epee blade was rusted to high hell. The entire blade is completely rusted till it’s smooth to touch. The other blade however was fine. I’ve been using that epee but due to my oversight of putting the blade with my sweaty jacket and breeches (I now know that I shouldn’t do that after research haha) it’s beginning to rust.

As these are old blades and not the new ones that don’t rust, I don’t have anyone to teach me in the club. I’ve been doing some research and bought sandpaper, mineral oil as well as a garden hose pipe to cover my blade when I put it in the bag. I am planning to use the coarser sandpaper to sand all the rust off before using the finer one to completely get it all off and then using a damp cloth to wipe down the blade. After wiping the blade using a dry cloth to ensure it is dry, I will use the mineral oil to prevent rusting while wiping the oil off before training so as not to stain anyone’s equipment.

What I want to know is if I can use sandpaper to remove the rust from both blades? I have seen people online saying that I shouldn’t and that the sandpaper will leave fine bits in my blade and cause it to break or eat away at the metal or something. Now I’m worried that I shouldn’t use the sandpaper so if anyone experienced can offer me some advice on whether sandpaper is ok to sand the rust off or whether I should use something else. If my method of removing the rust is wrong as well I would greatly appreciate the help in pointing any mistake out or what I should do differently! Thank you in advance!

Hey folks, HEMA practitioner here looking for some mask parts. I think I misplaced my mask strap this week and I'm trying to find a Canadian retailer that will sell me some replacements. They don't have to conform to the FIE standards, but I think my mask is set up for them to do so. For reference, this is my mask. I'd love to not pay like.. $50 for shipping for what amounts to some velcro and elastic if possible which is what all the US retailers have been estimating for me. Any help from Canadian fencers is appreciated!

Hey crew. I’m a 23 year old guy from New Zealand and would love some advice on fencing in Europe. I’ve been fencing since I was around ten but have been working in mining in Australia for the last few years and have struggled to find the time. Looking at doing 6-8 months over in Europe to develop some skills and get an edge on the guys back here. If anyone knows of a great place to live that has a wicked good epee club I would love to know (visas aren’t an issue for me). Many thanks, Baz. 😎

There's a tournament on askfred with this. The tournament is in Wyoming

Unsanctioned team event. Each team will consist of an epeeist, foilist, and saberist. Please register under the foil team. If you do not have a team, you may show up and you will be assigned one.

I'm not intending to enter, (no where near us) but I'm just curious how this works? Is it just to 15 with each person fencing their own weapon partner?

I’m planning on ordering a fresh pair of knickers and a new jacket and after much hemming and hawing have decided to go with Allstar startex stuff. So far as I know there are basically two choices to order from here in the States: Blue Gauntlet and Allstar NYC. In the past I’ve gotten really good customer service from BG, but Allstar NYC’s prices are significantly lower. Having said that, I’ve tried reaching out to them twice with questions and have heard only crickets. Has anybody had a positive experience ordering from them? Are there any other vendors who sell Allstar stuff? Thanks for your help

An apolitical question. The incoming admin is saying they want higher overall tariffs. 200% for China good, 20%-50% for EU goods, etc.

Considering most of our equipment is China or EU based, do you see the sport getting more expensive and less affordable?

Non-US fencers, if you've experienced something like this, how did it go for you? Also, please tut-tut disparagingly in our direction. This is of our own making.

Pretty simple question: has anyone used the large Tacktonite rubber grip from Leon Paul? Any pros and cons compared to the medium? The only spec the site gives is the weight, but it would be nice to know what "large" means in terms of dimensions.

I find the leather handle a bit too "thin" (if you can call it that). After ordering a few, I ended up swapping them out with my spare Uhlmann/Allstar grips. I have a full saber coming from LP with the medium grip, which I assume will be fine. I'd like to try the large grip, but I'm not too keen on giving my jobless leather grips a new friend, so any insights are appreciated! 😊

Hi, friends! I have a question about breeches suspenders. I really dislike the elastic suspenders that come with them; they lose their stretch incredibly fast, and I constantly have to replace them. So, I switched to leather suspenders, similar to this, which I attach with the suspender lobster hooks. They work fine, in my opinion.

Do you think there could be any safety issues with this setup? The leather suspenders don’t adapt to body movements as well as the elastic ones since they have a fixed length, but I find the difference minimal. Plus, they don’t slide off my shoulders, which used to happen occasionally with the elastic suspenders.

I’m aware this might not pass inspection for competitions, but it doesn’t hurt to ask: is any customization of fencing clothing like this allowed at all? Would you allow? Competitions aren’t a concern for me, since I practice mainly for fun and to stay active. Also, I haven’t removed the elastic suspenders — I just tuck them inside -, I can always switch back to them if needed.

Any thoughts? I searched through past posts to see if anyone had asked a similar question before but couldn’t find anything that addressed this specific issue. If this has been discussed before, my bad!

Edit: forgot hyperlink

Happy Fencing Friday, an /r/Fencing tradition.

Welcome back to our weekly ask anything megathread where you can feel free to ask whatever is on your mind without fear of being called a moron just for asking. Be sure to check out all the previous megathreads as well as our sidebar FAQ.

For context, I am an A rated Foilist and I'm trying to get 'A' rated for the other two weapons as well. I already got my A in Epee, but Sabre is quite different than what I am used to. Any tips on how a foilist should fence sabre, or should I accept my fate and give up on my A in Sabre. I find right of way pretty confusing and defence almost impossible, any help would be appreciated.

Kay Aoyama founded the oldest continuously running fencing club in Ontario at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University). She was Canadian national champion and also competed in the Commonwealth games. She was a well liked fixture of the Canadian fencing world for many years.

https://obituaries.thestar.com/obituary/kyoko-aoyama-1091805472/

...for the parent who thought you were me today at the NAC!

He must've not watched my vids too closely if he got our faces confused!!

Thanks for relating this after we all had dinner....definitely funny!

So I am relatively new to fencing, about one year, and I just got my first Sabre mask. When I bought it my head was one inch short of large so I decided to get it for future proofing. But now when I wear my mask, it’s almost like it has an upward angle. I don’t know if this is because of the size or I just need to break it in more, and if there is a fast way to break it in?

So as previously stated, I just got a pair of fencing pants. We have one more practice before we go to a tournament. Would you recommend wearing the pants to practice to break them in? Or would I be fine just using them the day of our tournament?

UPDATE: Wore them to practice and it went well. By breaking in I really just meant getting used to them. They fit just fine.

So that of the title, how did you get started?

When I was 11 years old we went to Caen and there an old acquittance of my father told him to get me into the fencing club because I was bored. He did it and I did fencing two days a week during the whole 2 months that we were there at Caen.

After that we came to our country and I kept on it up until I was 20.

Now I am 22 and I got into it again some days ago! I forgot how much exciting fencing can be. I'm very happy of having restarted!

Hey everyone! I've developed a new scoring box. Since the beginning of this year it's been tested and debugged at several local clubs in the Denver area, including being used reliably at various tournaments (across all 3 weapons) within last 3 months.

https://skewered-fencing.com/scoring-box

It's jam-packed with features, combining the best aspects of other scoring machines into one! For example, it includes:

• scores (up to 99) and a period indicator (up to 9)
• bout timer and 1-min break timer, as well as...
• ...a separate shot clock (passivity timer) for foil and epee
• red/yellow cards, as well as separate red/yellow p-cards
• priority indication and random priority selection
• Late hit and whipover indicators a la VSM.

There's also a totally novel timeline feature that shows the order of events that happened during a touch. It can answer questions like:

• Did that touch arrive before or after the parry?
• Was there actually any blade contact during that attack?
• Did the initial hit connect? or only the counter-riposte?

There's an IR remote that controls all of the box functionality and is USB-C rechargeable.

The hardware on the boxes includes bluetooth and wifi capability, so I'm also working on having built-in tournament support via integration with Fencing Time as well as bluetooth-based video replay via the SFS App. This will be added via a software upgrade.

Speaking of video replay, it also includes an RJ11-based serial connection that can be used to connect (via an adapter) to a Favero-compatible repeater light or .... to other thing I'm building ...

... a plug-and-play video replay system!

This is still in development, but I have a local prototype working fairly smoothly and completely integrated with the box. Given power, an RJ-11 (telephone cord) connection to the box, and an HDMI connection to a monitor, it will automatically record a few seconds before and after a touch. The replay button on the remote will then allow viewing the last touch in slow motion along with a synchronized light indicator overlay -- no separate Mac/Win computer or dedicated video personnel required.

It uses a high-res, high-speed camera with an interchangeable lens. Currently it seems like a fisheye lens allows capturing the entire strip when the camera is placed about 1.5m back from the strip. The framerate is currently 50 fps but I think I might be able to get it up to 90 fps.

I want to make the video replay more useful than just for reviewing single touches in tournaments. Instead, I want to be able to allow fencers to identify themselves to the box and then allow recording, uploading, and reviewing entire bouts for specific fencers. This would hopefully allow fencers and coaches to easily review bouts and help new fencers learn more quickly! Live streaming of tournament bouts would also be awesome.

Anyways, I've spent quite a lot of time on this and I am about to setup a kickstarter to see if I can sell these more widely. They aren't officially FIE homologated yet, but they do have all of the FIE scoring machine timings and requirements (from the material-M rules) strictly programmed and tested. I would love to hear suggestions or feedback!

The tip on one of my blades wasn't moving smoothly and was not always connecting, so I took the tip off, cleaned the inside with alcohol on a swab, and reassembled. Now it slides nicely, but no connection at all. Tried a new tip, a small screwdriver in the barrel to test connection, and tested the cord. No luck.

Any other tests I can try or should I assume the wire is broken?

https://youtu.be/5JigsNa3u_s?feature=shared

Always have thought that a parry dagger is more of a hema thing, but it seems that a parry dagger is also a staple in fencing curriculums in the past. Is it possible that there are ongoing plans to bring it to FIE?

(Personally I think if France get to choose a new sport to add in their Olympics, it should be this)

Hi! I am a Uni student (F22) and have joined my school’s fencing club! I’ve already had a couple of training sessions and I’m now looking for suggestions on what workouts I can do outside of training to improve my strength and stamina in fencing!

Just a bit of background. I’m a midsize girlie with literally NO sports background. I hated sports other than swimming and spent most of my time being rather sedentary. Thankfully I am now being a lot more active, going to the gym twice a week, run 1km 6 days a week and have fencing training once a week. However it is still not enough and I struggle so much during training sessions that it’s just not fun at all. :(

After a couple of footwork, my leg muscles start being stiff and I end up struggling to not drag my feet while doing footwork. Us beginners would have to do some blade work as well and it’s embarrassing how I struggle to poke the dummy properly because of how exhausted I am. By the time we can actually spar, I’m overstimulated, exhausted and overall a walking floppy pancake. Sparring isn’t fun at all because I can’t move my arm fast enough to parry or move. It doesn’t help that I naturally tend to attack first🙂‍↕️.

I’m planning on adding footwork to my daily routine to build the leg muscles but I need more. For those who were/are in a similar position as me, what do you do?

Ps: I’m doing epee and I’m lowkey regretting it because holy shit the weight of it becomes more obvious when your arm is spaghetti weak 😭

Simple question and I know I should know the answer but is point in line valid as a method of gaining right of way while retreating? Or do you have to be stopped or moving forward

I want a light, fast saber!!