52 replies to this topic

[Strum Wealh]

To those who find joy in the sport of the sword!

What weapon(s) do you fence?
What fencing/refereeing/BC anecdotes might you care to share?
Any predictions for medalists in the upcoming Olympic Games?

Which MWO/BT factions do you think best reflect the stereotypes of the various weapons and roles (in the spirit of There's Fencers in Town)?

Discuss!

Edited by Strum Wealh, 20 May 2016 - 02:24 PM.

[Rockjaw]

Hey Sturm,

Not specifically a "fencer" however. After many years of Iaido, Kendo and kenjutsu. I feel I can at least claim that I am a fellow swordsman. I've had the great pleasure of sparring with several students of fencing and enjoyed them greatly. Often, those I sparred with and i found the mental disconnect between styles quite...interesting.

Anyway. Hey.

[Tadakuma]

I haven't fenced for about 12 years but I was an ok epeeist when I did. I recently had the opportunity to do some cut and thrust sword work which was interesting (thing sabre, but with heavier slower blades) In regards to following it as a sport, well I'm in Australia, if it doesn't fit within the carefully defined bounds of cricket or one of our three football codes then good luck keeping informed on another sport.

In regards to who take the sword seriously in BT, well the only faction with a strong fencing tradition in the BT universe is the Dracs. For everyone else swords are ceremonial weapon at best.

The clans have a duelling tradition so I wouldn't be surprised if one of the clans were believers in sword use for duels but I'm unaware of any definite information about it.

[Darth JarJar]

I fence Epee' and Sabre.
2001 and 2003 MS State Champ Sabre
2003 LA Divisional Champ Sabre
2003 Nationals: 73rd in Division III Sabre
3 trips to the Junior Olympics with students of mine in Sabre

And for the past 2 years I have been studying/practicing Kendo.


Anecdotes?
If you want God and fairness to follow you, always the hand BEFORE the foot!

Predictions?
Better bet on Mariel Zagunis every time

Edited by von Bremerhaven, 04 April 2012 - 04:38 AM.

[Darth JarJar]

Rockjaw, on 03 April 2012 - 09:39 PM, said:

Hey Sturm,

Not specifically a "fencer" however. After many years of Iaido, Kendo and kenjutsu. I feel I can at least claim that I am a fellow swordsman. I've had the great pleasure of sparring with several students of fencing and enjoyed them greatly. Often, those I sparred with and i found the mental disconnect between styles quite...interesting.

Anyway. Hey.

I know what you mean, Rock. Fencing is very defensive. The idea is to survive the duel, and kill/wound the other guy if possible. Kendo is VERY physical. I like nothing more than a good Men cut, followed by a solid bodycrash, capped off with a rousing bit of taitari. My dojo does not practice passthrough Kendo, where the attacker steps around his target to follow through and perform a nice pretty zanshin. We were taught " Cut the mans head, slide the shinai through the goove and bring the tsuba up under his chin, knock his head back, then step in and drive your hips into him and put the ******** arse on the floor".

Both sports have a lot to offer, though as much as I like Fencing, it lacks the sincerity of Kendo.

[Strum Wealh]

Tadakuma, on 04 April 2012 - 03:55 AM, said:

In regards to who take the sword seriously in BT, well the only faction with a strong fencing tradition in the BT universe is the Dracs. For everyone else swords are ceremonial weapon at best.

The clans have a duelling tradition so I wouldn't be surprised if one of the clans were believers in sword use for duels but I'm unaware of any definite information about it.

Apparently, the FedSuns (or, at least, the AFFS) has a strong fencing tradition.

Quote

As befitting his birthright as the heir to Robinson and the Draconis March, [Tancred Sandoval] prepared for a life in the military. Rather than attending the Robinson Battle Academy as was expected of him, Tancred convinced his father to allow him to go off to Sakhara Academy, where he pursued his passion of fencing.

After graduation, he joined the Federated Commonwealth's Intelligence Secretariat, a job that generally kept him on New Avalon. During the mid-3050s, Tancred became fed up with CMS cadets losing to their rivals at Albion Military Academy, so he started teaching a fencing class in order to become the fencing team's coach.

Both CMS and AMA are on New Avalon, and Sakhara V is a (canonically) perma-FedSuns world near the FedSuns/Combine border.

-----

As for me, I'm an épéeist (who dabbles in sabre and has held a foil) with 7 years of fencing experience (all of which in local/division-level competitions and occasional visits to clubs near relatives) and a couple years of experience in refereeing all three weapons and running a bout committee (again, only at local/division-level events).

As for London... the competition schedule seems to indicate that Men's Team Epee and Women's Team Sabre are the events that are out this year.
(Come on, IOC... just two more sets of medals... please? )

I would predict, from the FIE rankings:
-- The Italians seem to stand a good chance of sweeping the foil medals.
-- Men's individual Sabre, and possibly Men's Team Sabre as well, could come to a Russia vs Germany final.
-- Women's Individual Sabre could be a three-way contest between Russia (Velikaya), the US (Zagunis), and the Ukraine (Kharlan).
-- The Romanians would medal in both Individual and Team Women's Epee.
-- The individual Men's Epeeists are close to each other in terms of points, and I don't know enough about each of them to make a confident guess.

Your thoughts?

Edited by Strum Wealh, 04 April 2012 - 07:59 AM.

[Mason Grimm]

I've watched every episode and movie of Highlander. Does that count?

[Strum Wealh]

Mason Grimm, on 04 April 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

I've watched every episode and movie of Highlander. Does that count?

It depends - can you count on one hand the number of dozen-increments you have watched either or both of 1.) the DPR vs Inigo fight from The Princess Bride (1987) or 2.) the final fight from Scaramouche (1952)?

[Darth JarJar]

Mason Grimm, on 04 April 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

I've watched every episode and movie of Highlander. Does that count?

There are very few Hollywood fights that count as real swordfighting.

[Solis Obscuri]

von Bremerhaven, on 04 April 2012 - 04:29 AM, said:

If you want God and fairness to follow you, always the hand BEFORE the foot!

True dat.

von Bremerhaven, on 04 April 2012 - 09:06 AM, said:

There are very few Hollywood fights that count as real swordfighting.

There are a few kicking around that are pretty good, but there have been few none in recent years...

[Jack Gallows]

Mason Grimm, on 04 April 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

I've watched every episode and movie of Highlander. Does that count?

Maybe?




And, I'm not a fencer, though I have been training in Kenjutsu, Kendo, and Iaido for the last 10-12 years. It has been an experience and I think it changes you for the better, for it feels like you're never really without your sword even when you walk off the training floor. Swordplay is something I feel everyone should try in their life, as it and many other martial arts have made mine better.

Trying to find a Kyudo school closer to my house, would love to do that as well.

[Nathiel Surefire]

I'm a fencer as well, learned it from the club here at College. Decided that epee was closest to my tastes, though after having to sacrifice the last 6 months of time to classes I'm very rusty again at this point!

[Tynam]

I'm a fencer, but not precisely qualified to answer the question, since my chosen weapon is 'various forms of medieval longsword', with 'arming sword and buckler' a close second. (Technically I've done some sabre as well, but not enough to really count.)

By historical association, of course, the longsword ought to be exemplified by the Steiners, but somehow I can't imagine that they've put enough effort into keeping the skills up. So I'll have to go with Northwind; at least they still know how to use a claymore.

(God, I really miss fencing right now. I'm off this year due to injury.)

[wwiiogre]

Just like olympic fencing has very little to do with real sword fighting. It is a stylized sport. Just like Hollywood is stylized entertainment. The problem is real sword fighting doesn't take place anymore because it is bloody, brutal and deadly.
Things modern society does not allow or condone.

chris

[Solis Obscuri]

wwiiogre, on 05 April 2012 - 12:43 PM, said:

Just like olympic fencing has very little to do with real sword fighting. It is a stylized sport. Just like Hollywood is stylized entertainment. The problem is real sword fighting doesn't take place anymore because it is bloody, brutal and deadly.
Things modern society does not allow or condone.

chris

Well... knife fights still happen, and society doesn't condone those. Hell, people shooting each other isn't something society condones, either! And looking back historically, dueling was almost always illegal, as was assaulting people with edged weapons - but despite that, both occured.

But modern firearms are more compact, more lethal, and easier to use than swords, and as a result swords aren't carried for self defense or military combat, and few people are trained in using a sword for self-defense. Likewise, the social structure that created and necessitated the duel of honor has (for better or worse) crumbled in the early part of the 20th century, and swordsmanship as preparation for the duel has largely passed on with it. The bulk of what's left is sport, and that has sadly drifted so far from its roots that it's scarcely recognizable as being related.

[Solis Obscuri]

Oh, and per the OPs question, the FWL and FRR are sabreurs, the Davions and Capellans are foilists, and the Combine and Lyrans are epeeists.

[Mason Grimm]

You guys realize I'm teasing right? I mean I could sit here and wax poetic about how Hollywood will never be able to accurate portray the true feeling of going in to combat or how firefighting on the TV/Big Screen and firefighting in real life are completely different; seriously we don't all run across rooftops with our bunker jackets open, perfectly coiffed hair, dodging the flames coming out 25 feet in between explosions to save that perfectly thin, super hot, girl with the white shirt showing just how could it is, even in the middle of a blazing inferno.

It just doesn't happen... Believe me, I've been waiting!

[Wolfgang Von Schmuck]

(tries to remember if anyone has taken pics of me when i used my Great Sword at practice.)
does SCA count? i tried fencing once. once. it wasn't 'meaty' enough for me (if that makes sense) and so i did the SCA (Society For Creative Anachronism) thing for a while. want to get back into it, but i just haven't had the money or motivation.
and there's just something awesome about trading full-speed, full-strength (for me anyway, half the guys i went to practice with were knights and dukes ) blows with a 6 foot long, inch and a half across length of rattan.
and i lacked leg armor for all but the last dozen practicies i went to. that's the only time i've ever had a bruise bigger than my spread hands, that was so dark purple it was nearly black.... good times.
i will say this: fighting in armor (even plastic or leather) is WAY different than fighting in cloth, especially when it comes to hand protection. and it turns walking around into a weight-bearing excercise. though i kept running into things i wasn't strictly 'allowed' to do: ie i would fight sword and (viking style) shield, and was constantly stopping myself from punching with the rim, or the boss of the shield (not legal due to safety) or punching with the cross or hilt-smashing using my GS (again, not legal, for safety mostly), simply because it felt like the most natural next move in the world. it makes me want to try dagorhir or some other larp just so i can do stuff like that, and fight in cloth. i have a good longsword with rebated edges, and comparing that to something like a fencing sabre.... the blade presence makes for, for lack of a better term, a much more real weapon. i handled an epee, and i was like 'that's it?' it felt so.... light. and i fence without glasses (they tend to fog up, especially with a helmet or mask) , so seeing a longsword blade that's 2 inches across at the base and tapers to a point, is a lot easier than seeing a thin gray blur. i fenced almost entirely on feel and seeing where his body was: i couldn't hardly see either blade the one time i went.
and about the hollywood/ 'real life' thing, i get what you mean. but they've gotten a lot better about it too.
i'm always watching fight scenes and they clinch up in this dramatic pose and all i'm thinking is "why the hell doesn't he bring his forehead into his nose, or knee him in the gonads, or crush his instep or...."
and don't even get me started on 'Pro Wrestling'......

[TripleHex]

MW:O isn't really about fencing and it's confining rules, in my mind. It's about using one's mech to inflict maximum punishment on the other player (or assisting in doing so, for scouts/fire-support). In fencing, the goal is to score a point, it is not the complete and utter destruction of the enemy. If the day ever comes when I have to defend my home against an invader (gods forbid), you can bet your bottom dollar I'd throw the rule book out the window. Same thing goes for mech combat. True, fencing teaches discipline, and perhaps as a model for Clan warfare, it's great, but for the IS, forget it. It's the difference between a professional boxer and a marine. Sure, the boxer knows how to hit hard, and is possibly stronger than the marine. But the marine knows how to FIGHT. View this clip if you need anymore explanation: .

[Alexander Fury]

Love to Fence

Been fencing since I was 12 and that is sadly 18yrs ago.
Havn`t competed much in the last few years, been coaching mostly.
Exclusively use the Épee
Silver Medal at the Jeux du Quebec in 97