O.K.,I Gave it a go...

[Fencer X]

Fencer X wrote:

Shhhh! Don't let this get around<g>

Been fencing classical for awhile, now.
Limited opponents & bouting led me to put on
all the hardware & give electric sport foil
a whirl. Being it's all I know, I maintained
classic french form. Thought I'd get trashed,
But in three bouts, the results-

First bout- won 15-4
Second bout- Young Asian girl killed me, 15-6
Third bout- Lost to a good young fencer,a
respectable 15-13.

I found I was able to maintain classical form
(mostly) & still fence, in the 21st century.
For me, this opens up more opportunities, to
fence *more*. All in all, it was *fun*, a
good experience.

Who's that around here, says you *can* teach
an old dog new tricks?

-Fencer X

[attila]

Hey fencer X

Itr is all about fun! If you had a good time it was a good time,eh?!

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"Kill the men, save the women, and by the gods, do not spill the wine"

[Peach]

Shhhh - it's a secret, but good form pays off whether you're fencing classical or Olympic-style.

Don't tell my coach he's right <grin>.

[big poppa]

Did you ever see a good fencer with bad form?

[ledgerto]

I'm the old dog. Sounds like you had an epiphany. That's great!

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Old dogs CAN learn new tricks!

[space_cadet]

Great. The main idea of electrical fencing is that the scoring box is your jury. Modern fencing styles developed after electrical fencing started so you can either keep your classical style or learn electrical fencing skills. It doesn't matter.

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Cadet à Space

[arcon]

[ 10-23-2001: Message edited by: arcon ]

[latenight]

Yes, you can flick dry, but none of the judges will see it.

"If a fencer flicks in a dry tourney, does it make a sound?"---nope

[Boo Boo]

Unless, of course, they are fencing try with an electric weapon (thinking about the sound of a nice, successful flick in a lesson) - for those who don't own a dry foil.

Boo Boo

[Purple Fencer]

Welcome to the Dark Side (insert maniacal laughter here)!

------------------
Sam Signorelli -- Boldly going forward...'cause I can't find reverse!

[Shadow Fencer]

Excellent! Way to go and most encouraging for us classically trained fencers who are attempting to learn the modern game!



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I live to fence and fence to live!!

[neevel]

See if you can't hunt down some video of Phillipe Omnes competing. While he uses an ortho grip (as does everyone else at the top levels of foil), he's a fine example of how one can use a substantially classical approach at high level (MF individual gold at Barcelona) competitive fencing. Romankov also had a classicist streak to his fencing (though his peak years were a bit before flicking really came into vogue).

-Dave

[Fencer X]

Fencer X wrote:

Thanks all, for the encouraging words!

After several more bouts tonight, I'm
convinced that one *can* maintain a
classical french or italian (or mixta) form,
in sport fencing. However, it *really* takes
nerves of steel, to stand in there & make the
strong parry, when a good modern fencer comes
charging in on you. I managed a few times,
but mostly I gave ground or tried to stop
thrust, or Volte.(not a great idea, unless
your opponent has poor point control.)Even
this did occasionally work. Gotta hold your
stance, 'till *absolutely*sure he's committed
to the lunge completely, before making that
parry.Also, the more upright your stance,the
less chance you'll get flicked on the back.

I've got a heckuva lot to learn, but hey, I'm
havin' a blast! Now I can fence 5-6 times a
week. (sure beats 2) Wife's no problem, she
does karate 5 nights a week. (2 blocks from
the fencing club)Hoo-Hoo! Have I got it sweet
or what?!?

Fencer X

[neevel]

One more thing, X-- try to move away from standing your ground to using a distance change (usually a retreat) in conjunction with your parry. Against someone who doesn't change distance as part of their defense, I can land feint-disengage attacks to various lines and target sections with little difficulty. Distance changes are also key to successfully parrying flicks. I suspect that those times you did make a parry-riposte without retreating had a distance error on the part of the attacker as a contributing factor. The use of distance and tempo as an active part of the phrase will open up a whole new dimension to tactics-- they're two abilities that really define superior fencers. Often times what newer folks think of a 'speed' in a fencer is actually very good perception and control of distance. You should eventually come to define any given action by not just what the blade positions and movements are, but also by what starting distance and distance changes you need to make it work against a good opponent.

-Dave