Good Bendy/Flicky blades?

[Balaestra]

I have uhlmann standard blades (because my parents wouldn't buy FIE approved blades ) and they seem to be pretty good, but I want to know what FIE approved blades are bendy and flicky so I can get them in the future.
What are your opinions?

[noodle]

stm, vniti, bf blue are all good flicky blades in their own right. it just depends on what other qualities you're looking for.

[vincikai]

wat vinti is flicky? i thought its a stiff type blade o_O
so is BF

[Grey]

Some brands of China blades are flicky and light but break easily when used with force. If I'm not wrong, they are 'zhang' blades with a Z stamped on them. They rust rather easily but they are really cheap, so you get what you pay for.

[capa]

As Australians, our range is quite limited.

I

[capa]

As Australians, our selections are quite limited.

We are restricted to those blades sold by our club and local importers. So we can choose from PBT, Allstar, Uhlmann, Leon Paul, and, Prieur - of course, not all their blades are available.

If you want a good flick blade, why not try the LP FLICKmaster

Personally however, I think we are both still inexperienced fencers and it would be a waste to buy FIE approved blades. Your still a beginner at MFC, right?

Foremost, you should be looking for a good mask. I've found that a blade should be last on the list because there is much more important equipment to buy. Besides, by the time we actually begin getting good at fencing your lovely FIE blade will be mangled and you'll probably want a new one - I can understand your parents reluctance to purchase FIE stuff.

BUT, if you REALLY want a nice FIE blade ask around at the club. The Uhlmann BF is highly recommened for foil. Not much good sabre blades in Aus though.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

You have not specified whether or not you want epee or foil.

[noodle]

doesn't matter.

and yes, bf blues and vnitis are very good for flicking.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Originally Posted by noodle

doesn't matter.

and yes, bf blues and vnitis are very good for flicking.

It does matter. A bf will flick good no matter what, while a vniti epee is much different compared to its foil counterpart. For foil, an STM maraging blade, while prone to kinking on point attacks, can practically flick someone in the armpit if you flick over their shoulder. For epee, the BF blues work good for a snappy wrist flick. However, one of the biggest things needed for a good flick, is a good, fitting pistol grip, a tip balanced weapon, and a strong arm. A weak little maggot boy isnt gonna flick a flickmaster worth a dang, while a very, very strong man can probably flick a bf white. Its not just about the blade.

[noodle]

reread the second post in the thread (mine).

other blade qualities only matter to the guy asking the question, but that was not the question he asked. BF blue, vniti and stm maraging foil or epee blades are all considered good for flicking (so foil or epee doesn't matter). i already indicated other things are necessary considerations, though.

[reposte]

PBT's LM are very nice for flicking.

[K Degnon]

One thing - some blades can be the same model and from the same manufacturer, but have different degrees of stiffness. When you do decide on a specific blade, make sure to tell the person taking your order that you want this blade to be able to do thrown point actions easily.

I have a couple of Dinamo blades (non FIE) that I got for flicking, and they are flexible enough that the average 10 year old could probably crack to the spine like a German Olympian. They're kind of light for beat attacks and taking the blade actions, so you might be better off with a sturdier blade.

[CvilleFencer]

All that Noodle and others have said above plus this...

LEARN TO FENCE BEFORE YOU LEARN TO FLICK!!!!!!!

I noticed your profile says you have been fencing for 0.2 years. You should be working on footwork, distance, timing, compound attacks, direct attacks and so forth. Your parries 4/6/7/8/3/5, counter and circular parries, direct and indirect and compound attacks, with and without control should be spot on before you go down the road of the flick monkey.

I have seen many young fencers with a decent flick that can't use a seeding parry to get out of my Pries de Fers or circular parry to avid disengages. To boot they usually can't tell ROW and think the marching down the strip with their hand to their left should or above their head gets them the touch. (Allen, Carl and others I am well aware of my hypocrisy in this regard...)

I do not recommend even trying to flick until you have been fencing for around a full year (at least twice a week) have won some novice/junior tourneys and are moving up to opens.

Having said all that I like Vniti FIE, Priuer FIE or LP FIE for flicky blades that are still rigid enough to give you some leverage on beats and takes.

[noodle]

Originally Posted by CvilleFencer

All that Noodle and others have said above plus this...

LEARN TO FENCE BEFORE YOU LEARN TO FLICK!!!!!!!

seconded. flicking might win you more bouts immediately after you learn how to use it, but if you don't learn it properly after you get through everything else, you're going to rely on it to win bouts and you'll plateau out and get super frustrated. wait for a good year or so to learn how to flick, at least. seriously.

[frenzl]

Originally Posted by CvilleFencer

LEARN TO FENCE BEFORE YOU LEARN TO FLICK!!!!!!!

this can not be stated enough. don't even worry about the flick -except for maybe defending it right now.

[LordTofuDog-jnr]

Like others said you don't want to learn to flick before you've wrapped up a lot of experience.
Now, even if you did have the experience it's probably not best to learn about flicking since with the rule changes coming in there's a good chance flicking will become redundant - or at least MUCH harder.

[Torg]

Originally Posted by CvilleFencer

All that Noodle and others have said above plus this...

LEARN TO FENCE BEFORE YOU LEARN TO FLICK!!!!!!!

thirded, or nined, or whatever. i don't have enough experience to be 100% authoritative on this, but here's what i have to say. i'm at almost one year of fencing, but at the end of my first high school season i thought i was doing well. (well, i was for two months, i was voted most improved epee) but then i joined a fencing club this summer and i've realized how much more there is that i had never even heard of let alone mastered. if you don't realize the importance of defensive offense before learning to flick there are major problems (raising arm too high and getting hit on bottom of wrist halfway through flick preparation, for example). but definitely listen to the uber-gods like noodle and cville, because they are uber-gods. pretty straight forward.

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by Torg

but definitely listen to the uber-gods like noodle and cville, because they are uber-gods.

I am undeserving of such lofty titles, or even to be in the same sentence (if it is refering to armouring) as DCHjr, Neevel, Noodle, Oiuyt, PKT and others on this board... But it is really cool to be an uber-god none the less! I would settle for an uber-demigod in training! Thanks Torg, you rock.

[Torg]

Originally Posted by CvilleFencer

I am undeserving of such lofty titles, or even to be in the same sentence (if it is refering to armouring) as DCHjr, Neevel, Noodle, Oiuyt, PKT and others on this board... But it is really cool to be an uber-god none the less! I would settle for an uber-demigod in training! Thanks Torg, you rock.

i just picked you and noodle because you sounded pretty authoritative in this thread. i forgot about DCHjr. he's also definitely worth of uber-god. i don't doubt you about the rest, and i'm sure there are some i'm forgetting, but i haven't been around here long enough to know the rest of the important people. meh.

edit: and hadouken, too! hadouken helped me with my epee problems the other day *eternally grateful*

[telkanuru]

Originally Posted by Torg

edit: and hadouken, too! hadouken helped me with my epee problems the other day *eternally grateful*

How the times change...