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Originally Posted by FencingMike I am brand new to fencing and I LOVE it!!! Today was my first Fencing class. Finally I found something I am passionate about. |
Been there. Welcome aboard!
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1. Being a beginner, is there any books you reccomend the most?
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I am partial to "Modern Fencing", by Michel Alaux. It's vintage 1970's, though, so not really "modern" any more. Also out of print, I am sure, though you can probably track down a copy through abebooks or alibris.
I fence sabre, and there really aren't any good specialized works on sabre. The most useful work I've found on sabre itself is one by Barbasetti, strangely enough. ( Strangely because it's on Italian sabre from the 1930's, thus waaaay out of date. )
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2. What is an Epree, the difference between a fencing sword, a Foil, an Electric Foil (I am sure I can figure it out by asking my teacher next week.)
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The epee is one of three modern fencing weapons, the other two being foil and sabre. The epee is larger and stouter than the foil, the blade heavier and stiffer, the guard wider and deeper. Like the foil it scores hits only with the point. The target is the opponent's whole body, head to toe. Simultaneous hits by both fencers score points for both, unlike in foil and sabre, which are "right of way" weapons ( ie if one fencer attacks the other must, generally speaking, cause the attack to fail before he can attack himself ).
Electric versions of the epee ( and foil ) use a spring-loaded tip connected by a wire which runs down a channel in the blade to a socket in the guard. A body cord worn by the fencer plugs into the socket, runs down the inside of the sleeve, out the back of the jacket and connects to another socket. This is connected to a long wire which spools in and out of a reel as the fencer moves back and forth. The reel is connected to the scoring machine. Apart from the tips, wires and sockets, the weapons are identical to regular, practice ones of the sort you'll no doubt be using for your class.
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3. After I am done with my 4 week class...where do I go from there? How do I find people to fence with? Where do I fence? Is there a local club?
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Look around here.
http://www.ocfencing.org/
There's a better place to locate clubs at which to fence, on the website of the US Fencing Association, the national governing body of the sport. Alas, it's website is down at present---supposedly it's due to be back up by the end of the week. It's got a "Where can I go to fence?" link. The site is
www.usfencing.org, whenever it comes back on line...
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4. Equipment. What equipment should I buy at first for a beginner? Since the sport is new to me and I don't know how much time I can commit, should I save money by buying from ebay and other shopping sites or would that put me at a safety risk?
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Most clubs and classes have loaner equipment for beginners. Use that until you get a feel for what you would like, or until your coach or the teacher tells you what he or she prefers you to buy. Eventually you're going to want a glove, jacket and mask, and weapons. Electric gear comes much later.
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