double stick tape for foil grips.

Investigate PBT synthetic gloves, versus Allstar/Uhlmann/Blue Gauntlet. The
fingers are tighter so you don't have loose, excess material bundled in you
fist.

Bill Hall

In article <b0ae50t7lk2h2qvk90fa97q321g19fehhm@4ax.com>, Gawnsoft
<xlucid@users.sourceforge.remove.this.antispam.net > writes:

>I've done my share of representative competition, and
>I no longer go to clubs with members who are Olympic/World
>Championship grade).

The only way to improve and stretch yourself is to fence against better
fencers.

There are three kinds of opponents.

Probables, who you should beat;

Possibles, who you might beat: and,

Prayers.

A good day is when you beat all the probables, over half of the possibles, and
it is a really good day when you knock off a prayer.

Over time, you move the possibles to probables and cut down on the number of
prayers out there.

Bill Hall

In article <20040316120649.01692.00001125@mb-m18.aol.com>,
fencerbill@aol.com (Fencerbill) wrote:

> In article <b0ae50t7lk2h2qvk90fa97q321g19fehhm@4ax.com>, Gawnsoft
> <xlucid@users.sourceforge.remove.this.antispam.net > writes:
>
> >I've done my share of representative competition, and
> >I no longer go to clubs with members who are Olympic/World
> >Championship grade).
>
> The only way to improve and stretch yourself is to fence against better
> fencers.


I don't know about "stretching," but it is certainly not true that the
ONLY way to improve is to fence against better fencers, although that's
a good way. But you can practice your footwork, improve your strength
and conditioning, improve your flexibility, work on your blade control,
do drills to learn new techniques with someone of your own ability,
watch worse and better fencers to improve your analysis of opponents,
etc., etc.

In addition, if you aren't very good, fencing with people of your own
ability or worse can still be a good way to get better.

--Harold Buck


"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson

So lemme guess... you, being so good, can fence with a potato for a
grip and a piece of rebar for a foil or epee eh?

The sticky stuff does help me alot to relax my iron death grip on the
foil. I dont feel as if I have to carry the weight of the weapon in my
hand. rather i just use the hand as a guide to your chest.


Ultimately as much as I love fencing I have to say that i dont love it
enough to injure myself for it via repetitive stressings of the feet,
knees, hips, wrist or hand. Thusly i think time spent 'theorizing'
isn't ONLy so that I get better at fencing, but also more comfortable
at fencing well.

Magni


"Richard Hertz" <ipfreely@philmccrackin.com> wrote in message news:<Npv5c.2007$F17.604577@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.ne t>...
> If you guys spent your time doing footwork or practicing you would probably
> get more out of it than screwing around with grips and theorizing that you
> can become better by putting sticky stuff on the handles.
>
>
> "Gawnsoft" <xlucid@users.sourceforge.remove.this.antispam.net > wrote in
> message news:n2cc50di828r80f7orpsr3q95qcg3f0hr2@4ax.com...
> > On 15 Mar 2004 01:31:20 -0800, michael_lichtstrom@yahoo.com (magni)
> > wrote (more or less):
> > >I think figgering out how one interfaces with their weapon and really
> > >getting it down to a science and repeatable is worth taking a look at.
> >
> > I moulded a grip (in clay) specifically for my hand. I'm still
> > experimenting with different ways of casting it.
> >
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Euan
> > Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
> > Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
> > Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk)
> http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

I did not say it makes no difference. I do claim that so much attention on
it is counter-productive and time and effort is better spent on physical and
mental training.

Here is what you said in another post:

" But you can practice your footwork, improve your strength
and conditioning, improve your flexibility, work on your blade control,
do drills to learn new techniques with someone of your own ability,
watch worse and better fencers to improve your analysis of opponents,
etc., etc."

Nowhere do you say that the newest, ergonomic, bestest foil can improve your
fencing...

Can anyone produce a name of a coach who instructs students to spend so much
time and energy on handles? My first real foil coach made me take lessons
with a french grip. Fitting the hand is not quite as important as this
poster seems to think it is and that was the point of my posting.

"The pressure spring" that you speak of has little bearing on the fencing
ability - perhaps for those who only can flick this makes a difference. 12
inches shorter is a significant handicap and not a serious comment I think.

sniff sniff, smell that?

"Harold Buck" <no_one_knows@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:no_one_knows-0F3F44.07373216032004@comcast.ash.giganews.com...
> In article <Npv5c.2007$F17.604577@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net>,
> "Richard Hertz" <ipfreely@philmccrackin.com> wrote:
>
> > If you guys spent your time doing footwork or practicing you would
probably
> > get more out of it than screwing around with grips and theorizing that
you
> > can become better by putting sticky stuff on the handles.
>
>
> Yes, I think we can safely say that fencing is a sport in which your
> equipment makes NO DIFFERENCE whatsoever in your performance, and that
> your comfort level with your gear or the feel of your weapon is
> irrelevant. Likewise, if your pressure spring is off by a factor of two
> or three, or if your blade is 12 inches shorter than someone else's,
> that should impact your performance.
>
> <sniff> <sniff> Smell that? That's sarcasm. Anyway . . . .
>
> --Harold Buck
>
>
> "I used to rock and roll all night,
> and party every day.
> Then it was every other day. . . ."
> -Homer J. Simpson

In rec.sport.fencing on 16 Mar 2004 13:01:42 -0800
magni <michael_lichtstrom@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> The sticky stuff does help me alot to relax my iron death grip on the
> foil. I dont feel as if I have to carry the weight of the weapon in my
> hand. rather i just use the hand as a guide to your chest.
>

So how do people who don't use it manage? Do they all just grin and
bear it, or could they, possibly, have discovered that practicing good
form means your body adapts and you find it easy to relax and hold the
weapon without tension or feeling you have to carry it.

And when they praactice good form, they find it's both efficient and
skeletally friendly so they aren't damaging themselves.

It's just barely possible you know.

Zebee
- who fences a lot with 2lb of sword and no sticky tape.

In article <23e9ba68.0403251019.4695b9f3@posting.google.com >,
michael_lichtstrom@yahoo.com (magni) wrote:

> trebuchet30303@yahoo.com (William Marshal) wrote in message
> news:<dc7987e.0403162136.6b1bf1af@posting.google.c om>...
> > No, no, I'm sure I read somewhere that Nadi used this trick....
>
> Funny you should mention that. I've actually seen and of course read
> nadi's manifesto on the brilliancies of the italian at the expense of
> then french grip. Disarming and all thatjazz.
>
> My whole intent is to approximate the function of the italian grip
> using a visconti small.
>
> Its a pain in the ass to do prime with nadi's italian grip, and unless
> the guard is mounted obliquely vis a vis the flat of the blade the
> flick is nigh unto impossible. I find that cut overs are actually
> easier and with better tip control with nadi's grip. All told the
> italian weapon really is superior to the french grip and in most
> respects to visconti, with the exception of wide actions like
> flicking. but for straight on fencing the italian grip really is the
> ****.


This is a technical term, also used by Nadi.

--Harold Buck


"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson