Dry fencing

[CheekyCanuck]

50/50
I don't really like dry, but since my club is more classical and we only get the electric out once and a while, I find fencing dry more convenient than digging out the electrics for one bout.
But I like electric better.

[Goofy]

Our club figures that since competitions are electric, practice bouting should be electric. The only time that dry bouting takes place is when all strips are in use.

[fencingmetalfan]

My class is in dry fencing, but I do both at free-fencing.

[RiseAndFall]

It ends up happening a lot at my club, and I don't mind it.

My only complaint is that sometimes you get matched with someone who has a style that makes every hit disputable. My close friend has a very awkward fencing style and so we have up to 7 hits in a row that we just can't decide on.
Another thing that annoys me about dry fencing is flat hits - some people at my club will call hits flat constantly, other won't, it gets messy and downright inefficient at times.

I still have lots of fun fencing any way - dry or electric - but for tournement preparation I try to stay away from too much dry.

[Feltan]

Dry fencing certainly has advantages. While not suitable for competition, at the club/salle level I think it is preferable.

There is a steep cost curve for someone entering our sport, and dry fencing for beginers helps ease the sticker shock. Taking turns at being a director or judge for a dry bout is also an excellent opportunity to teach what fencing is about before getting plugged in. For more established fencers, dry reminds you that you are there for practice, not to "win" every bout.

From a personal preference point of view, I also like dry at the salle because it forces people to talk to one another and build a community. Something I find important.

However, you also have to practice like you intend to fight, and that requires getting hooked up on occasion and sweating profusely in a lame!!

Regards,
Feltan

[bmcfencer]

I think electric fencing feels like fencing with a small child attached to your belt who won't stop screeching. Bleaugh. Also, everything always breaks.

[eastrealm]

i prefer dry fencing during practice (especially one on one with no judges). the bouts tend to last longer with more focus on form, fencers tend to be a little more sportsmanlike (acknowledging touches and off targets on both sides), and MOST IMPORTANTLY judges are calling the movements....as in... someone has to be paying attention to whats actually going on on the strip and not to a little light up box. i find this the most important point because (especially with new fencers) it shows a rhyme and reason to learning form and types of movments.
i remember when i first started fencing i watched a dry, directed bout (foil) in which the fencers seemed to move at warp speed (which they probably were). had not the (capable) judge been present to inform us of all that had taken place (in about 7 seconds), i would have been mightely discouraged from even coming back to the next meeting. as it was, the other fencer's (judge's) ability to confidently explain all the technicalities of the bout (without electronic assistance), using terms/actions that we had just learned gave me hope that one day i too could acheive that level of fluidity.
plus, you dont have a wire up your...back...
but for competitions...i definetly go with electric...

[orrsword]

For the clarity factor of on-target/off-target and simultaneous/not simultaneous, I prefer the box...definately as a referee if not as a fencer. At our club we always fenced electric, but what I've noticed from people coming from other clubs who fenced w/o the boxes, they tended to be better fences overall because their actions were clearer and they tended to have better point control.

I think that electric fencing is one of god's gifts to fencing, but that we shouldn't lose track of dry fencing. I think it's important to do both equally in order to become a better fencer. Besides, it's just good etiquette to acknowledge when you've been hit.

[Aestro]

oh hey, it's this thread.

I neglected to mention one thing that I'm sure others already have repeatedly - dry weapons are a lot cheaper than electric. Practice is certainly more enjoyable when half of it isn't spent white lighting or fixing a white light.

[Sumo_Sniper]

At our club, we are usually much to lazy to bring out more than one piste, and even then occasionally. However we are a club of about 20, and we all know each other very well. Well enough to concede hits when they happen. There is never any problem dry fencing.

What annoys me is dry fencing at any competition. While I haven't had to do it for a while, the ineptitude of some of the hand-judges is infuriating. You try having a hand judge from the opposite team on your left hand side (for us righties), who spends his mental time in a land far, far away, who jumps when they are woken from their daydream by an impatient referee and always either abstains or calls no hit.

I have been blessed enough to not have been in a visual competition for a while, and the last time I've had hand-judges was when an opponent's lame had a large dead-spot in the middle, and I couldn't bring myself to argue with the referee's decision to just give me some hand-judges. I regret that.

[Mauler]

Originally Posted by Sumo_Sniper

I have been blessed enough to not have been in a visual competition for a while, and the last time I've had hand-judges was when an opponent's lame had a large dead-spot in the middle, and I couldn't bring myself to argue with the referee's decision to just give me some hand-judges. I regret that.

How was your opponent allowed to fence wearing a lame with a deadspot?!?!?!

As for the dry-vs-electric in practice.... Two out of the three clubs that I am currently active in requires that fencers practice in full tournament-ready set up. Third club is lenient only because it's a Sabre club, and its imtermediates/advanced fencers regularly bout at other clubs. IOW, electric fencing is mandatory even during practice for these kids. So when they show up to tournaments, the difference is minimal.

These clubs are also good about it in a way that they are very upfront to the fencers/parents about what they are getting into in terms of costs of equipment, travel and tournament fees they are expected to invest in. I find that they seem to experience lesser shock down the line if they are made aware of this from the very beginning.

[lunge44]

dry fencing....... ....... .......i hate it with a passion..... but i may be a bit biased as my only dry fencing experiance was as a beginner with bad corner judges etc. i do admit that it can be irritating when you don't have an availible strip but sa la vi and IMHO the benefits are worth it.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by lunge44

sa la vi

you mean "c'est la vie?"

[downunder]

STOP REVIVING POLLS

[Li'l Bebe]

I've only had to do dry in warm-up bouts preceding a competition when all other strips were taken up. We don't do dry ever in the club except with the little kids (they have issues hooking up aparently) because there are probably 4 people in the entire club that would actually see a touch hit, where it hit, and call it properly. Plus we're trained athletically, to "do whatever it takes to make the box beep a color that's legal" so fencing dry doesn't work very well.

[kmak_577]

I dont mind as i fence sabre so either way on a box or not we never know who scored because none of use can ref lol

Kmak_577

[Inigo_Montoya]

Fencing dry is a bad idea for epee. You develop wrong tendencies and bad reactions besides uncertainty of touches. Dry epee blades have a different weight and feel to them. The rubber tips on dry blades make it hard to tell if you had a enough force to depress the tip. When drilling epee, you should use your electric epee blades to develop a better sense of point control. Fencing foil and sabre dry is bad to a lesser extent. You don't have as light of hits and the lock-out times make it easier to discern if you hit in time. It is also more time consuming to put a lame on and set the box up. It is a good idea to fence foil and sabre once in a while on the box so you get a better feel for when you go to tournaments.

[JackOfHearts]

Due to the lack of funds for fencing at the school, we don't have that many electric foils to go around (let alone ones that work and with decent grips), nor lames. Same with epees, and our saber gear (such as it is) is seriously outdated. The beginners all fence dry foil, and its much the same at the club. Mainly dry.

[kmak_577]

dont mind dry fencing but i think foil is the best to fence dry and sabre is the worst , only when fencing dry though , otherwise sabre is the best

Kmak_577

[The Terran]

Originally Posted by Repost-hole

I happen to be a member of the Salem Club, so now everyone knows why I'm a dry fencing dude. I still maintain that, at least for me, keeping a sport firmly rooted in the traditions and paradigms from which it comes is important. I have nothing against electrical fencing, but as a practice for the duel to the death, it would suck. Big time. But dry fencing might just get you by...

!

I'm a member at SCF too.

^_^