What kind of rules does your club have?

[LUDICROUS]

Another of my trusty boredom inspired polls (I've decided my history essay can wait). What kind of rules does your club have? I think rules at my club could be best summed up by two words:

Common sense.

We don't wear full uniform while taking lessons, just weapon/glove/mask usually (apart from the coach, of course).

Looking at various fencing sites, Cville's club rules seem a bit...weird. No offense meant, but they seem so formal! Full fencing uniform while taking lessons? I hope you like sweat :
Post about your clubs rules.

[Jason]

Your club has a rule against wearing a jacket during a lesson? That's kind of absurd.

While many coaches don't have their students wear jackets during lessons, this forces the coach to make movements which are more "artificial". He can never actually hit the student for fear of hurting him.
This is why you'll see many coaches who simply lift the tip of their weapon and expect their student to parry, rather than giving him an actual attack to respond to.
Anyone can parry a weapon that isn't actually threatening to hit, but with a real attack, the fencer (and coach) can confirm that the parry is correct because the student will or will not be hit.

[LUDICROUS]

No, no one is stopping you from wearing a jacket, I just don't see much point. Aye, thats true, but you can also slow the movements down a bit while practicing them untill they are perfect - then once its down pat, the coach can speed it up.

[Schiavona]

No crossing blades without masks on! EVER!

Aside from that, pretty much anything goes.

[sabreur]

Sabreurs wear jackets when taking lessons.

Foilists sometimes take lessons in T-shirts.

Most of the sabreurs wear shorts or sweatpants for training.

If you're playing with weapons, wear a mask.

MR

[Teme]

Five basic rules that spring to mind:
- never hit anybody unaware of what you're doing
- always know where your point is when holding a weapon
- never cross an 'active' piste
- don't stand in front the machine
- never interrupt a lesson, wait until the teacher notices you


and I do take saber lessons in T-shirt, and I'm not getting whacked unless I do something really wrong.

[Zilverzmurfen]

Not 'rules' as such but more common sense.

Like don't interrupt a lesson, don't cross active pistes, don't wave your weapon about when off-piste - keep it lowered, always wear a mask when doing 'pair exercises' or taking a lesson.

And I always take lessons in my jacket.

Of course it's sweatier than just wearing a t-shirt, but I'm better protected and 'real' fencing gets sweaty anyway so I think it's better to get used to it.

[dilznik]

If you're going to free fence, all of your kit has to be FIE level. Mask, jacket, blades, all of it. Seriously. And yes, you have to wear the plastron while free fencing. Seriously.

[Alain]

Rules?! We're mostly an épée club - apart from common sense, that's all we need!

[Victor]

Double points awarded on the first Thursday of each month.

And you can never leave the building from the same door you entered.

Very simple rules to live by. No complaints.

[RebelFencer]

Wow dilznik...just wow.

[CvilleFencer]

Looking at various fencing sites, Cville's club rules seem a bit...weird. No offense meant, but they seem so formal! Full fencing uniform while taking lessons? I hope you like sweat :
Post about your clubs rules.

Don't hit unmasked/uninformed fencers with weapons, wear the proper safety gear when taking lessons or fencing, respect the coach and the salle and don't interrupt lessons. What’s so weird about that? As to the full uniform bit that is mask/jacket/sword/glove. If you don't wear those while free fencing or taking lessons you are just taking stupid and needless risks. At least in the super litigious USA. In the US if little Timmy comes home with a bruise that "might" have been prevented by his wearing his jacket you can find yourself sued for millions. As to it being to hot I think it might sound odd to you because most kiwis seem to have never discovered air conditioning for their homes and offices, much less salles!

[epee1]

Only the strongest survive and Eat the young ones!! No wait, that's at home. At club it's always safety first until the sabre folks go home then it's a rowdy free-for-all.

[Victor]

And yes, you have to wear the plastron while free fencing. Seriously.

Plastron? That's good common sense. Nothing silly about it.

The full FIE requirement might seem a little extreme, but I can appreciate the coaches trying to reduce the potential for injury when they're not focused on watching fencers play. And that includes requiring equipment of good standing. ... That's not to say there's not equally decent gear that could be worn instead, but this would seem to be a very clear rule that would disallow any creative interpretations.

[Victor]

Don't hit unmasked/uninformed fencers with weapons, wear the proper safety gear when taking lessons or fencing, respect the coach and the salle and don't interrupt lessons. What’s so weird about that? ...

Ditto. From the perspectives posted here, it would seem that some of our fencers figure there's nothing dangerous at all about poking each other with thin metal sticks.

"Safety gear?! But I don't like to sweat! Whine whine whine..."

[keith]

Your club has a rule against wearing a jacket during a lesson? That's kind of absurd.

While many coaches don't have their students wear jackets during lessons, this forces the coach to make movements which are more "artificial". He can never actually hit the student for fear of hurting him.
This is why you'll see many coaches who simply lift the tip of their weapon and expect their student to parry, rather than giving him an actual attack to respond to.
Anyone can parry a weapon that isn't actually threatening to hit, but with a real attack, the fencer (and coach) can confirm that the parry is correct because the student will or will not be hit.

...while I appreciate the sentiment I have yet to see a coach perform continuous 'real' attacks. All that lunging and fleching tends to tire them out since most of them don't have the legs of their youth.

[KD5MDK]

If you're going to free fence, all of your kit has to be FIE level. Mask, jacket, blades, all of it. Seriously. And yes, you have to wear the plastron while free fencing. Seriously.

My club could have that rule. The next day, we'd all go out to eat, hold a meeting, and rename ourselves to the UT Drinking & Dining Team, because there'd never be another bout. I can think of one person who has a complete set of FIE garmets, and another who has most of them, but none of them has blades.

[fluidfencer]

Are you folks serious about no uniforms during lessons!

1. They are called "accidents" because you can't anticipate them. You wear uniforms to prevent accidents. Lessons are not immune from them.

2. How can you claim to have a serious lesson if you think it's OK to do without required equipment? You might be able to do some basic drills, but I wouldn't call that a lesson.

3. Your USFA club membership provides liability insurance, and your coaches' insurance provides liability protection as well. What the heck do you think giving lesson without protective gear is going to do for any claims made against your coach, club, officers and the fencers involved.

I had no idea that this is where the thread was going. I thought it was referring to organizational issues, not basic safety.

Look, you want to take your fencing seriously, then quit screwing around. Fencing will NEVER be taken seriously as a sport unless we do so first. Maybe it's because we have so many youth fencers, but a broken blade doesn't make distinctions based on age.

I better stop now.

[CvilleFencer]

In regards to Dilznik's post keep in mind that for Euro/FIE comps (and even local tourneys IIRC) you are required to have full FIE kit. It makes sense to start them off right if they have to have it in the first place. Since FIE is not required in the US it would be rather draconian and overboard here. It does however make sense for Euro fencers, although I get the impression that even then requiring the full kit for club practice is not common since Cartel, Negrinni, LP, Uhlmann/Allstar etc make non-fie or "club level" kit.

[AndrewH]

For my club: no shorts are allowed at any time, other than that, jackets are optional for lessons. Some wear them, some don't. I don't, because I get hot enough as it is, with a jacket on I don't think I'd be able to concentrate on the lesson. I do get hit sometimes, but it's a compromise I'm willing to take.

My team is pretty much the same way, except we fence in shorts.