Ok, when was foil established? Was it made to train for the duel to the death, or for first blood? Also, was or was not foil originally a "game"?
Ok, when was foil established? Was it made to train for the duel to the death, or for first blood? Also, was or was not foil originally a "game"?
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Foil was the prequisite training for going on to Epee. Pre-Epee you could say. Epee was the the weapon used to train for duelling. First blood or till death. I believe classical foil originated during the mid 1700's.
Last edited by ReverseLunge; 06-25-2005 at 10:16 PM.
It's a little bit of all those.
Originally a foil was a foiled sword used in practice for rapier and other swords. This is where the misconception that modern foil is a descendant of those practice swords. The practice weapons for these weapons were blunted with the point turned down and would have been considerably heavier that even a small sword.
As gunpowder made armor obsolete, smaller thrusting swords became more and more popular. The small sword, of which the modern foil is a direct descendant, was a natural evolution from large bladed swords as swordsmen began favoring lighter, quicker thrusting weapons. Technique soon followed and the linear approach to fencing was born in order to capitalize on the ability to parry and attack with the same weapon (instead of opening the entire body up with the use of a parrying implement).
The conventions of foil were developed as a mix of what it takes to survive a duel, what was considered "proper" duelling technique, and what was considered safe to practice at a time when adequate protection was not available.
Here's a pic of 2 foils and an English small sword (plus a history).
http://www.saxonfc.fsnet.co.uk/foilhist.htm
Here's a glossary (with some pics) of swords.
http://www.georgehernandez.com/xMart...des/Swords.htm
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I had looked into that very topic a while ago to provide a little background and history to people new to fencing. Here's the site that I found.
http://uucfencing.co.uk/history/hist...foil/index.php
A.
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"One who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be in danger in a hundred battles.
One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes win, sometimes lose.
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Fairfax Fencers
Tidewater Fencing Club
Indeed; this is where we get the concept of one-touch epee competitions (i.e. The Pentathlon.)Originally Posted by ReverseLunge
Frank Pratt
Rome Fencing Club; Rome, GA, USA
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