Where and when did the flick originate?

[Mr Epee]

And he didn't invent the flick, but this is what he did do!

Seine größten Erfolge:

Degen-Olympiasieger im Einzel
Degen-Olympiasieger mit der Mannschaft

1976 Silbermedaille Degen-Mannschaft bei den Olympischen Spielen
Silbermedaille Degen-Mannschaft bei den Olympischen Spielen

1975 + 1978 Einzel-Weltmeister mit dem Degen
1985 + 1986 Mannschafts-Weltmeister mit dem Degen

Fünffacher Vize-Weltmeister mit der Degen-Mannschaft: 1974/75/79/83/87

Goldmedaille Europameisterschaft im Degen-Einzel 1983

7 x Goldmedaille Europa-Cup
5 x Internationaler Deutscher Meisterschaft
8 x Deutscher Einzelmeister
13 x Deutscher Meister mit der Mannschaft
44 x Weltcup-Finale
4 x Weltcup-Sieger 1975/76/78/86

Ende der aktiven Laufbahn 1988
Degen-Bundestrainer von 1989 bis 2002 (ab 1995 für die Aktiven zuständig)

seitdem Landestrainer (Nachwuchsarbeit)

Hat 1976 Anja Fichtel entdeckt und war ihr Trainer bis 1988

Förderung durch die Stiftung Deutsche Sporthilfe von 1972 – 1988

Träger des Silbernen Lorbeerblattes

Fechter des Jahrhunderts

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You are welcome!

[Feltan]

Originally Posted by GGK

I was told (and therefore have no backup on this) that before electrical came into play that the Italians had moves that we would now call a flick. (Although it was the smaller subtler kind, not the point at the ceiling behind your head kind.) They could do this since the blades were whippy and they had their handles strapped to their wrists. But when electric came into the picture the foils required a slot in the blade, and the blades were stiffened so they would not break.
Time passes blades, get softer, the flick reemerges.
Well that's how I heard it. (And I have seen septuagenarian fencers (with wrist straps) flick the tip around parries and deny they were flicking.)

What is now a flick, used to be called a poorly executed coup attack. The real coup is a subtle attack over the top of the oponent's blade. With the advent of electric fencing, a wild coupe (a poorly executed one) has the exact same affect and looks the same as a flick.

While not called flicks, the same thing has been going on for years....for sure in was happening in the mid-70's when I started.

You all make me feel old. It's like listening to a bunch of teenages who think they just invented sex.

Regards,
Feltan

[PeterGustafsson]

Hi!


My 82-year old teammate (still active) has told me that he saw quite a bit of epee flicks when he started epee, in the early 40ies.


Have a nice time!

Peter Gustafsson

[Sciurus-Rex]

Originally Posted by PeterGustafsson

My 82-year old teammate (still active) has told me that he saw quite a bit of epee flicks when he started epee, in the early 40ies.

That would be about the same time my grand-uncle applied for a patent on the parry-riposte process. Denied, of course. He died a very bitter man.

[noodle]

flicks weren't invented, they were slowly developed for two major reasons:
1) electric scoring allowed things to hit that previously would never be counted.
2) blades were being made out of much stronger, resillient, and flexible material. you could actually bend the blade with the power generated by your arm. you could put that bend in the blade without it breaking.

i'd imagine people eventually figured out they could force the blade to bend mid-action and have it hit, and people started to develop the action, which leads into the history stated previously.