Glow in the dark fencing

[thud]

Originally Posted by Fishkillfencers

We started this for fun, but there were some surprising results. Suddenly I was seeing blade actions for the first time. If someone lands a toe touch, you see the bend of the blade as it hits the toe. It's an eye-opening experience.

YES! It's amazing seeing the weapons bend and wobble during the touches. I really agree.

Originally Posted by Fishkillfencers

It occurred to me that this is what Lucas did in Star Wars. There are tons of movies with swordfighting, but he made the blade visible.

Interesting point. I hope this illustrates how beneficial such technology could be for fencing's PR. If a system can be worked out that allows spectators to see the fencers and their blades without (overly) compromising the fencers' abilities to see eachother, we should expect much more TV coverage for our sport.

[Angwilwileth]

That was really interesting. I'd never been able to see bladework that clearly before. I also liked the "star wars" sound effect at the beginning.

[ShadyLane]

Originally Posted by bousquet

Its a glow wire of some type powered by a battery pack. The wire is glued on top of the regular epee wire.

Wow! That looks very neat! Where exactly did you guys buy/get those "glow wires"? Or how did you make these? I would soo like to do that someday...

[FeatherBlade]

lol! that disco part... too bad I don´t have sound on this computer. Can´t wait to see more stuff

[Fencergrl]

Originally Posted by ShadyLane

Wow! That looks very neat! Where exactly did you guys buy/get those "glow wires"? Or how did you make these? I would soo like to do that someday...

Yeah... we'll need it for Lazar!

[CrazyLittle]

It's Electro-Luminescant wire. Computer nerds use it to add extra horsepower to their computer cases - much like those massive spoilers on teenager's import hot-rods.

I did some searching for EL wire yesterday and this link looked to be the most promising source. A full pair of wires + battery packs came out to ~$35 after tax and shipping. I'm tempted to try it, but cost and potential breakage are preventing me from making the jump.

http://store.vibelights.com/eznewi.html

My biggest question for the Fishkill guys is this - Doesn't fencing in low light present some amount of danger of tripping or seriously stabbing your opponent (since it's harder to judge distance in low light)

[bousquet]

>>Doesn't fencing in low light present some amount of danger of tripping<<

Only if there is something on the strip to trip over. Remove all obstacles from the strip before fencing. That's a good rule even in good lighting.

>>or seriously stabbing your opponent (since it's harder to judge distance in low light)<< We're very serious about stabbing our opponents.

Seriously. - - We haven't done this a lot but I didn't notice any real problem with either when I was fencing. Regarding depth perception, when it was real dark, most of the problems were of attacks falling short. Because you can't see as well, you tend to take it easier. The best thing to do is to make sure you have enough light to see your opponent and surroundings well yet dark enough that the blades show up well for that all important "cool" factor.

[carissima]

Originally Posted by Go? Fencing?

Hmm... we're wearing white already... how about a black light?

I have been trying to get a group of people together to black light fence. Epee is really ideal for it. Painting a fe old bells and the blades would make it a little easier to see. If any one tries it, be sure to post pictures!

[ShadyLane]

Originally Posted by Fencergrl

Yeah... we'll need it for Lazar!

We'll keep that in mind...

The ballroom is quite dark already so we got that covered

[ShadyLane]

I wonder if anyone has fenced under fluorescent lighting in a dark room with glowing epees. The whites would reallllly show up hehe...

[Fishkillfencers]

EL wire is exactly what we used. There are lots of places selling them online. 1mm wire sits in the groove beautifully, but it's not as bright as the 2mm wire. 2mm wire does get beat up pretty quickly, but it lasts long enough to have some fun.

We experimented with different levels of ambient light. Total darkness can be disconcerting, but with even a little bit of light you can still judge distance.

Black light fencing sounds cool. I'd like to combine the two. Carissima, come on down, or let us know when you're doing black light fencing, and we'll come up with our epees.

[abortretryfail]

Combining the two is a cool set up. Now if only someone would find a way that a temporary mark would appear on a spot where a fencer gets hit then dissappears after a couple of seconds. Some sort of visual signal like a color change in the jacket or a lame with LED indicators.

[fencingiraffe]

ahah that was awsome. the ending was really funny too.

[slowgraffiti515]

neat idea...makes me think of light sabres tho

[KKKuehn]

Hey, why not try strobe lights also? Sure it will be heck to follow your opponent, but for the spectators, simply a WOW......Keith

[thud]

Originally Posted by KKKuehn

Hey, why not try strobe lights also? Sure it will be heck to follow your opponent, but for the spectators, simply a WOW......Keith

Perhaps...but what I was getting at was finding a way to make fencing easier to watch and follow for fencers and spectators alike, not make it look cool (but that is a welcome side effect). I doubt that a strobe light helps the former!

[WhipLash]

EL wires are rather expensive, about $30 for 4 weapon lengths and 2 inverters.

I'm experimenting with $0.60 infusion kit tubing filled with the liquid you can get from chemical light-sticks. Will last only 6 hrs, but much much cheaper.

Hope it works...