12-29-2006, 12:25 PM
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#1 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Carstairs, AB, Canada
Posts: 3,410
| Blind Fencing
From Digg today: Quote: |
Originally Posted by http://www.dissmercury.co.uk/content/dissmercury/sport/story.aspx
?brand=DMAOnline&category=sport&tBrand=DMAonline&t Category=sport&itemid=NOED28%20Dec%202006%2011%3A1 1%3A43%3A500 Blind fencer given a fighting chance
MARK ARMSTRONG
28 December 2006
Hempnall's John Croxon has helped to produce a prototype weapon using ultrasound that could revolutionise the sport for blind fencers.
Croxon, a coach at Norfolk Fencing Club (based at the UEA Sportspark), decided to step in and help club-mate Steve Fyffe, 55, after hearing that he was finding it difficult to judge the distance between himself and an opponent.
He started to think about ways to develop a technique to try and solve the problems facing Fyffe, who has been blind since birth.
With a background in engineering, Croxon, 68, developed the idea of using ultrasound to measure distances, based on principles similar to those used in military guidance systems.
He produced a prototype foil with an ultrasound device and a handle that vibrates more and more as you get closer to your opponent.
The ultrasonic device sends out a very high-pitch frequency within a four-metre radius and this signal is returned when it hits an object.
Fyffe, who is also an expert in several martial arts, said the invention has made the sport a lot easier to get to grips with.
“It's certainly made things simpler,” he said. “There are still problems to overcome, but we have a lot of ideas to try and develop this further.
“I wanted to open fencing up so that I can compete on a level playing field. I get to enjoy the sport a lot more now and hopefully this is only the start of it all.”
Croxon, who at veteran level has been ranked the 13th best sabre fencer in the world in his category, revealed how he approached the idea of creating the invention.
“There are no books or anything like that on fencing for the blind so we had to work from a blank canvas. The major barrier we had to overcome was how Steve could judge the distance between himself and an opponent.
“At first we used an elastic band so that when the opponent is far away the band goes tight, but this proved too cumbersome and we knew we were going to have to find an alternative.
“So I began to use an ultrasound device as a solution to our problem and this proved very successful in measuring the distance.
“We've been using this now for about three or four months and it really has started to make
an impact.
“We are not trying to create a situation where we have disabled groups in the sport. We need to use technology so that disabled people can overcome their disabilities.”
Croxon added that Loughborough University have taken an interest in developing the idea further.
“They are very keen to develop the foil and hopefully disabled people will be able to compete on a level playing field with the able bodied.” |
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12-29-2006, 12:46 PM
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#2 | | The Judge
Join Date: Feb 2003
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12-29-2006, 02:01 PM
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#3 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Carstairs, AB, Canada
Posts: 3,410
| Missed that.
James.
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12-29-2006, 04:58 PM
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#4 | | Curmudgeon-in-Chief
Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Somewhere in your nightmares!
Posts: 23,455
| The rules do not permit any sort of transmitter or receiver to be used. I don't see how an exception can be written in such a way that it will serve blind fencers but still not open the door for others.
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12-29-2006, 05:22 PM
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#5 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Posts: 1,238
| I'd guess they'd make a new sport, blind fencing, with mildly different rules.
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12-29-2006, 06:07 PM
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#6 | | The Judge
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,306
| Quote:
Originally Posted by keropie  I'd guess they'd make a new sport, blind fencing, with mildly different rules. | iirc, there was a blind japanese women's epeeist who made it to the olympics, or something like that | |
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12-30-2006, 12:59 AM
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#7 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Posts: 1,238
| But I can't imagine she had some sort of ultrasonic aid to... well, aid her...
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12-31-2006, 12:43 PM
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#8 | | Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 54
| That article is really cool. One of my most serious studies in fencing is to try and find out how much the sense of sight is actually involved.
Ask 10 fencers what they watch when they're fencing, and you almost always get 10 different responses. I try a lot of different things when I'm fencing. Looking at my opponent's eyes, looking off into space, looking at my opponent's target area, you name it. It's really cool to see where you get the most success. (For me it's staring off into space. Using your peripheral vision to react to your opponent's attacks is very successful)
The other day, I forgot to put in my contact lenses before fencing practice. I didn't want to fence with my glasses on, so I just fenced without them. Now, I don't have extraordinarily bad eyesight, but I do need my prescription to get around. Not wearing my glasses didn't have an ill effect on my fencing at all, though. I could still see how far my opponent was from me, and though I couldn't see the blade, I could see enough to see my opponents' arms, so I could still react to their attacks. It was a very interesting experiment (actually if you're a stickler it was an observational study, not an experiment  ).
I hope the inventor of this device is successful in all his troubleshooting, and if he is, there could be blind fencers in the near future. How cool would that be?
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12-31-2006, 01:34 PM
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#9 | | Just Joined
Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: United State, California, Bay Area, Fremont
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| Man, I live right next to a school for the blind too. I hope they find some way to do this succesfully. Giving people without sight a chance to Fence too. My main question however, is: How do the blind Fencers know where the targtet is?
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12-31-2006, 08:50 PM
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#10 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 317
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Woopmonkeyman Man, I live right next to a school for the blind too. I hope they find some way to do this succesfully. Giving people without sight a chance to Fence too. My main question however, is: How do the blind Fencers know where the targtet is? | They might be able to use a beep system like the golfers do-the closer you are to the target, the louder the beep. Would take some tinkering though. Perhaps the weapon hand? I don't know-I'm trying to visualize precision hits using only sound. It would have to be a source independent of the wiring for the weapon. | |
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01-01-2007, 10:25 AM
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#11 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: MA
Posts: 7,457
| Quote:
Originally Posted by noodle iirc, there was a blind japanese women's epeeist who made it to the olympics, or something like that | 
(These new emoticons are helpful in conveying my surprise)
Does anyone have a name or date or other info on her? Google isn't helping me. | |
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01-03-2007, 04:12 AM
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#12 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,059
| Maybe the handle should vibrate less as you get close, easier to score a touch that way. | |
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