"sawed off" french handle

[big poppa]

A few days ago i tried a shorted french handle on a foil.It felt great to give lessons with. I started to wonder what it would be like in competition.It was point heavy and i had to use a lot of wrist action, it felt so much better than any french i have ever used. What are your thoughts on the matter?

[Lumberg]

That's a bad idea. The French grip was meant to be long with a heavy pommel for that same reason.
An italian grip is somewhat like a shortened French grip. The wrist strap aids the hand in tip control. You can try that. However, you have to change your hand position so that the palm is always up in the en garde position and in the extension (unlike in the French handle grip where you rotate the wrist so that the palm faces inward on the extension. In addition, a blade for an Italian grip is such that the curve is based on the fact that you will be holding the weapon with the palm up.
Rather than get rid of the weapon, try a pistol grip, you will notice the same ease of weapon control but you will have to deal with tip heaviness, which should be no problem to adjust to. Thousands of fencers use a pistol grip. Join us and be modern.

[cleghmor]

Hey Bigpoppa

A shortened french is just what I have been using for nearly 10 years. I teach both right and left handed and IT is just the way to go. I even mounted the grip on the bias so that the switch from rigth to left is easier. Mine also has two blown out electric sockets- this is so that when I too am competing I can plug in my body cord while I warm up My students at a big event ( I put two sockets on ,one for left ,one for rigth.) It is a pretty ugly thing, but Oh so functional. You are definetly on the right track.
As far as competing with it ,I just would rather stick to my orthoes. That is what they are for.

Cleghmor

[Gav]

Not sure about this one Big Poppa.

We still use french grips a lot in epee and the main advantage it provides is extra reach. It also allows more point control through your fingers.

When I originally started I used a french grip foil for my first six months of competitions (I was "foil only" for 4 years) before a wrist injury actually forced me to switch to ortho!

I feel I must make a point before I go on. At the time I felt compelled to make the switch. Everyone around me was using ortho grips and also I had picked up this wrist injury. After the injury had cleared up I felt I was still being compelled to remain with the ortho grip -something I objected to - but caved in at the time.

I have always felt that you developed a better feel for the weapon using a french. Don't know why but pressure seems to transmit itself better to you. The styles (ortho and french) are quite different and as such impart a different style in terms of tactics. Using a "sawed off" french grip implies to me that you will lose the benefits you gain from using the french handle in the 1st place.

I have only just begun competing again and haven't regained my trust (yet) of the french grip. But it will come and I currently consider the ortho a stop-gap.