Origin of the term "dry fencing"

[pinkelephant]

I'm interested to know how the term "dry" fencing originated. In the UK we call it "steam" fencing, which presumably comes from the idea of steam trains versus electric trains. Any ideas?

[Neinteen]

someone posted this.

try searching for it, i know it's here somewhere.

[Cookeit]

I think its because before they had electric they used to get their tips wet to leave marks on the other persons jacket to know when they scored.

Something like that, maybe...

[Goldgar]

I'm interested to know how the term "dry" fencing originated. In the UK we call it "steam" fencing, which presumably comes from the idea of steam trains versus electric trains. Any ideas?

I've no actual knowledge, only a guess. One slang term for electricity is "juice", as in "Okay, I've soldered the last connection. Give it the juice." So conceivably, fencing without "juice" would be "dry".

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

The term "dry fencing" has long been misunderstood and misinterpreted. And yes, when people fenced "dry," they were, indeed, not fencing with electric equipment.

That's simply an accident of history. See, back in the day (we're talking 80+ years ago), fencing was a more glamorous sport. "Champion" bouts were cause for celebration in the city which was billing the big fight. And the fencers themselves were not above the hype, either. Generally, each of the combatants would participate in the celebrations leading up to the big bout, and they could start three or four days ahead of the competition.

Well, as you can imagine, the fencers were probably not at their best when the big day came. They were equally hobbled, however, so there was no real advantage for either fencer.

The term "dry" fencing originated when one fencer, in one of these big bouts, didn't actually arrive in the host city until the morning of the bout. His delay caused dismay amongst the folks who travelled to the city to watch the fencing, but his opponent, convinced that he was going to win by default, actually celebrated MORE than he would have normally.

Well, our green-in-the-gills fencer was stunned upon learning of his opponent's arrival in town about half an hour before the bout was scheduled to begin. Despite his protest, the late arrival insisted that the bout begin on time. Our hung over fencer was very quickly dispatched, as you can imagine. The win DID go down in contemporary history, however, with an asterisk. The win was considered "unfair" by true fencing fans of the day, it is said, because the late arrival had fenced "dry."

I hope you enjoyed this farce.

[chefencer]

I found this:
Wireless epee
It was a thread jack...

Watch out or Inq will bring up vinaigretted epeeists...
(I can't speak from experience like he can, as I wasn't alive back then)

[KD5MDK]

I'm interested to know how the term "dry" fencing originated. In the UK we call it "steam" fencing, which presumably comes from the idea of steam trains versus electric trains. Any ideas?

One possible reason is because the early electric jackets were like those rubber raincoats that have no permeability at all. Perhaps the extra insulation there caused so much additional sweat it became the basis of the name.

someone posted this.

try searching for it, i know it's here somewhere.

Wisdom!

I think its because before they had electric they used to get their tips wet to leave marks on the other persons jacket to know when they scored.

Something like that, maybe...

That would make sense, if only "dry" meant "with electricity" not "without".