Hello.

[the maple epee]

It burns!

To quote the great Tom Petty:
Come on baby, make it hurt so good!

[Neinteen]

To Quote'th Neinteen:

"I win."

[the maple epee]

*Eagle PUUUUUUNCH!*


BAM!

[Neinteen]

Originally Posted by the maple epee

*Eagle PUUUUUUNCH!*


BAM!

FALCON punch. Noob.

[the maple epee]

****

it's the vermont version

why did you capitalize the q in quote'th?

[Neinteen]

I felt like it, as you know, I win.

[the maple epee]

"as as"


you just lost the game

[Neinteen]

I make the game, the rules, and decide the winner. Once again, I win.

[the maple epee]

how sexy

[yazzywazzy]

Need help maple? I'm here .

[Neinteen]

Originally Posted by yazzywazzy

Need help maple? I'm here .

he's a big boy, let him fight like one. Or let him do other things big boys can.

[the maple epee]

Oh yes...yes we can do many things.


Innuendo. In your endo.
bahaha

[Neinteen]

or we can just beat you with a slab of oakwood.

[the maple epee]

Soooomeone deserves a shiiiit kiiiicking...

[the maple epee]

But seriously, oakwood hurts Maple.

[L1nk1]

haha well thank you everyone for the kind responses and the entertaining conversation.

I think I caught maple epee making a Scrubs quote. (amazing show)

Thank you Neinteen for the help and opinion on the saber styles.

I'm just looking around now for a decent shop in Toronto that sells fencing equipment. I'll be trying out the foil.

I've watched some fencing competition video's it seems interesting. Just one more question is that, if a person would want to train to become a better fencer, what kind of outside fencing training should someone do?

*edit*
Sorry also i been looking about and had another question.
Is this a costly sport? In terms of money. Reason I ask is, I already try to pay off my student loans without the use of government funds, so it'd be hard for me to also join a sport that is extremely costly. Roughly how much does it cost at different intervals in the sport. Thanks.

Anyways i will take the time to scout the forums a bit more.

[Neinteen]

Fencing isn't that expensive, but it's a big start. It doesn't just take a ball to start basic skills, so if you can, find a club where you can borrow or rent gear.

to get better outside, do some footwork from time to time, you'll find yourself doing it in random parts of life after a while. Maybe practice a little point control, or go through the parry motions. Anything simple can really pay off.

[bruisedfleche]

"and now for something completely different"...

When you come here, everyone thinks their weapon is the best and only weapon. They are all good. One weapon may be better suited to your personality, preference, and body type. But, if you will be fencing at university, you may not have a choice in weapons. You may be limited because of equipment or coaches. If you're so intrigued by the sport, I'd be willing to bet you'll like whatever weapon is put in your hand. As you get more experience, and you see all three weapons being used, you may want to try other weapons.

As for equipment, most universities will supply you with just about everything you need. You will need to supply your own shoes, socks, and perhaps your own pants. Shoes should not have a bulky heel (like on running shoes and cross training shoes) because if you land wrong on them, they can roll and hurt your ankle. They should also lace up tight. I know the fashion trend is for loosely laced shoes, but fencing is no place for fashion (I mean really, knickers and knee socks? how trendy can we be dressed in that?) You can start off in any workout type pants as long as they don't have pockets and flaps down the leg that can catch a blade and they stretch. You can buy some inexpensive knickers (about $40) and they will be more comfortable than most gym pants. If you wear knickers, you should have knee socks so that there isno gap between the socks and knickers. You can buy soccer socks for about $6. You can also buy a glove fairly cheap. Always a bonus if your club doesn't get around to laundry as much as they should. Gloves can get really rank. Getting your own mask is also a must have. You should go to your coach for advice on your mask. Always buy new, and always buy the best you possibly can.

You really don't need much to start fencing. It's pretty inexpensive to start. Don't go out and buy stuff without consulting a coach. They will know what you need and keep you from making mistakes. You can aquire stuff piece by piece and you can buy some quality used stuff. It's important to know your brands. There aren't many different brands, so it isn't hard.

Anyways, welcome! Not everyone here is crazy (or crusty or immature). Although it helps in a sport that mimics stabbing people repeatedly.

[mrbiggs]

Originally Posted by Neinteen

-Epee is the lamest weapon. It doesn't have right of way, so it's mostly just luck (^^). It's a point weapon like foil, so you must hit only with the tip of the weapon. It's the slowest paced, more boring, and overall dull. Epee bouts aren't fun to watch, or fence in. Epeeists are usually tall (because it gives a slight advantage usually) and very dull, boring, and lame people.

Neinteen's post was surprisingly correct and informative in terms of foil and sabre excepting the last sentences of their paragraphs, but I don't think she did justice to epee.

It's true that epee doesn't have right of way, and it's been asserted that there's more "luck" involved. I'd have to say that as of right now foil has WAY more luck involved, but that's really a matter of opinion. Because there is no right of way, there is a lot more leeway as to what you can do to score a touch. However, once your opponent hits you, you only have 1/25th of a second to hit him and have both lights count. (If one light goes on that fencer gets a point, if both go on they both get points.) That's not a lot of time! So this actually balances out, and epee is the most thinking-intensive weapon in terms of how much setup goes into each touch.

I've heard epee compared to the old saying about jet flying, which I'm quoting from memory and will almost certainly butcher: "long periods of extreme boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror." You can take 30 seconds setting up a touch, but once you go for it, you'd better be ready for anything.

Which brings me to another critical point, which is that due to the lack of right of way in epee, there are often many different acceptable ways to deal with a threat, which is less true in foil and sabre. This adds another dimension to the game, but it also slows it down as I mentioned above.

For all my talking about epee, I'm actually a foil fencer as foil gives me a better idea of what I did wrong to lose a touch. I also like marching attacks and the faster pace (although it's not much faster these days).

[mrbiggs]

Originally Posted by L1nk1

I'm just looking around now for a decent shop in Toronto that sells fencing equipment. I'll be trying out the foil.

There aren't any stores that sell fencing equipment. You have to buy it online.

(OK, not quite true, there are a very few but they are usually online retailers who let people walk into their company rather than a store in the traditional sense. In any case, it's unlikely that there's one near you and VERY unlikely that you'll find it just by looking around.)

You can also sometimes get fencing equipment at large tournaments. I don't know if there are any in or near Toronto; some of the Canadians on this forum might be able to help out.

Originally Posted by L1nk1

I've watched some fencing competition video's it seems interesting. Just one more question is that, if a person would want to train to become a better fencer, what kind of outside fencing training should someone do?

This question gets asked a lot and IMO there's no really good answer. Basically just normal things to stay in shape.

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