Is 'right of way' subject to extinction?

[milstdfarm]

At a tournament last weekend a Director told one of my fencers that there is some consideration to change the rules: an off target touch (with right of way) immediately followed by the opponent's on-target touch (think stop-thrust) would not stop play and the second hit would count.

The next step seems to me to be to eliminating 'right of way'. The next step after that might be the complete elimination of the Director, with the scoring machine doing all the work.

What are your thoughts about whether there is anything to this Director's statement and what effects it would have on the game?

[Allen Evans]

Did this discussion preface an invitation to deal real estate in Florida?

AE


ps-- we've been calling them "referees" for a while, now.

[Foil.Leicester]

I don't think that would be very easy. Having scoring lights over-ruling off-target lights is all well and good but that's never really been the issue with Right of Way, its when both touches are scoring.
Personally I don't see how a humble scoring box could decide right of way without a major overhaul (like lots and lots of cameras). I mean I'm not sure about the rest of you but when I'm refereeing I find that I know who's got priority based on a feeling or instinct and I don't see how that could be replicated without the use of a president.

[noodle]

no, it almost definitely will not happen and i highly doubt it is being talked about in any capacity other than purely hypothetical. its been discussed ad nauseum in the past.

most recent thread: Foil non-valid hits ... why?

[wbowman]

Sounds to me like he might have been talking about the elimination of "off-targets," which, as we know, does get talked about from time to time. In such a case (i.e., if there was an off-target hit, but no white light), then a counterattack would score.
But probably way too much in the realm of speculation (one hopes) to go about scaring fencers with at this point.

[milstdfarm]

Sounds to me like he might have been talking about the elimination of "off-targets,"

I got the story second hand but that's what I took it to mean.

The elimination of right of way and the Director/Referee is my extrapolating into the future. Here's my thinking, if they want to make the match more spectator friendly, that might simplify things. (Before you unleash the fires of Hell on me, I'm not in favor of it, just crystal ball gazing!)

[KD5MDK]

You mean just like Football, Hockey and Basketball?

[Superscribe]

I would tend to agree. If enough stupid or uneducated people started to fence foil or sabre, there would be eventual simplification of the game to tailer to the stupid and/or uneducated. Some people like to call this progressive.

[Cerian]

Wait, turning foil into more of a defensive squirming remise fest is going to make it more watchable?

[milstdfarm]

squirming remise fest

haha, that doesn't sound too good! No, I hope not.

[Peach]

I would tend to agree. If enough stupid or uneducated people started to fence foil or sabre, there would be eventual simplification of the game to tailer to the stupid and/or uneducated. Some people like to call this progressive.

Like football, which has clearly gotten more simple?

Bosh, tosh, and balderdash.

[catwood1]

Is 'right of way' subject to extinction?

Yes. Its called epee.

[AdamH]

Yes. Its called epee.

It is better to live a day as a hunting and carnivorous velociraptor than a lifetime as a plod-plod brontosaurus grazing trees.

Tyrannosaurus, in Jurassic Park? Those were blind and couldn't even eat a Jeff Goldblum.

[telkanuru]

It is better to live a day as a hunting and carnivorous velociraptor than a lifetime as a plod-plod brontosaurus grazing trees.

Women's foil what?

[sabreur]

I would tend to agree. If enough stupid or uneducated people started to fence foil or sabre, there would be eventual simplification of the game to tailer to the stupid and/or uneducated. Some people like to call this progressive.

Of course, most intelligent and educated people can spell. Or at least use spell-check.

[Peach]

Of course, most intelligent and educated people can spell. Or at least use spell-check.

As for the first part, spelling seems unrelated to intellectual power, and as to the second part, "tailer" might pass a spell-check if your dictionary includes the verb "to tail" as in the actions of a hardboiled private eye. I have learned, therefore, not to snark at people for their spelling; I confine my snarking to the content of what they say, instead

[Superscribe]

There are no stupid or unintelligent people in football.

But to be completely serious, you have to understand what an incredible amount of money and advertising can do. By that I mean, encouraging even the most ignorant or unintelligent person to learn. Your example as a counter-argument is not necassarily the most logically sound.

As for sabreur... you got me. I clearly don't put in the spelling/syntax correction effort that an internet discussion forum deserves.

ha.

[Inquartata]

hardboiled

Tsk! I can't believe that you omitted the hyphen!