bad bruising on inner thigh

[newbie]

I just finished my first competition and I have some prretty bad brusing coming up on my right inner thigh. Would a pair of the FIE undershorts help? All the novice fencers were pretty rough. It looks much worse than it feels though....

[L_Marie]

Bruising is not uncommon. It comes with the territory. A faster retreat or parry will help prevent a fair share. As far as shorts go. I suspect that no matter what you wear underneath you will still get some brusises as well as few abrasions.
I have found that the better I got, the less brusies i received. So, hang in there. And try ice.

[DJ Apostrophe]

fencing with novices (or fencing as a novice) has its prices... like much brusing... i remember when i first started... my arm got so bruised that as it was healing my normally pale skin had yellowed so much that it looked like someone had rubbed iodine over my entire upper arm... the distances / timing / power novices think they need to get the touch havent been fine tuned yet and they are still working on adjusting them... until you and your opponent both have some decent fencing experience lots of bruising is to be expected... as you improve and the quality of your opponents improve you will notice signifigantly less bruising...
-w

[Craig]

One of the joys of fencing is playing the "where did I get that bruise" game.

Way back when I first started fencing - not so much bruising since we were in classes and not super competitive. As soon as my group classes finished and I started fencing competitively I got lots of bruises.

As I progresses, less overall random bruising, but still a good bit on the upper arm, chest, and back of shoulder. The progression has been - as my fencing and my competitors get better, the bruises show up more in the target area than outside of it.

The big difference between the bruises that beginners and advanced fencers leave you with is their severity. A bruise from a beginner is more likely to be a "thwack" bruise (comes from them hitting you with as much blade as point) and bruises from advanced fencers all tend to be little circles from where their tip hit you.

You're right in that it always looks a lot worse than it feels. Often I would come home from practice (always intense bouting) and my wife would comment on all the bruises, most of which I had no idea were there; just didn't feel any of them.

Of course, the better you get the less bruises there will be since you'll be preventing them!

Cheers,
Craig

[newbie]

Thanks everyone! Its nice to know that this kind of thing is "normal"....

[Artisan]

I gather you were fencing foil? Wait till you try epee!

These bruises are known in our salle as either "beginner marks" or by another coach as "stupid marks"

Ever see the t-shirt that reads: "Stupidity should be painfull"

I have seen fewer of the severe bruises as I've gained more skill. The worst ones are from ME not minding my distance, or couterattacking with the wrong tempo.

Poorly executed flicks can be painful - and leave you looking like Kunta-Kinte.
I was as a beginner once apparently the "practice Dummy" for an advanced Foilist who seemed to be trying to work on his "flick to the spine" I didn't mind at first, and continued to try to learn from the experience with distance and a variety of parry attempts like a high 6 and saber 5, but eventually he got me good enought that I'd had enough. The back of my shoulder looked like I'd been lashed!

[Saber-Psycho]

Ah, Epee.
I fenced Epee for a brief time, one of the darkest times of my life. My mother thought that I was a heroine addict. (from the cuts on my arm)
For the actual topic. If you have one, always wear you under arm protector and thick pants!

[MikeHarm]

I've noticed I've gotten a lot let bruises with my Triplette Knickers than I did with the stretch nylon or cotton knickers i used to have. I haven't tried the undershorts yet though.

[peircer]

You know, I've seen those shorts for sale, but I've never heard that they were required for anything or even recomended.

[NMSabre]

You must be fencing epee! I bruise easily, and when I fenced epee I generally had at least a few reminders of bad parries and slow retreats. This sounds really strange, but I found that hydrogen peroxide works to help the bruises go away quicker. Just put some on a cotton ball and wipe the bruised area once or twice a day. It works for me, and it's very cheap stuff!

[BugabooX]

Ditto what everyone has said already.

My wife has teased me that when I was a beginner, at least she knew I was definitely spending time at the fencing club. Now that I've improved, she has to rely on the stinky sweat odor from my gear.

I've also heard a few experienced fencers say they avoid beginner-heavy competitions for the same reason. Too much risk of injuries, they said. I can appreciate that perspective now: I've had a guy lose control of his lunge and cram his foot into my big toe -- the bleeding and swelling under the nail was a bit of a distraction for my next bout.