Ambidextrousness

[DHCJr]

Originally posted by drizzt_do_urden
I knew upon selecting my internet pseudonym that there had to be some fencers who would be familiar with the ambidextrous sword fighting character Drizzt Do'Urden from R.A. Salvatore's novels.

This reminded me of another ambidextrous character. I don't know if anyone has read 'Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe' by George Takai (Sulu). The lead character was ambidextrous.

[remise]

I once started a tournament out with the left hand, finished it with the right hand. The ref even asked me, "Weren't you just fencing with your left hand?"

Trouble is, I never could tell my left from my right. I still can't.

[edew]

Your left is Nader, your right is Cheney.

HTH

[JEC]

I recall something in the rules about having the zipper on side of the chest of the non-sword arm. Are you required to change jackets? and turn inside-out the plastron?

[Aoife]

lol- I gues it all depends what, and where, you're eating. The greasy sppon cafe where I breakfasted in New York- not very 'finesse', but Hard Rock Cafe- people were a little more reserved... most people anyway.

i can't believe after all those people went through you still feel you can insult new york, don't fence there anytime soon adolf!

Okay, seriously, no offence was meant. I love greasy sppons, why else would I have eaten breaklfast in one every morning I had in NYC? They're great... but in a greasy spoon, anywhere in the world, it's hardly going to be a fine china and silverwear place, is it?

Sorry for any toe treading, it didn't seem like an insult when I wrote it.

[remise]

If you have a jacket that zippers down the back, it doesn't matter what arm you fence with.

[drizzt_do_urden]

What about back zip jackets?

[remise]

In response to JEC -

My plastron has no "side". It covers both sides and slip-ties at the back. My jacket zippers in the back. That way, I can fence either hand and still be conforming to safety.

During practice at the club I will sometimes have a body cord in each arm but tucked away in the arm that I am not using. (Never during a tournament, though)

[Aoife]

My plastron has no "side". It covers both sides and slip-ties at the back.

Oooh, where could you get one of those from?

[remise]

Tripplette. I think it set me back quite a few ducketts.

[PeterGustafsson]

Hi!

I once had a ambidextrous teammate who had another trick. Not only cound he write well with both hands, he took it one step further.

He could start writing on a whiteboard with one pen in each hand, writing backwards with the right hand and forwards with the left, *and* making the sentence that he was writing meet in the middle without a mark in the middle.

Try that.

Have a nice time!

Peter Gustafsson

[Chris]

Originally posted by drizzt_do_urden
(snip)...First, I've been fencing both right handed and left handed, (snip) I tend to be left handed for finesse type activities - writing, painting, eating; while I am right handed for power type activities - throwing a ball, punching. Does anybody else hear fencing both left and right? And do you suggest I pick one side or the other, or continue working with both?

Well, you SAY you are left-handed for 'finesse' activities, but are you any good at them? ;-)

You say you throw a ball with your right hand; that implies you catch with your left...
In this, you sound similar to me; I am a 'muddled' left-hander: people taught me many things right-handed, so I learned them that way; (though I now, usually eat left-handed) fortunately, I went to a public (tax-supported) school, and they didn't pay attention to what hand I wrote with...didn't pay attention to a lot of stuff for that matter!

SO, by the time I started fencing I had identified myself as a left-hander, but also some slightly significant experience playing 3 years little league baseball, behind the plate, as a RIGHT-handed Catcher. Not that I was all that good, but I feel I DID develop good tracking skills; i.e. watching a moving object, and knowing where it will go, because you never really watch it go INTO the mitt; I feel this transfers well to fencing, as you can't watch the point, you must see the blade, and know where the point will be.

Normally, I think more people in the U.S. tend to start fencing with the hand they throw with, and must 'start-over' and re-learn their tracking abilities.

I would recommend that you take a look at which hand you seem to be able to defend with the most easily/effectively, and go with that: the longer it take s someone to defeat you, the more you will learn, and the better you chances will be.

Next: What are the advantages and disadvantages of French grip vs. pistol grip? Nearly everybody I know uses pistol grip, but the fencing book I have (Art and Science of Fencing - Nick Evangelista) strongly recomends French grip. I've been learning on French grip and like it so far.

Personally, I feel that, for most people, at the start, the french handle it too hard for tham to hold, and just creates a distraction; there's nothing wrong with using an orthotic handle, until you are a little more capable in your footwork; and THEN doing some work with the french to examine the finer points of bladework.

Of course, if you feel comfortable with the french, then, for you, it doesn't seem to be a problem - no solution needed.

[Aoife]

I'm right-handed, but my left eye is dominant. So I tend to muddle my right an left.... whcih can be embarrasing for a fifteen year old (I'm constantly pointing right and saying 'go left' et cetera).

[Dav3ey]

Hey! I'm right-handed with a dominant left eye, too!

Unfortunately, my left eye is so bad I don't have any trouble telling which is my left/blurry side.

-- Literally!

[Joe biebel]

I am left handed in the extreme. I have found this to be an advantage in fencing only for the beginnning part of my career. A rather high percentage of good fencers are left handed, and so, at the higher levels, the advantage of being left handed disappears.

Because of the long time I have been fencing, I have pretty much worn out a couple of important "parts". With my best years behind me, but not wanting to quit, I decided to change hands to the alleviate pain and to regain the usefulness of my left arm for everyday life. Having achieved a fairly high skill level in foil, I had high expectations. If you are contemplating changing hands and you already have some degree of skill, you will need extreme patience.

My teaching, or rather my patience with the less gifted beginners improved dramically, due to the new level of patience I had to develope for myself. My fencing improved with time. The leg strength and usage was was very difficult to get right. I started to compete in tournaments with surprising success. I always wanted to use my left hand though, and after about 2 years of right handed fencing, I tried fencing again on an experimental basis. Using "0" length blades has helped me immensely. So far, so good.

One really fun aspect of the change was getting to use one of my favorite fencing movie lines. Whenever someone noticed me fencing right handed at a tournament they would invariably ask me why? My pat response became "If I use the left, it is over too quickly."

Joe B.