Designs on Masks

[CvilleFencer]

Yes, YYEEESSSS! Include Oiuyt in the ranks of bloodfisted warrior/scholars! We will have to get him an honorary Demon Mask!

[Ramrod]

I would like to see color introduced to the sport. It would be easier for spectators to identify their favorite team or individual competitor.

From a practical standpoint there would probably have to be some rules or conventions set down to prevent fencers looking like escapees from a super-hero convention though.

I certainly didn't start fencing for the glory but if more people get interested that more bodies for targets.


Cville - What's wrong with a vet wearing an army patch?

[CvilleFencer]

Originally posted by Ramrod
Cville - What's wrong with a vet wearing an army patch?

Absolutely nothing. I am a vet myself, but did not fence while I was AD. Mergs however is and fences with the Army program I believe, and the patch he wears is the Army Fencing patch if I am not mistaken. I was just teasing Mergs for his saying that painted masks are goofy.

I have this big demon face painted on my mask you see, and he thinks it looks silly as opposed to what he and all others are supposed to do, which is piss themselves in fear at the approach of my very scary mask!

As it is I might inspire a bit more fear if I could take him in a match!

[bug]

Originally posted by CvilleFencer
The roar of the crowd, the pleas of mercy from my enemies, the feel as my blade slams into their flesh! That is a very fine thing, the dance of death and glory played out on the fencing strip.

It is almost obscene in its beauty, almost erotic in its passionate brutality. To fence a person is to learn them totally. Nothing can about their character can be hidden. It is the most personal of sports for you see your opponent’s soul in the way he deals with victory and defeat, and his personality in his style.

Why not share it? Do we as athletes, as warrior/scholars not deserve the allcolades and adoration of the masses? As keepers of the tradition of the blade, do we not have a compulsion to insure it lives on? As prophets of the great truths that are fencing do we not need to help others reach the same truths?

You are awesome. You so eloquently vocalized what I feel when I fence. And please, please post a picture of your mask. I don't think having a design is for me (I should be really good first), but that's still really cool.

[CvilleFencer]

Originally posted by bug
You are awesome. You so eloquently vocalized what I feel when I fence. And please, please post a picture of your mask. I don't think having a design is for me (I should be really good first), but that's still really cool.

Awe shucks... Thanks for the compliment, and glad that someone enjoys my poor attempts to wax poetic on occasion!

I do not have any good pictures of my mask, and it is not even that cool. I really painted it so I would stop grabbing other peoples mask, and vice versa! It is just two evil white eyes and a row of white teeth. It is supposed to be a demon, but wound up looking like Venom from the spider man comics! I have seen some really awesome masks out there done by airbrush artists and so forth. Miloni's evil clown, and some really nicely done skulls, as well as David Copelands great American flag mask just to name a few.

I do not think you should have to be good to have a spiffy kit. To me that is like saying you have to be an F1 winner to have a fast car! A better example might be thinking that you have to be Golubitski to use a colored blade... or the one named after him!

Give it a try, and paint up your mask. Get a colored lame, paint blood chits on your glove, and paint your foil guard like a smiley face... Just have fun! That is the point after all. The only way to popularize expressive kit is to wear it!

Thanks again, and I really do hope you try adding a little personal style to your kit. Do not listen to the gloom and doom crowd that say judges will discriminate against you and you will be singled out! Judges that are that incompetent will screw up your calls anyway, so you might as well look good and have fun!


Good luck!

[Inquartata]

Originally posted by CvilleFencer
Yes, and his screen name is Inquartata

Not me! Express all you want! Just don't expect to win me over without sound arguments....

I think China is looking for fencers. Sounds like you might enjoy everyone dressing in Mao jackets and giving up your right to expression for the sake of outdated dogma. I really do not understand why you object so passionettly to the evolution of fencing.

Oh, well, I suppose it's not quite as trite as "Go back to Africa" or something.

But seriously, you call it "evolution", I call it change for the sake of change.

Evolution implies the triumph of qualities or behaviors which confer some concrete benefit. The flick, for instance, may be condemned by some, but it has become prevalent because it is successful in winning touches---the ultimate goal of fencing. The ability to wear a tiger-striped jacket with a snarrling tiger painted on the mask will win no touches. It is nonfunctional. Its only purpose is to satisfy vanity, the oh-so-pressing need to look, if not to be, "different". To me, this is not evolution, but ego.

The fencers clothing used to be called the fencing uniform for a reason. And like any uniform, it was intended to make all the wearers look alike. To make them equal. To instill group solidarity, give them a sense of commonality. Etc. And yes, I know that looking part of a group is anathema these days. Why, I'm not exactly sure, but it seems to be the case. It's as though we have mistaken the outward trappings of nonconformity and individualism for the real things. But the true individual need not go about shouting his uniqueness to the world in every single avenue of life. Because when EVERYONE is trying that hard to look "different", they are really just conforming to another sort of sterotype....and so the nonconformists, when they are in the majority, become conformists again....

The roar of the crowd, the pleas of mercy from my enemies, the feel as my blade slams into their flesh! That is a very fine thing, the dance of death and glory played out on the fencing strip.

It is almost obscene in its beauty, almost erotic in its passionate brutality. To fence a person is to learn them totally. Nothing can about their character can be hidden. It is the most personal of sports for you see your opponent’s soul in the way he deals with victory and defeat, and his personality in his style.

I say, but you do wax poetical, sir! ( We already have a Purple Fencer, but we may have to start calling you Purple Writer! )

Do we as athletes, as warrior/scholars not deserve the allcolades and adoration of the masses?

No, no, you have it backward----they do not deserve to adore us! Who wants the admiration of the plodding masses? The admiration of the hoi polloi?

We are fencers, not gladiators. We fence for ourselves, not for the amusement of lesser creatures!

[CvilleFencer]

[quote]Originally posted by Inquartata

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. New puppy, fencing, fiancée’s, and life in general have conspired to keep me away. But hear we are back in the middle of the street. Someone cue the spooky western gunfight music....


Not me! Express all you want! Just don't expect to win me over without sound arguments....

Fair enough, but please keep in mind that just because you do not agree doe not invalidate the argument. Having said that read on and I will give the coherent argument a try.

Oh, well, I suppose it's not quite as trite as "Go back to Africa" or something.

I would never suggest that you go to Africa. That is a country where they definitely know how to express their individuality. Usually with Assault Rifles and Machetes... but still, very much the rugged individuals are they. And the fencing sucks!

But seriously, you call it "evolution", I call it change for the sake of change.

More like change for the benefit of fencing and its supporters IMHO.

Evolution implies the triumph of qualities or behaviors which confer some concrete benefit.

Evolution: A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. See Synonyms at development.
The process of developing.
Gradual development.

Granted that more colorful/individualistic fencing uniforms do not give a direct and straightforward way to score more touches, but as with many things in an evolutionary process the colored kit is simply a part of the process. More on this later.

The flick, for instance, may be condemned by some, but it has become prevalent because it is successful in winning touches---the ultimate goal of fencing. The ability to wear a tiger-striped jacket with a snarrling tiger painted on the mask will win no touches. It is nonfunctional. Its only purpose is to satisfy vanity, the oh-so-pressing need to look, if not to be, "different". To me, this is not evolution, but ego.

Hold on, hold on I said I am getting to the point! Just one thing first...

The fencers clothing used to be called the fencing uniform for a reason. And like any uniform, it was intended to make all the wearers look alike. To make them equal. To instill group solidarity, give them a sense of commonality. Etc.

Okay, here is where we really start to disagree. The reason a fencing kit is called a uniform is not because we all enlisted with the Inquartata Gestapo! It is because it is made to Uniform specifications for safety and Material! It is not because we joined the marines!

As to the reason they were/are white, as I understand it, is because the used to use Pineapple tips with chalk, or paint markers on the tip to score a touch. Also I can imagine it might be easier to judge a dry bought against a white background.

When they went away from all that I am sure there were those that lamented about the loss of tradition and bemoaned the doom of fencing that switching to another more sensible color would bring about... when they really just did not want to by a new kit!


Anyway, I promised to try to produce a sound argument, but I cannot decide on which approach to take, so I will just do a couple of them! Here goes:

Colored Kit for Marketability

Most coaches/club directors involved in the sport today will confess to a secret worry. That fencing will cease to experience its slight increase in popularity and begin once more its slide into obscurity.

With so many other sports, or things that are presented as sports, today vying for the publics attention it is more and more difficult to gain any notoriety for top fencers or to attract new members from the generation raised on extreme sports. It is even becomeing difficult to secure appropriate venues to hold our events.

I do not say that colored kit is a magic pill that will cure all of our ills, but if we have the freedom to have college fencing team uniforms in school colors, top fencers with distinctive kit, and the ability to attract new and younger members by making us look "cooler" and more distinctive, then I think that we can only benefit from the experience.

Why not allow those who wish to express themselves by having custom kit do so? It could easily bring about several benefits including:

1. More coverage from local and national media. Like it or not, flash sells. I am not saying having a neon fencing kit with flashing lights and jack in the box helmet, just a little color/expression. Anything that can make us appear a bit more dynamic and less outdated as a sport would be good.

2. It could only be good for vendors. Some already offer, and other could easily offer custom colored kit and lames at an increased price. This would improve their solvency, which could mean less increase on the price of standard equipment while encouraging more involvement from sporting goods manufacturers.

3. Fan Base. My Fiancée has know idea who is who in rally racing. I like it a bit, and occasionally watch it on TV. She has her favorite racers. Not because of their companies, their nationalities, or their skill. She picks by the colors of the cars!

Fencing is very hard to follow for the uninitiated! If you have people that do not all look identical from up in the bleachers it is much easier to follow the progress of matches and more interesting for non-fencers. Increasing interest from parents/sponsors can only be in our best interest.

4. My last reason. An in my mind the most important! Why not? Why not let someone wear whatever color uniform they want as long as it conforms to safety. It does not hurt me, they have fun, and I will fence them the same no matter what.

Why not? Because you don't like it? I hate plaid but I am not up in a clocktower looking for lumberjacks through ha leopold X7! If fencers have more fun wearing colored kit, the said kit is still safe and conforming, and it could have any beneficial side effects at all, go for it!



Colored kit as a way to get more wins!

Again, no magic pill here, but a part of a process.

Fencing is expensive. Kit and training space is expensive. Private lessons are expensive. Travel to tourneys, NACs, and Nationals is expensive.

What is the skilled but not individually wealthy young fencer to do? Get a sponsor! A lot of European, and some American fencers have sponsors. The market is tight, as the companies willing to shell out bucks for fencing are few and far between. One way to grab your piece of the pie is to be distinctive!

When you go to Pepsi or wherever and say "I am the obvious choice to represent your company. My skills deserve to have a chance to grow, and I would like Pepsi to be a part of the future of my sport" it really helps if you look like someone that a company wants to be associated with! You want to be distinctive in a way they can understand, and in a way that they can draw a direct correlation to increased marketability.

Having a great parry/repost or being a super lunger will mean nothing to them! Showing them picture of you executing spiffy moves while wearing a bright Kit in a sea of white jacketed lookalikes is a great way to stand out to those that might give funds.

Colored/patterned kit is also good for colleges and clubs. I will start with college teams.

College sports are huge! Support for sports at schools is a big part of campus and Greek life. Many people turn out to cheer on the team rather or not they understand the sport. Except for fencing. Croquette has a much higher turnout than fencing.

One way to help change this is to have their kit in College colors! That way the fans know who to cheer for, and who the bad guys are. The team has unity and esprit de corps just by looking at one another. Ad in cleaner judging and an announcer that can follow/explain the action and you have a recipe for improved college fencing turnout, bigger college teams, increased revenue for the USFA and for vendors, and better training for our next generation of fencers. It could even lead to more scholarships and media airplay. But it all starts with colored kit!

Let’s take clubs as another example. A large club has a competition/demo team. They all wear kit that somehow links them to the club. They fence and do well in tourneys and look very dashing in demos.

This not only makes it easier on fans, but draws attention and new members to the clubs, resulting in better funding, better training, and better equipment. All of which leads to more wins!

Like it or not, right or not, people as a whole are drawn to things that are distinctive and attractive to us. More distinctive fencing gear is likely to lead to more interest, more media coverage, and more growth. All of which most people would agree is a good thing. No one wants to see fencing go the way of WWF, and no one I know is saying it should.

That was all really long. Anyone who actually makes it to the bottom has my thanks!

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Originally posted by CvilleFencer
[QUOTE I hate plaid but I am not up in a clocktower looking for lumberjacks through a leopold X7!

You say that as if it would be a BAD thing. (Just kidding, all you lumberjacks out there. )

I generally agree with your rationale for adding colored uniforms. It would be especially useful for clubs to be able to wear customized kit. Nellya fencers could all compete in peach colored jackets, NYC Fencers in taxi-cab yellow...instant visual recognition.

My only concern is the "I'm unique...just like everyone else" truism. If everyone is allowed total flexibility in their uniforms, and we end up with tiger stripe, Darth Maul, Nemo or tye-died monstrosities adorning everyone, then individuality is lost and it just becomes a visual muddle.

How do you open the door to custom designs without getting whacked in the shins when the extremists burst through?

[CvilleFencer]

Originally posted by Capt. Slo-mo
My only concern is the "I'm unique...just like everyone else" truism. If everyone is allowed total flexibility in their uniforms, and we end up with tiger stripe, Darth Maul, Nemo or tye-died monstrosities adorning everyone, then individuality is lost and it just becomes a visual muddle.

How do you open the door to custom designs without getting whacked in the shins when the extremists burst through?

Well, I wish that I had a good answer for this one. The only things that I can offer are as follows.

To a certain extent the industry would be self-regulating as the makers are in the business of selling lots of items, and most people are not willing to pay for custom made kit just for the sake of being gaudy.

I doubt that one could convince Walter Triplette or the Paul’s to make a tie dye kit for example. A broad range of colors, and limited runs for clubs/Schools yes, but I think the actual instances of Darth Mauls and Nemo's would be fairly slim.

Also, there is a certain amount of modesty among most fencers. Look at all the people that think that painted masks or "Go Fast" stripes are cool, but do not feel they are good enough to call that much attention to themselves.

Alas, there will be someone, somewhere that will step over even the most liberal lines of decorum and good taste. After all, this is America, but I think those instances will be fairly rare.

If they happen, then so be it! Let the person in questions fence with the Tie-Dye kit if they wish. It does not hurt anyone, is not disruptive in anything but an aesthetic sense, and would in theory make the person happy.

I can think of no good way to regulate it without impugning on creativity so I say we listen to the words of an old scholar (Aristotle I think): "With love, do as you will so long as it harms no other."

If anyone could think of restrictive, but not stifling, language for this proposed rule, or just things that should not be considered I would love to hear it!

[Inquartata]

Originally posted by CvilleFencer


Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. New puppy, fencing, fiancée’s, and life in general have conspired to keep me away.

Heh, pull the other one! Confess now, it took you this long to write up that Harry Potter-length post...

please keep in mind that just because you do not agree does not invalidate the argument.

Would I dream of thinking such a thing? Moi?

Evolution: A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. See Synonyms at development.
The process of developing.
Gradual development.

And still to be demonstrated: that allowing liberty to people's flashy fashion senses would make fencing "better"...

Different, certainly! More complex? Perhaps...or more bewildering, anyway. We sabre fencers are bewildered enough at the best of times, more we don't need.

Okay, here is where we really start to disagree. The reason a fencing kit is called a uniform is not because we all enlisted with the Inquartata Gestapo! It is because it is made to Uniform specifications for safety and Material! It is not because we joined the marines!

OK, you posted a dictionary definition, now it's my turn:

Main Entry: 3uniform
Function: noun
Date: 1748
: dress of a distinctive design or fashion worn by members of a particular group and serving as a means of identification; broadly : distinctive or characteristic clothing

Note the words "design", "fashion", and "identification". Nothing there about safety or materials.

Uniforms---including military ones but not limited to them---are designed to make all the individuals who wear them LOOK generally alike. The reasons for that are myriad and debateable, but that's the purpose behind them.

Now, try to think of all the uniforms you see in daily life which are NOT "the Marines"...from the USPS to the Fire Department to the doctors and nurses at the local hospital to the FedEx guy to the bottled water delivery person to....

As to the reason they were/are white, as I understand it, is because the used to use Pineapple tips with chalk, or paint markers on the tip to score a touch.

That's the reason white was chosen...and since the absolute need for white has passed that's an argument against white
( though a fairly weak one, on "if it ain't broke don't fix it" grounds ) but it is NOT an argument FOR multicolored uniforms. It might be used as an argument for a diferent single color. Want us all to go to orange instead?

Most coaches/club directors involved in the sport today will confess to a secret worry. That fencing will cease to experience its slight increase in popularity and begin once more its slide into obscurity.

Have you taken a representative sample of them ? Do you know this to be true?

With so many other sports, or things that are presented as sports, today vying for the publics attention it is more and more difficult to gain any notoriety for top fencers or to attract new members from the generation raised on extreme sports.

I'm not sure you meant "notoriety", as the word has negative connotations ( if you did, I AM worried about the thinking of fencers these days! ).

I'd also argue the premise that attracting new fencers is any more difficult today than it ever was. My Division has grown by almost 20% in the last year...and we have far from the best assets to work with.

And---I realize we live in a celebrity-worshipping culture, but I see no need to surrender to the trend in fencing. I doubt that only "famous" fencers can preserve the spoprt...

It is even becomeing difficult to secure appropriate venues to hold our events.

Not difficult, just expensive. We bow to the laws of supply and demand, just like everyone else.

And if you think we will ever have the sort of money that pro basketball or football have, so that we can build our own facilities ( the Marx Stadium? The Westbrook Pavilion? ) frankly I think you're on crack...

I do not say that colored kit is a magic pill that will cure all of our ills, but if we have the freedom to have college fencing team uniforms in school colors,

Those teams STARTED OUT having different colored uniforms. They lack our traditions. And they face different exigencies.

Hey, maybe swim and other teams should be able to compete naked---body paint in school colors, perhaps. Now, THAT would bring in the spectators...and it sure would be "individually expressive"..! Eh?

1. More coverage from local and national media. Like it or not, flash sells.

For awhile, anyway. Then the beholders get jaded, and it requires ever more outrageous, over-the-top nonsense to hold their attention. Look at the music industry. Time was, the miniskirt was shocking. Take a look at Britney Spears and her fellows today and tell me this principle of progressive "flash" is not at work...

Moreover, I'm still not convinced that we really WANT "more coverage" from the media. Like I said, I took up fencing to FENCE, not to be seen fencing. You?

I am not saying having a neon fencing kit with flashing lights and jack in the box helmet, just a little color/expression.

Thin end of the wedge. Next step: sequins and colored feathers.

[ Anything that can make us appear a bit more dynamic and less outdated as a sport would be good.[/b]

Why?

2. It could only be good for vendors.

Oh, brother, yes!

But again, fencing is SUPPOSED to be about the fencers, not sales, and not having the latest cool clothes.

And...I'm out of time. Stupid library!

Different city, new library, another hour. Good thing they're both on the way home from work. Anyway, to resume:

Some already offer, and other could easily offer custom colored kit and lames at an increased price. This would improve their solvency, which could mean less increase on the price of standard equipment

I don't believe it works this way. As Keynes noted, prices are "sticky" downward---you may have noted how consumer prices seem to reflect increases in cost instantly ( witness gasoline prices ) but yield to cost decreases only slowly and grudgingly, if at all. Fencing goods suppliers are businessmen. What you would probably get is: higher prices for general colors and designs, really high prices for true custom, and prices unchanged for standard whites.

Of course, if lots of people went to colors and designs, then WHITE might become the "custom", high-priced stuff...

3. Fan Base. My Fiancée has know idea who is who in rally racing. I like it a bit, and occasionally watch it on TV. She has her favorite racers. Not because of their companies, their nationalities, or their skill. She picks by the colors of the cars!

Um...no comment.

[quote] Increasing interest from parents/sponsors can only be in our best interest./quote]

Again, why? Are they going to deluge us with money all of a sudden, because Keeth Smart wears an electric-blue body glove and a painted mask? I don't think so...

Are they going to do it because their KID does so? Again, I'm dubious.

4. My last reason. An in my mind the most important! Why not? Why not let someone wear whatever color uniform they want as long as it conforms to safety. It does not hurt me, they have fun, and I will fence them the same no matter what.

Because then it is not a uniform, is it?

Hundreds of years of tradition and history are to be unceremoniously dumped into the dustbin because some think it more "fun"? Isn't the fencing part fun enough? Is for me...

Because you don't like it?

I would not use that as a reason...but why should my dislike of it get any less of a vote than your liking of it? Why should my sensibility yield to yours?

The like-dislike thing should be a stand-off. Let the issue be decided on other grounds...serious grounds....not those of fickle fashion.

I hate plaid but I am not up in a clocktower looking for lumberjacks through ha leopold X7!

But if you were, I doubt you'd be wearing fluorescent orange and a purple hat... Probably black BDUs or a ghillie suit. Standard uniform for snipers!

Fencing is expensive. Kit and training space is expensive. Private lessons are expensive. Travel to tourneys, NACs, and Nationals is expensive.

Custom kit will only make it more so.

What is the skilled but not individually wealthy young fencer to do? Get a sponsor!

So you'd like to see the divide between the elite and the rest of us widened still further by the addition of big money for the skillful, talented, blessed few?

When you go to Pepsi or wherever and say "I am the obvious choice to represent your company. My skills deserve to have a chance to grow, and I would like Pepsi to be a part of the future of my sport" it really helps if you look like someone that a company wants to be associated with!

So you want to wear a uniform painted like a Pepsi can?

Not because it'd make you a better fencer...but because it'd let you "get paid", in the current parlance?

Is this really what you want to say?

Showing them picture of you executing spiffy moves while wearing a bright Kit in a sea of white jacketed lookalikes is a great way to stand out to those that might give funds.

And if they bite, your cherished "individuality" and freedom of choice will evaporate as they contract you to wear what THEY want you to wear. Just a different sort of uniform, really: basic corporate shill. Brrr! No, thank you!

College sports are huge! Support for sports at schools is a big part of campus and Greek life. Many people turn out to cheer on the team rather or not they understand the sport. Except for fencing. Croquette has a much higher turnout than fencing.

I suspect it has more to do with about a hundred other factors than with clothing color. In your heart of hearts, you know it, too.

One way to help change this is to have their kit in College colors! That way the fans know who to cheer for, and who the bad guys are.

Not necessary to go that far. Follow the example of flag football: easily detachable colored markers. "Problem" solved, without opening the Pandora's box of no standards and anything goes...

The team has unity and esprit de corps just by looking at one another.

Do you really think a lack of these things can be remedied by adding external decoration? Or that, having them, you can take them away by requiring whites?

These are qualities that come from within. Like Cyrano, one wears ones adornments on ones soul---or one should....

Ad in cleaner judging and an announcer that can follow/explain the action

Let's not throw in extraneous wishes just yet, hmm? Given such things as these white fits your "recipe" just as well. Let's stick to the color issue for now.

and you have a recipe for improved college fencing turnout, bigger college teams, increased revenue for the USFA and for vendors, and better training for our next generation of fencers.

And money could never ruin a sport, of course....

I'm still not sure any of these things are really desirable. You need to make an argument for them, too, ere you use them as de facto proof of the present thesis...

No one wants to see fencing go the way of WWF, and no one I know is saying it should.

And yet your prescription could very well lead there. Can you live with it if it does?

Pro wrestling was once a much less "flashy" activity. Still more entertainment than sport, but there were no pyrotechnics and the like. It's gotten worse and worse over the years. Bad taste tends to drive out good. Could you tolerate fencers in capes and glitter-covered cowboys hats atop their masks? Want to see a Dennis Rodman of fencing strutting throught the pistes of the world?

Egad, I just frightened the hell out of myself!

[JAySE SUiCiDE]

these are just my thoughts on the subject.

people should be able to wear whatever colors they want to when they fence. i would personally like to stay away from black kits, so long as they're a light grey...solid colors could give us a way of indivuality while still keeping together.

i was recently at a competition in New Hampshire, and every had white kits and black helmets except for one sabre fencer who had a yellow mask. i myself switched over to a navy blue mask, not too much of a difference..but if a person has not been thinking of changing their colors before, than seeing a few unique colors here and there probably wont make them want to change.

as for lame's, im not sure if anyone realised this but if they had a true-blue lame, nobody would be able to see the name on the back. so if there's a dark colored lame you need to contrast against, then white lettering should be allowed.

sorry for making such a short post

~JAySE Spencer

[CarlKnoch]

Originally posted by CvilleFencer
I would like to say you will pay for that. But we never wind up fencing, even in pools. I would also like to think of a witty rejoiner, but it is really late. How about "well, some people have those silly VAF and Army patches on their jackets. How tacky is that?" but it does not have the right zing to it, and making fun of military patches on jackets might get Mr. Arthur mad at me.

IOU one witty comment for your lack of respect for the all-powerful demon mask. Just don't be surprised when it comes!

Sorry, just catching up on this thread. I'm all with Mergs on this one. Painting a mask, while it can be a way to show that you're an individual, is something that most of the fencing world will probably look on with scorn. It's just a silly thing. I can't imagine what the purpose is really other than trying to look "cool", but I haven't seen a painted mask yet that looked really cool to me.

Just my opinion.

Also, about the idea that if you are asked to take off the painted mask you must.... I believe that you have to take off the mask if you claim it to be vulgar, or if you feel that it's being used for intimidation. I don't think they will have someone remove the mask for a tourney just because someone doesn't like the smiley face painted on it. (Although that might be advertising for Wal-Mart so who knows)

[CvilleFencer]

Oh well, no accouting for taste!

Everyone is indeed entitled to their own opinion on the subject, but I still maintain that it should be up to the fencer, and not to the purview of the USFA/FIE. If one wants to do so, and likes the look, then why not? We already have white and black. Uhlmann, Triplette, PBT and others are now doing dark and light blue, red, green and yellow. Why not have patterns while you are at it?

I would caution anyone from going with a matching mask/lame/guard/glove/sock combo however. The power ranger look is just silly. Yes yes I know, my hypocrisy is boundless!

[CarlKnoch]

Originally posted by CvilleFencer
Yes yes I know, my hypocrisy is boundless!

Yes.... in this topic, I think it is.