Seeking practice dummy

[Victor]

I'm looking for a target or dummy to hold a blade for practice. An adjustable arm would be nice. Any suggestions?

[KShan5[PrFC]]

EpeeMike81?

[JEC]

Call Mr. Chen (Blue Gauntlet) and ask him that you want a training arm (perhaps with a sleeve if training for epee). He used to sell them for around $130 plus a $25 cotton sleeve

http://www.blue-gauntlet.com/store/images/10817.jpg

Alternatively, you could buy Rudy's book (Magnum Libre d'Escrime) from this website (http://www.fencing.net/cgi-bin/hzcat/hazel.cgi). At the end of his book, there are the plans to make a fencing dummy.

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

You can make a home-made one.

[Victor]

Yes. Yes, I suppose I *could* make one myself, 355. And if I made it at home, it would be home-made indeed.


Thank you for the useful suggestion, JEC. I'll take a look at those options.

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

Right. I could have just said, "Look in the mirror, there's your practice dummy".

[Mo]

If you do build a dummy be very careful with it. One of the fencing dads made one and stood up under it and almost killed himself. It was a freak accident but if you have kids or even dogs make sure that blade will not accidentally do some serious harm.

[JEC]

The blade should always be returned to point down position after use.

[npkeith]

There's a pretty good plan and cut list in the Rudy Volkman's Big Book of Fencing, sold on this very website. I think he also sells ready made ones for a few hundred.

[Mergs]

There has been a previous thread on this. It was a very good discussion about an alternative to Rudy's arm (and simpler, too). There were good pics of this one and I posted some of the one that I made from Rudy's plans, along with a simplified "hand" connection that did not require welding.

Just do a search of all threads for the past 100 days on "fencing dummy".

Good luck and let us know if you decide to build one and how it turns out.

[CarlKnoch]

Mergs is correct. http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthr...=fencing+dummy

Best Regs,
C

[Victor]

Thanks. A very good thread.

But my initial inquiry at BG yielded a terse, "We discontinued that item." I'm trying to prompt them for a more useful response -- special order, perhaps, or a reference to some other vendor.

Can you think of anyone else who might supply the same? It looked like a pretty good deal.

[Victor]

*BUMP*

A followup inquiry at Blue Gauntlet elicited no helpful information about where to find a practice arm for sale.

Can anyone here suggest an alternative source? ((And, yes, I do appreciate your make-it-yourself feedback, but that's not the route I wish to take.))

[Mergs]

Vic,

PM me and we can discuss getting you an arm.

[pkt]

Originally posted by CarlKnoch
Mergs is correct. http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthr...=fencing+dummy

Best Regs,
C

If everyone is agreeable I think we should discontinue this thread and continue this conversation at
http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthr...=fencing+dummy[/url]

PK

[Dragonfly]

One of the guys had a great idea, shadow fencing. It helps alot with the attack. [opps sorry pkt, I saw your response, but forgot, actually, I went into the site, it's pretty good, I've heard alot about the use of fencing dummies. Bruce Lee made a great dummy for his karate, and trained alot by himself, he was sort of incredible though, not many people can do that. I wondered, PK, since you have the most experience, whether or not a store manniquin would work, but the arm thing is sort of a pain, the picture of the arm thing that that guy made is sort of amazing. While I am dedicated, I do a little shadow fencing, and that heps alot with preparing an attack. You see an 'opponent' in the mirror, and you keep advancing, and also it really improves your arm positioning. See you guys around!!

[drayke]

Buy Rudy Volkman's book, The Big Book of Fencing (get the most recent version). There are plans and instructions for building 'Bob' the fencing dummy.