[CFML] Fencing Footwear

I would like to weigh in on this extremely interesting subject.

Firstly, as others have stated, there is no substitute for good,
solid footwork.
Once this is mastered, it should not really matter whether one is
wearing
ballet slippers or Doc Martens, Florscheim wing-tips or Keds.

Secondly, I can see no sensible reason why modern sports shoes should
not
be used by historical fencers. Athletes have always striven for more
rather
than less traction. Aldo Nadi describes digging his rear foot into
the gravel
during his one and only duel; the chalk bag and the rosin box have
been
familiar to athletes and professional dancers for centuries; football
and soccer
players, and even sedentary golfers apply cleats to their shoes to
achieve
extra purchase; and basketball players seem able to do hours of
passing and
pivoting footwork in modern, so-called "high traction" sport footwear
without
snapping their legs off at the ankles. I have fenced for years in
sports shoes,
and have had no difficulty doing passing or pivoting footwork. I have
also
spent years dancing in leather-soled shoes, doing passes and pivots,
and
have rarely had occasion to fall down or slide off the dance floor.

Thirdly, the thinking that fencers "in the day" wore slick
smooth-soled shoes
and fought on slippery surfaces, and so their footwork had to be
extra
particular, doesn't hold much water. Their footwork was extra
particular
because they were fighting for their lives. But they did that
fighting on all
sorts of surfaces and terrain and in all sorts of footwear. Modern
ballroom
dancers rough up the soles of their leather shoes with wire brushes
to
achieve extra traction. Do we think an 18th century bravo would have
done
anything less? Or scuffed his boots in the dirt, or on a cobblestone?
Or
stepped in a muddy puddle? Or in a bit of ale or mead to make 'em
sticky? Or
done anything to get a better grip? Of course he would. And so may we.

Finally, of course, fencing in period footwear (if you're fortunate
enough to be
able to really get it... and not just some moccasin knock-off) is a
great way to
get into the period physicality. And leather boots and shoes are
actually great
to fence in. Pivoting, in particular, is sooo much easier with
leather soles. But
there is no need for leather-soled footwear to be slick or slippery
(and, if you
think about it, why, in god's name, would a real swordsman choose to
fight in
slippery shoes??!!).

Of course, I think the real reason that modern fencers have so much
trouble
with footwork ain't the shoes... it's that they don't dance!

Cheers! -Mark
Mark Rector
Author & Editor of HIGHLAND SWORDSMANSHIP
http://www.chivalrybookshelf.com


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