The best thing about fencing...

[arcon]

some will tell you its a shower after the tournament .....but seriously its knowing you performed your best.

[MyraTrue]

Ahhh! NO! That part is bad, cause you get to hear stories about the guy in the shower singing "its raining men" and have to wait 1 1/2 hours for the mens epee captain to get his arse out of the locker room so you can go find dinner.

[blue_falcon]

I'd say the best thing about fencing is the seeming simplicity and purity that one encounters while on the piste. I'm not talking about simplicity and purity with respect to your opponents but the purity and simplicity that (for me at least) that you get when you're confronted with some person who wants to stab/slash/hack at you with a weapon.

The focus that you get when on the piste is quite amazing -- all the cares of the world fall off as you focus wholeheartedly on :
a) not getting hit
b) hitting the other person

I think it's mostly a survival thing. It beings out some of the most basic instincts that humans have -- survival and aggression in the pursuit of survival. But this instinct is tempered by the active mental processes that are required by the activity and the rules. In a way it's artificial survival -- survival based on the rules of the game. It's a game that has its roots in duelling and I think the sport version has successfully been able to translate (as much as possible anyway) the rush, the excitement, and, perhaps artificially, the danger of duelling. In a real duel, you KNOW you can get killed and/or severely wounded (witness some of those pictures of aftermaths of duels -- lopped off heads, limbs, bleeding torsos, etc.). In fencing you CAN'T get that type of injury but the instruments and the skills being used and developed are a direct descendant of the instruments and skills used for duelling. (With a lot of safety thrown in, of course)

I don't think any other type of sport can provide this type of focus. By this I mean that combat sports can provide that focus. Running, bicycling, etc., can provide focus but that focus is not, by any means, visceral and as deep seated as what one gets with a combat sport. I think with a combat sport, even though you know it's "safe", you can't help but feel that "fight or flight" instinct. And with fencing it's doubly bad since your opponent has a weapon and does not have a human face (the mask is on).

I guess the mask makes it easier as well to hit your opponent. With the mask on, the opponent becomes anonymous, merely some faceless entity that is trying to stab/slash you. If you could see through the mask or if there was no mask, the humanity of your opponent is revealed and I'm sure there are some out there who may have issues with striking an entity who they can ALWAYS see as being human. But with the mask on, that opponent is this faceless thing in white with a weapon in its hand. This makes it easier for you to hit them.

So, with fencing you feel "justified" in hitting your opponent. It doesn't look human (no human face) and it is trying to hit you back. This makes it easier to focus -- your humanity can be subsumed in the instinctive/logical moves that you develop over time as you progress in your fencing.

As I said, that focus is pure -- hit or be hit. Nothing more, nothing less. At least it's no longer kill or be killed.

I guess one can call it the purity of the piste.

By the way, I'm mostly talking about epee here.

[lfortier]

In fencing, you'll become friends with the most interesting people you'll ever meet, and aside from that, its exciting, full of adrenaline, and different from the bland and normal sports- Fencing requires what YOU have-Its a solitary sport, thus requiring mind and body to defeat your opponent, allowing you to change the outcome of the bout instead of having it be in the hands of other teamates.

[jusplainfencing]

that feeling you get when you have just beaten a person that you thought was sooo much better than you. that's priceless

[Talysen]

Definitely being able to be competitive at 35 is a good thing

It just takes a bit longer for the pain to go away, but it's much more managable than some other sports

[sabresamurai]

i like fencing because it is very strategic and i just love strategy
it is also very fast which i also love
another thing that i like is when you're fencing electric and you are in a pool i always get this weird feeling when i really want to beat a guy and then i do and i just get on a roll and never lose and you just get an awesome feeling haha that probably sounds really weird but...

[sabresamurai]

Originally posted by blue_falcon
I'd say the best thing about fencing is the seeming simplicity and purity that one encounters while on the piste. I'm not talking about simplicity and purity with respect to your opponents but the purity and simplicity that (for me at least) that you get when you're confronted with some person who wants to stab/slash/hack at you with a weapon.

The focus that you get when on the piste is quite amazing -- all the cares of the world fall off as you focus wholeheartedly on :
a) not getting hit
b) hitting the other person

I think it's mostly a survival thing. It beings out some of the most basic instincts that humans have -- survival and aggression in the pursuit of survival. But this instinct is tempered by the active mental processes that are required by the activity and the rules. In a way it's artificial survival -- survival based on the rules of the game. It's a game that has its roots in duelling and I think the sport version has successfully been able to translate (as much as possible anyway) the rush, the excitement, and, perhaps artificially, the danger of duelling.

yes! that was what i was trying to say the rush and excitement just makes you want to fence more and more and win more and more...very addicting eheh

[pammie003]

That one perfect hit. The kind that still makes you smile when you think about it.

[labouche]

I fence because it is the best sport to ever exist. Well, it must be...I do it.
-la bouche

[labouche]

Originally posted by arcon
some will tell you its a shower after the tournament .....but seriously its knowing you performed your best.

oooo, I might have to agree with the shower part of your comment.

[blue_falcon]

Originally posted by sabresamurai
yes! that was what i was trying to say the rush and excitement just makes you want to fence more and more and win more and more...very addicting eheh

Yes, it is very addictive, especially if you're on a winning roll! It's a combination of the adrenaline rush, the thrill of victory, and the feeling that you've survived what (artificially) could have been fatal.

You feel alive. That's all there is to it. Just alive and revelling in the joyness of surviving.

[Popper]

The best thing about fencing is that I finally found a sport that I enjoy!

[blue_falcon]

The feeling of vindication when you beat some blowhard 5-0, 5-2 and he just stomps off after the match!

[Fechter1]

Best thing about fencing is all the airtime and publicity we get, all the cheerleaders, the huge crowds at our events, ...

(uh oh, sarcasm detector just blew up...)

[sabresamurai]

Originally posted by blue_falcon
The feeling of vindication when you beat some blowhard 5-0, 5-2 and he just stomps off after the match!

that feeling isnt too great....
a better feeling is coming back from a three touch dephosite in a five touch bout

[sabresamurai]

Originally posted by sabresamurai
that feeling isnt too great....
a better feeling is coming back from a three touch dephosite in a five touch bout

by that i meant coming back from a three touch dephosite and winning the bout