Arrogant Non-Fencers

[grphiw]

Does it drive anybody else nuts that some people, upon hearing you fence, automatically assume they can beat you? Even if it's a joke? Where do they get the idea that a lack of any training in fencing, in a real bout, is just asking for trouble? The most common one I've heard is that they'll just move past "your silly little parries and poke you" (actual quote from the last guy who brought this up with me, and he didn't fence). Just drives me crazy.

[Talyn]

Forgive me if I start rambling.

YES YES YES

It is so annoying when people think that they are so much better than you when they've never even seena foil.

how ever there is nothing more annoying thens eeing someone who can fence say "ooo I'm better than you because I'm the best fencer int he school and sutff"

I mean honestly... I know so many arrogant fencers who tell everyone what to do when they don't even know the difference between an attack and counter-attack. But whats even WORSE is when you completely smash them like 15-0 and they say something like ooo you're not allowed to do that or something like it. What aren't I allowed to do? HIT YOU? OOO I'm sorry but i didn't realise that people had to LET you win. GRRRR It's even more annoying when they say that YOU are arrogant. pfft They think it's arrogant when you politely say to them that they really shouldn't counter-attack because not only do they not have right of way but it just doesn't WORK!!! I remember the last time I said it and He didn't listen so everyone who fenced him kept getting bruises because his foil didn't bend properly [ this was mainly his fault because he bent the foil down because he wasn't hitting properly- thats what happens when you counter-attack badly.] I have nothing against counter-attacks it's an important part of the game but when they can't do it properly.

i know this is about non-fencers but I don't get it much from non-fencers. However I get it tons from arrogant school fencers who think that they are so goood cause they can beat most of the peoople in the school.

BAH!!! sorry about the rambling I'm still sick of stupid little fencers whot think they're sooooooo good.

[Delmont]

MIght just be the circles I run in, but I don't see that so much. Most of the people I talk to about it want to come and try it out. ALthough one guy thought that I was a wimp becaused I fenced. EH ended up changing his mind but it was still funny.

[Tireur]

Does it drive anybody else nuts hearing you fence, Even if it's a joke? Just drives me crazy.

There's medicine for that.....................

[The0ne]

and then the wavy crap they do with their arms. . .

[foil=gay]

Originally posted by Talyn
Forgive me if I start rambling.

YES YES YES

It is so annoying when people think that they are so much better than you when they've never even seena foil.

how ever there is nothing more annoying thens eeing someone who can fence say "ooo I'm better than you because I'm the best fencer int he school and sutff"

I mean honestly... I know so many arrogant fencers who tell everyone what to do when they don't even know the difference between an attack and counter-attack. But whats even WORSE is when you completely smash them like 15-0 and they say something like ooo you're not allowed to do that or something like it. What aren't I allowed to do? HIT YOU? OOO I'm sorry but i didn't realise that people had to LET you win. GRRRR It's even more annoying when they say that YOU are arrogant. pfft They think it's arrogant when you politely say to them that they really shouldn't counter-attack because not only do they not have right of way but it just doesn't WORK!!! I remember the last time I said it and He didn't listen so everyone who fenced him kept getting bruises because his foil didn't bend properly [ this was mainly his fault because he bent the foil down because he wasn't hitting properly- thats what happens when you counter-attack badly.] I have nothing against counter-attacks it's an important part of the game but when they can't do it properly.

i know this is about non-fencers but I don't get it much from non-fencers. However I get it tons from arrogant school fencers who think that they are so goood cause they can beat most of the peoople in the school.

BAH!!! sorry about the rambling I'm still sick of stupid little fencers whot think they're sooooooo good.

Yeah Talyn, don't you just hate stupid little fencers who think they're 'all that'!! Wow you beat this guy 15- 0!!! I've heard the fencers in australia are pretty good so beating one of them 15-0 is no mean feat!
Sounds like more people at your club should be listening to what you say. I know what you mean though when arrogant fencers like to talk up their fencing prowess and don't really understand what they are saying. You're not one of them ofcourse! Whats it like downunder? Any good fencers there?

[lfortier]

holy sh**! I know what you mean! I'm a freshman in high school, and whenever I'm meeting people, they always ask, "so do you play a sport?" of course, my response is fencing- I get the weirdest looks you can possibly get- 25% dont even have a clue to what fencing IS; the rest of the responses are:
1)Fencing is a sport?, or, Thats not a sport
2)Thats what pussies w/o friends do
3)Do ppl die everyday doing that?
4)thats soooo easy, "Even babies can poke someone" (what Dancer5050 said)
5) Touche'!
6) have you been stabbed lately?
7) Your family must be loaded.

[Joan of Ark]

Dancer5050 seemed to think this. Check out the thread "Why fence?"...
Drives me mad as well...

[Tireur]

You people are way too touchy about this. People might think you're ashamed of your sport......

[whtouche]

I think it's even more annoying that when you try to explain to people that we wear protective clothing while fencing so we don't actually get "stabbed", they decide that fencing is stupid for that reason. This is most ironic coming from football or hockey players, of course.

[Joan of Ark]

People have such a small outlook on fencing. They see the movies and belive them! Nothing else in the movies is real but the part when the min charecters use swords to tr to kill one another...

[grphiw]

Originally posted by Tireur
[B]You people are way too touchy about this. People might think you're ashamed of your sport......

Originally posted by Tireur
There's medicine for that.....................

How can this not upset you? How would a boxer feel if you laughed at him because he was fighting with a bunch of other guys over a purse? He'd probably knock your block off.

And why would this sound like we're ashamed of our sport? If we feel insulted that other people think (wrongly) that it's a simple, overly analyzed sport it seems to indicate otherwise.

I have no clue why people think fencing is easy. Just look at it. You've got two people standing on a 6X40 ft (pardon me if my dimensions are off, I can't remember if that's the exact size) piste with weapons, and 2 out of 3 times,there are ROW rules to make it more complex. Even epee, without the ROW, is complex, and sometimes more tense as things get more complicated with each move having a purpose. Why on Earth would this look like a simple game of poking each other with a metal stick? That may be the most basic idea, yes, but there is so much more involved.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

i always get the "that is not a sport" or "that is a loser sport that takes no skill and leaves you with no friends." So I feel you pain lfortier.

[Talyn]

hehhehe I was talking about school fencing not club fencing. Club fencing is completely different, you don't get that much in clubs but in schools... geez... thats where you get pricks.

I should be far more specific in my posts o well I've quit school fencing now so I don't have to live with that anymore

[Army Fencer]

Originally posted by KShan5[PrFC]
i always get the "that is not a sport"

I hate that. I argued with a classmate of mine in college (hockey player) almost an entire summer over whether or not fencing was a sport. When I finally argued him into a corner, he said, "It's because fencing isn't cool."

We didn't talked much after that summer. And rumor had it he got kicked out a few semesters later...

[PeterGustafsson]

Hi!

Originally posted by lfortier

2)Thats what pussies w/o friends do
7)Your family must be loaded.

What kind of people say response #2 to a female??? Don´t be around that kind of slobs. What does response #7 mean? Does "loaded" have some meaning that I am not aware of? Since I live outside USA, I fairly often find that I miss the finer points because I don´t know background (like TV shows everyone in USA has seen, and refers to, new slang, and the like).

My pet peeve is people who point out that they could win over me with some sort of firearm. Sheesh.

Have a nice time!

Peter Gustafsson

[Talyn]

To be a 'pussy' is a wimp basically

and

TO be loaded is to have lots of cash[so you can afford fencing gear]

[Army Fencer]

Originally posted by lfortier
7) Your family must be loaded.

Not mine. When I was in high school, I sold flower arrangements that my mom made, tins of candy, and even mistletoe. I'd go door to door with that stuff and sat long hours in front of the post office. It got to be freezing cold at times, and knocking on someone's door asking for money has got to be one of the most nerve-wracking things in the world.

I had to learn salemanship fast. That wasn't easy at all. But I had my pitch and I gave it strong, and if they refused to get something, I'd always ask for a buck or two to donate to the team.

Those were the days.

[Inquartata]

I've not encountered this attitude much, strangely enough. But my coach once tried to get his university AD to put fencing on as an intercollegiate sport and got a contemptuous remark about fencing being a "******y sport" and a brisk dismissal. The AD, by the way, had a long football background. When I heard the story I commented that had it been me I'd have retorted that at least fencers didn't go about patting each other on the a**, unlike football players.

Of course, I probably would have gotten expelled, but anyway...

[Louweasel]

It's not a reaction I've ever got - nice people say "wow, that sounds really cool!".
Not-so-nice people make those jokes about wooden posts round the back garden, or about selling on stolen goods. Now if I hear one of those again I may scream....