Sabre grip in epee

[ztron24]

side stepping the measurement debate...

i have built epees to post with using sabre grips. yes, they are a little bit shorter. it's gone now, but i think the reason i did that was that the sabre grip in question had a little more girth which allowed me to get a better grip on the end of it. depends on the grip i guess...

i have one of the new leon paul grips, and after a bit of getting used to, i find that i like it quite a bit. i am disturbed to hear that it might be illegal after all. i haven't taken the ruler to it, but once i do i'll let you know if it's the 19cm they say it is.

there does seem to be some ambiguity in those rules. i.e. some interpretation must be used. does anyone know if the leon paul grips are legal under FIE rules? are they more specific when it comes to grips?

[Barry Paul]

The rules talk about one and two piece handles.The carbon fibre Leon Paul handle is an example of the one piece handle. Hence it is only required to fit in the test guage and be 20 cm long. DHCR problem is that the drawing only shows a two part handle. The Leon Paul handle is a one part handle (the original drawings were made before many crosse grips existed.) These legal handles have been presented to the semi. They have beem passed at many World Championships A grades and at all levels. DHCRJr please do not attempt to fail these handles until you have spoken to me and we have resolved the situation.

As for the issue of gardere handles again DHCJR is wrong on his interpritation all crosse grips can be held so the thumb is more than 10 mm ? from the guard. (Would not be very comfortable) the way the rule is phrased you have to see the fencer hold the grip and measure the actual distance as fencers have different sized thumb length. Only the referee can actually ban such a grip on the piste during a bout. Again please do not ban any such grip (not that many are used) until we have discussed. Barry Paul M.D. Leon Paul

[DHCJr]

To Barry and MFP. I checked with Dan on Leon Paul grip. Yes it is illegal, BUT as Barry pointed out it is an archaic rule, that is no longer enforced. This is the same as the 1mm travel rule in Foil. I stand corrected.