Hello

[RITFencing]

Hi, my name is Sean, I'm a professional fencing instructor from the Bay Area, CA. I've been fencing for about 10 years, coaching for 6, and I've just recently started doing so as a full time means of support. I love it; it's always been my life's ambition to not have a real job.

I've also done about 2 years of Northen Shaolin Kung Fu, 6 months of Isshin Ryu Karate when I was a boy, and a smattering of other things here and there that I dropped when I either moved, got injured or things started to interfere with my fencing.

I realize that fencing, on a technical level may have very little in common with many eastern martial arts, and I realize that many people don't even consider it a martial art (and if that's the case, please let's both just respect each others' opinions about it; I've gotten into way too many arguments, or more precisely the same argument way too many times) but after talking with different martial artists, kendo people, kenpo people, aikido people, I've found that there are many similarities, especially in the qualities that each activity tries to build and, on an abstract level, the tactics that are used.

I look forward to talking with all of you about things; I'd like to get back into eastern martial arts at some point, but at the moment my wallet and schedule are lacking; even if I could afford it, most places seem to only offer classes when I am working, but hope springs eternal.

I'm also very interested in educational theory; while I don't like a formal training environment, I do feel that there's a lot of good stuff in various teaching systems, and I'm always looking for something to pick up and adapt to my lessons.

Cheers,
Sean

 

[14 Kempo]

Hello Sean, welcome to MartialTalk ... enjoy!

 

[theletch1]

Hi, Sean. Welcome aboard! Happy posting.

 

[terryl965]

Welcome and happy posting

 

[stone_dragone]

Greetings and welcome to MT! I for one agree that fencing has alot in common with asian martial arts.

As you've already seen, we have a great forum for European/western martial arts here. I look forward to a day that I can go somewhere that I can learn fencing...it's been a childhood dream of mine to know how to handle a good chunk of steel.

 

[SFC JeffJ]

Welcome and enjoy!

Jeff

 

[RITFencing]

Wow, you guys are quick.

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome.

Stone_Dragone: If you want, I may well be able to find a place for you to fence; I've coached, reffed and competed nationally on both coasts and in between, and I have friends who fence in various countries outside of the US, so I'm pretty good at finding a decent club if one exists in your area.

 

[Kacey]

Welcome, and happy posting! :wavey:

 

[Ping898]

Welcome to MT, Sean. Glad to have someone with a lot of fencing experience on the board! :wavey:

 

[RITFencing]

Welcome to MT, Sean. Glad to have someone with a lot of fencing experience on the board! :wavey:

Well, I have a decent amount. Haven't fenced any World Cups yet, and I have a long way before I get there (all this time coaching has messed up my competitive game) but now that I have the chance to work with high level coaches several times a week, one never knows what could happen in a few years.

 

[Drac]

Greetings and Welcome to MT..Fencing is EXCELLENT, the one thing I always wanted to try..Then I watched a class at the local university, talk about FAST...

 

[MJS]

Welcome to Martial Talk!

Mike

 

[RITFencing]

Greetings and Welcome to MT..Fencing is EXCELLENT, the one thing I always wanted to try..Then I watched a class at the local university, talk about FAST...

It's just about moving at the right speed at the right time to the right place (which sometimes happens to be really dang quick.)

Also fencing is very quick because the weapons are manipulated by the fingers (watch an experienced typist or pianist and you'll see that the fingers are capable of being very fast indeed) and are about three feet long. A finger motion that gets the area around the grip and bell guard moving at a decent speed makes the tip move that much faster.

Just like I told Stone Dragone; if you want, I can find a place near you to fence at. I'm working on finding a place in Southern China for another MT member, so I think I can handle stuff inside the US.

EDIT: Actually, if you're in Ohio, go check out the OSU fencing team if you get a chance... while I'm not a big fan of NCAA fencing as I think it burns the athletes out and doesn't really help them improve, their head coach, Vladimir Nazlymov, has a very impressive resume as a competitor and coach.

Competing for the Soviet Union, Nazlymov was a three-time Olympic Team Gold medallist (1968, 1976, 1980), Team Silver medallist (1972) and individual silver and bronze medallist (1976, 1972). In addition to his six Olympic medals, Nazlymov also is a 10-time World Champion. Eight of the championships were team titles, while two were individual crowns (1975, 1979). Additionally, he was a world championship silver medallist (1977) and bronze medallist (1970, 1973). From 1971-1977, Nazlymov reigned as the USSR national champion (team and individual). In recognition of his tremendous success, Nazlymov twice was named the world's best sabre fencer by the (F.I.E.) International Fencing Federation (1975, 1977).

And while I know wiki is at times spotty, this info is all correct.

 

[Tames D]

Welcome.

 

[ArmorOfGod]

Welcome and it is great to have a fencing teacher in the group.

AoG

 

[IcemanSK]

Welcome to MT, Sean! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on fencing.

 

[Tez3]

Welcome to MT Sean, I think there's a tendency to think that the only 'real' martial arts are Eastern ones which is such a shame as we then lose sight of all our excellent Western ones. Like the others I find fencing fascinating, to be honest I have a fascination for all sharp bladed weapons lol! I'm pretty certain you will enjoy MT, you're certainly an asset!

 

[RITFencing]

Welcome to MT, Sean! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on fencing.

Thanks, though I don't want to be very pushy or just start lecturing people, so I'm really much better off in a question and answer type situation.

Tez: I've run into that... often. It bugs me that people seem to need odd clothing and oriental languages and rituals to consider something to be a martial art, as opposed to wondering if something is A) of a martial nature and B) could be considered an art. Really, many things fall under that category. The whole thing annoys me just as much as when people load so much meaning into the word "art" and take so much away from the word "sport..." I'll try not to rant, I promise, but it won't be easy.

Honestly, as a fencer, I consider myself to be a competitive athlete as well as a martial artist. I compete hard and often, and I've had some decent results in the past. Some people seem to draw this into a false dichotomy where one must be either an athlete or an artist, that they are mutually exclusive.

An old coach of mine who had a huge influence on my career once told me that when you compete, it's a sport, and when you practice, it's an art, and each person has to balance out the athlete and the artist in themselves, and I've found that to be a pretty good rule.

 

[exile]

Welcome to MT, Sean, it's good to have you with us. And don't worry about people trying to diss your point of view or haranguing you about how you're wrong about fencing as a MA or whatever. This is actually a very non-sectarian, live-and-let-live place. One of our excellent members, Langenschwert, is a swordsman (more interested in historical European sword combat, I think, as well as traditional European MAs, with a lot of really good information on old systems of Euro CQ H2H combat). So you're come to the right place!

 

[Tez3]

If any of you ever get across to the UK you must visit the Royal Armouries in Leeds, trust me it has something for every member of MT. There is every type of weapon from every part of the world in there, suits of armour from every age and country,with live demonstrations of the weapons. There's workshops where you can watch guns and swords being made plus a Mews with various types of hunting birds. While the Asian martial arts weapons are represented there (there's some very fine old katanas) it shows what a rich legacy Europeans have too. Fencing I believe was considered very much an art as well as being needed for self defence.

http://www.royalarmouries.org/extsite/view.jsp?sectionId=2222