Lack of threads in this forum

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Hi everyone, was just reading through the threads and noticed that its been about 9 months since anyone's posted in here. Wondering if there were no more fencers on here (cant be!!:wah or if people just ran out of things to talk about here, or if people just forgot about it.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Some sections run slower, but fresh posts can kick things back up again.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Hopefully this thread is one of those, fencings going through an interesting time at the moment, so it would be nice seeing everyones opinion on it, and an exchange of ideas come through

 

[Dirty Dog]

You mean Olympic Fencing?

I prefer other forms of fencing. Forms that are more applicable to real weapons. Olympic fencing is fine, just as Olympic TKD is fine. But I personally prefer forms that are more applicable to real weapons.

 

[arnisador]

Given the low number of sword fights in the world today, the distinction of what's "real" is pretty academic, isn't it?

 

[billc]

You could go to the Phillipines. I've heard that when the tempers get hot, blades tend to still come out, and not just knives...

 

[Dirty Dog]

Given the low number of sword fights in the world today, the distinction of what's "real" is pretty academic, isn't it?

And how often do you use sticks to defend yourself in the world today? That doesn't mean it's not worth learning.

 

[arnisador]

I didn't say it wasn't worth learning. It was you who said that fencing wasn't worth learning. I said the distinction between an epee being for sport and a katana, say, being "real" isn't very meaningful given the rarity of actual swordfights between people these days.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I can see learning sword for a few reasons. To preserve the skills. For fun. etc. I mean, just because I can use a couple dozen cool tricks in photoshop to make a photo pop doesn't mean the darkroom techniques Ansel Adams used are useless today.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I didn't say it wasn't worth learning. It was you who said that fencing wasn't worth learning. I said the distinction between an epee being for sport and a katana, say, being "real" isn't very meaningful given the rarity of actual swordfights between people these days.

If that's what you got from what I wrote, then you're misreading it. I made two points:
1 - That fencing is much more than just Olympic fencing.
2 - That I prefer fencing with weapons that have a closer resemblance to real weapons than epee, foil or saber do.

At no time did I say or imply that Olympic fencing isn't worth learning. I've a fair grounding in the techniques of Olympic fencing. I simply prefer to use the schlager.

 

[billc]

Well, as for sticks or anything like that here goes...As an adult, most criminal violence you may encounter will usually involve one criminal with a knife, gun or club ( a lead filled piece of bamboo for one individual at our school) or many unarmed attackers. Knowing the capabilities of a stick for one thing shows that unless you are hit in certain delicate spots, it takes a lot of hitting on you to put you down, so escape, or resistance is at least possible, if really painful and sucky. As to my first idea, that crime as an adult occurs with an armed single indivual, we have an example here in chicago. Two women, coming home late from drinking, were attacked by a drug addict. He initiated the attack by hitting them both in the head, repeatedly, with a baseball bat. There are several cases that I have heard recently where people have been murdered with knives (no time spent in training by the attackers). One incident happened near our school. One teenage boy (young teen) stabbed his brother in the chest, killing him, over some sneakers. So, FMA with it's emphasis on knives, swords and sticks at least lets you become familiar with the different types of destructive potential of those weapons. A whack with a stick may hurt, but it won't necessarily break a bone. The same level of force with a knife or a machete bought at Wal Mar for 7.99 sends you to the hospital for stictches. There are drug gangs in chicago that use machete's as an intimidation weapon when they kill. So you have that aspect as well.

Besides, as Bob said, weapons training is fun all by itself, and FMA, especially the sword styles are even more fun. Another thing, the stories of the old masters, Ilustrisimo, and the others are very recent as far as time goes. These guys handled these weapons for survival in both war and as civilians.

 

[lklawson]

A few points to address, spread out across a few posts above.

• Right Of Way is the most important concept taught in Olympic Fencing which carries over into Classic Fencing, HEMA, etc. Bar none.
• I know of at least one Classical Fencer who teaches Olympic Foil as a required primer for all of his Classical Fencing weapons.
• Swords as a weapon of personal defense are by-and-large in the Dead Weapon category for the developed Western world. Unless you live in the mountains of Brazil, Indonesia, or the Philippines, you're not going to get into a swordfight. Ever.
• Practicing various sword skills can be fun, help inform you of other martial pursuits (such as knife), and offer a social outlet and, perhaps, a cultural link to your heritage.
• Yes, sticks are still a viable self defense too. Further, many Western based cane styles are rooted in sword fighting. French canne ("la Canne") is an example of this.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Hi everyone, was just reading through the threads and noticed that its been about 9 months since anyone's posted in here. Wondering if there were no more fencers on here (cant be!!:wah or if people just ran out of things to talk about here, or if people just forgot about it.

Lots to talk about here. I fence; currently epee, rapier, and kendo (kendo is a form of fencing; just not European).

I haven't been posting in any section here consistently for a few months now, but if there are fencing/sword discussions to be had, I'm happy to join in.