What can one learn from Fencing?...

[Kelt]

Not just the aspects that Bruce Lee discusses in his books- how can it influence or add to the FMA? how do the different foundations of foil, epee, saber, etc., help you out if you transfer those techniques and principles to the use of a stick?
asking cause i don't have much access to stick players, but there's an excellent Fencing school not too far away that i could afford to put some time into (and i have all the gear from years ago, when i was on a fencing club here in a Pa. college). i'm interested in the positioning of the livehand and how that translates into the "balancing arm" in fencing- mostly held out of the way (i guess unless you're doing serious HACA fencing with a smaller weapon in the secondary hand) and how to apply that to stickwork.
Any takers on this one?? Thanks!!

 

[judge]

One thing that strikes me about fencers is how much you can do with explosive linear footwork and point-oriented fighting. A few days ago I spent three hours sparring with a friend of mine who is a moderately good fencer. I basically taught him Filipino style bladework, and he surprised and caught me with some VERY fast feinting/stabbing combinations. A trained fencer´s speed and linear footwork is something not to underestimate, although I don´t think it is applicable with anything much heavier than a knife, and fencing techniques wouldn´t be very effective with a standard FMA type rattan stick. I gotta practice some defensive work against those fast feints though...

------------------
"Peace is not without conflict; it is the ability to cope with conflict" - Leo Giron



[This message has been edited by judge (edited 08-06-2000).]

 

[Snickersnee]

AS always, when discussing fencing relative to other arts, it's important to keep in mind that there exists both the traditional martial arts associated with the smallsword and saber, and also the modern sport forms, and the differences between them can at times be quite distinct.

For instance, nowadays, a saber man would not use his left for anything but a counterbalance. However, this was not neccesarily the case in the 19th century, when Europeans still went to war with swords in hand. An excerpt from Taylor on disarms;

There are varios methods of disarming attempted, but the safest and most likely to succeed is, after parrying an inside cut to change quickly to the outside, and longeing forward to bear your adversary's blade out of the line to the outside, then step with your left fott up to his right heel, seize his shell with your left hand, quit your bearing on his blade, and present your point to his breast.

The beauty of this disarm, in my eyes, is that rather than trying to wrest the blade from the enemy by main force, it presents your adversary with a rather pressing moral dilema; surrender, or die...

The left arm was held back in these later styles because at this point in time the use of shields and bucklers, as well as secondary weapons, had largely fallen out of practice. With armor missing from the battlefield as a result of ever improving firearms, holding the left on line with the weapon arm would largely only serve to make it a target. However, close in, while the adversary's blade is tied up by your own, it is brought into play either to command your adverary's blade, or to be used as a weapon in it's own right, as Parkyn's adovcates in his Inn-Play.

 

[Sun Helmet]

I think it gives you access to a different kind of rhythm and more available training partners. Different than reality self defense but great for developing reflexes, and thinking in linear terms. My brother trained with both sport (Olympic level) and also some classical swordsmen, the level of competition in NYC is very high, so training with people with world class physical attributes and exceptional timing helped him. They didn't have much in terms of close quarter knife, and the secondary limb is less of a factor as it would in a knife clash. As far as closing a long distance linear fighting gap... they have much to offer.This is of course the sport aspect I'm refering to.

Gumagalang,
--Rafael--

 

[Smoke]

One thing I learned about being a victim of sport fencing moves, yes, was that blocking or real hard wind ups to hit were out. Sport fencers also have their own tricks like stabbing the crotch, punching with the guard, slashing your back.

 

[King Tut]

I am no expert but what I do know about fencing is that the fast lunge and withdraw stepping increases speed and dexterity not to mention balance, while the actual stabbing (or in some cases cutting) whether with an epee, foil, or saber increases hand eye coordination and reaction time as well as accuracy whithin the areas where you are aloud to strike (torso and head)which all help you when you get in a knife fight the only differance I can see is that in FMA's you guys "usually" use medium to large knives
not swords.

I also no fencing is expensive but if you have the money being well rounded in all aspects of combat has never hurt anyone.

------------------
Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn my god do you learn.
C.S. Lewis