Intro to Foil Fencing
My last fencing post was a personal story about how and why I started taking fencing lessons. This post will be more specific about Fencing itself. I want to start by saying that when I say fencing, I am referring to Traditional Fencing. I’ll be more specific about what "traditional" means in another post, but for now, just consider traditional fencing to be primarily focused on the inherited art and science of replicating ideal behaviors in a real sword fight in a way that is both pragmatic and relatable to most people.
With that out of the way, check out the video below!
In this video, we are foil fencing at the Missouri State University Fencing Club. The Foil is the fundamental teaching weapon of fencing and is the weapon every traditional fencer starts with. The Foil teaches smart behavior, distance, timing, technique, and control. When fencers start their fencing journey with the foil, they are also conditioning themselves for learning the epee and saber as well, because the Foil builds the foundation of good fencing. I want to drive home the importance of foil because many post-modern schools just let new fencers pick up any weapon without even being aware of their original purpose.
The conventions of foil fencing
The Foil is a conventional weapon. This means that there are special rules that foil fencers need to follow. These rules were put in place by fencing masters long ago because they highlight logical behaviors and truths of a real sword fight.
Here are the conventions:
- Touches can only be scored with the point of the weapon. The French foil was designed to resemble the small-sword, the dueling weapon of the 18th century. The Italian foil was designed to resemble the rapier, the dueling weapon of the 17th century. Both the small-sword and the rapier had no edges and their attacks were delivered via thrusts instead of cuts. The MSU Fencing Club follows the French School of Fencing which prizes strategy and economy of motion over speed, strength, and aggression.
- The valid target area for foil is the trunk of the body (sorry, guys, the groin is a valid target). The legs, arms, and head/fencing mask are off-target. The portion of the the fencing mask called the bib--which protects the neck--is also off target. Attacks reaching under the bib are considered valid.The restricted target area helps to promote point control.
- The Fencer who extends their sword arm first, while at the same time pointing their blade's point at the opposing fencer’s target area, becomes the attacker and is given “priority.” Priority means a fencer has a recognized advantage over their opponent, and is designated as the attacker. The fencer with the bent arm naturally becomes the defender. Bent arm attacks are not recognized as valid attacks, because they offer distinct advantages to one's opponent. The straight arm is important because it gives the attacking fencer their longest possible reach and provides the most protection from direct counterattacks. The best way to stop a valid attack is for the defending fencer to deflect the attacker’s blade with a parry before following up with their own counterattack. Attacking after making a successful parry is called a riposte. Fencers attack, parry, and riposte until a valid touch is made.
That's Foil fencing in a nutshell. I’m looking forward to sharing more on Steemit as my time here goes on.
Have a good one, friends!
I took fencing in college and there's a club in my town. You've inspired me to get back into it, although I fenced epee, not foil. Great post!
I'm very glad to hear that! I've just started working on my épée post, so I hope you find that good as well. When you go to the club, give foil a try, because it will help learn skills that will help greatly in épée and vise versa.
Here's my teacher's site if you want to know from where I get most of my information.
I really wish there was a fencing club near me!
I think to really understand a sport, you have to know the history behind it. So thank you for sharing your information. :)
I'm glad you found it useful! If you have any ideas for what you would like to see me cover, I would like to hear them! I'm no expert and still a novice fencer myself, but I want to make fencing a part of my life because I find that it provides a lot of benefits to those who stick with it. If you'd like to read more, here's a quick yet informative resource on the history of fencing.
I'll have to find the exact words, but in "The Inner Game of Fencing", my teacher wrote a little bit on what someone should do if they didn't have a fencing community nearby. It's okay to start your own if you really want to fence and have no other option. Even though it is much better to learn from people with experience, not being close to a community shouldn't deter you from picking up what you can. As long as you are open to change, then you can keep making your fencing better as you go.
"The Art and Science of Fencing" is a good place to start that journey. It's a good introduction to fencing that takes the human experience of learning to fence into account instead of being dry and technical.
I've never considered trying to do it without a club, but I shall give it some consideration. It would be a sort of natural progression from the bit of medieval sword practice I started when we had a club in the area (although I preferred using the quarterstaff, lol). We even had a local blacksmith make us some training swords.
I'll check out those links too, thank you. I appreciate you sharing them. :)