[MUD-Dev] About Fencing (was: mass customisation)

[Greg Titus]

This is drifting off-topic for MUD-Dev, but...

On Thursday, July 25, 2002, at 11:14 AM, Sean Kelly wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Jul 2002, Greg Titus wrote:

>> Foil fencing is originally based on sword-armed infantry
>> practice. The foil is a long, thin sword with a point and no
>> blade. The idea was to pierce the guy in front of you in the
>> vitals as quickly as possible so he can't pierce you, then move
>> on. Almost any hit to the body was quickly incapacitating, while
>> almost any hit to the limbs was nearly useless (and likely to get
>> your blade caught, resulting in _you_ becoming quickly
>> incapacitated).

> I would say that this is where epee came from (the epee is heavy
> and stiff, a lot like a short rapier, while foils are extremely
> flexible).  IMO the foil technique was later added as a
> gentleman's version of the practice, as it incorporates things
> like right-of-way, a limited target area, and a thin, flexible
> blade that is unlikely to really hurt anybody.  Sabre is the
> flashiest of the three, though it still incorporates right-of-way
> and a limited (though larger) target area, like foil.  Epee is
> basically a free for all, and even allows body contact.

You are right, of course, about the differing right-of-way and
target area rules with the various weapons.

But (or so I've been told is the history)... The foil is an infantry
soldier's practice weapon. The saber is a cavalry soldier's weapon
(blunted for practice). The epee is a gentleman's dueling practice
weapon.

The limited target area and right-of-way rules in foil and saber
were originally intended as training tools for the troops. Arm and
leg touches are disallowed because in actual battle, they weren't
likely enough to incapacitate your opponent. Right of way is how
they chose to deal with the difference between practice with blunted
blades and life-and-death. If someone is stabbing you, you better
parry or evade instead of stabbing back and calling "I got you
first!". The right of way rule forces you to parry or evade before
riposting (ignoring counter-time actions, of course...)

So these rules are intended to encourage actions during practice
that will be appropriate to the battlefield.

Epee, on the other hand, allows things like toe touches and discards
right-of-way because it is practice for dueling, and usually dueling
was to first blood. Sticking someone on the hand or foot is
perfectly effective in drawing blood and ending the duel with a
victory.

Of course, modern foil and saber are miles away from these
origins. Modern foil involves heavy use of the flick (sort of
whipping motions that cause the flexible blade to bend - half of my
bruises from points against me end up on the _back_ of my shoulders
rather than my chest). The flick would be completely useless, of
course, in any sort of real battle.

Similarly, modern saber training has caused saber to become
completely unbalanced in favor of attack over defense (this happened
to saber, because a cut can be so much faster and at so many more
possible angles than a stab). The parry is now a relatively rare
action in competitive saber. The most important skill is the
footwork, because retreat is much more effective than blade
contact. I have to guess that having great footwork is not the most
important skill to have when you are mounted on a horse.

It is much easier to see the original purpose in modern epee.

--Greg

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