Taunton Deane
Blades
Fencing Club
Taunton Deane
Blades
JUNIOR Fencing Club
Affiliated to British Fencing 
Contacts:-
AGM
The club annual general meeting will be at Neil’s house on Sunday 1st
July. The AGM will be 4 – 4:20 followed by the Summer
barbeque. Bring wine & garden toys. RSVP please.
The
club now meets at King’s College gym on South Road. Details
& directions below.
Half term & Summer. The club will not be
meeting on the 30th May, the last session
of this term will be the 11th July.
Communication
I
(Neil) recently sent an email to all the club fencers I have an email address
for. If you fence at the club (even occasionally) please email me with your
contact details so I can add you to the group.
New beginners’ courses
Adult
(over 14) 8-week course starts Wednesday 26th September. The cost
will include a pair of fencing breeches required by British Fencing safety
guidelines (with buy-back offer). Cost £80 for 8 weeks. The course will be 7:15
– 8:30 each week. Last week of this course is 21st November.
New
junior (U14) course starts 26th September.
For
both these courses you will need to wear tracksuit trousers (or similar),
trainers (squash shoes or similar are best) & a t-shirt. We will initially
provide all the kit you need. There is no need to register in advance for
either of these courses.
Times:-
Wednesdays during school terms
Junior Club (U14) 5:45 - 7
Senior Club 7:30 – 9:30
Venue:-
King’s College gym (convent
gym), South Road, Taunton. Access is only
via a pedestrian gate on South
Road opposite & to the north of Holway Avenue, walk
around the tennis courts to the gym. The gate is in the centre of the map at
the link below. There are usually parking spaces opposite, on Holway Avenue &
in front of the main building of King’s College.
Click here for a map
Professional Coach:-
Prof. Neil BROWN www.fencingcoach.net
About the
Club
Taunton Deane Blades
Fencing Club has been running for over 50 years, (it celebrated it's 50th anniversary in 1999.)
The club has a professional
coach, Neil Brown, & a trainee coach, Nat Lewis.
Neil coaches both the junior & senior clubs, he is
the assistant National sabre coach & U17 National sabre coach. In 1993 he
became the youngest ever full master of the British Academy of Fencing. Nat coaches in the junior club,
he was British U14 Champion in 2004 & is a member of the British U17 &
U20 National squads.
The club caters for all
levels & ages of fencers from beginners to British team members; there are
always fencers training at sabre. All senior club members get individual
lessons every week.
Among the fencers who train
in Taunton are
Commonwealth gold medallists, British team & squad members at senior,
junior (U20), & cadet (U17).
The club has a match every
year (starting in 1979) against Cercle d'Escrime Lisieux, the fencing club of Taunton's
twin town in France;
the venue alternates. The next match will be in Taunton. This is a lively & highly
sociable occasion every year.
Costs:-
Junior Club: £3 per week
Senior Club: adults, £14
per month (standing order)
U18s, £8.50 per month (standing
order)
8-week beginners course £70
(will include a pair of fencing breeches, required by British Fencing safety
guidelines)
Visitors: adults £3.50 per
evening
U18s, £3 per evening
Training
Footwork
Sessions.
30th
July – 3rd August. Coach education course suitable for all run by Bristol University. For
details click here.
For an application form click here.
30th
July – 3rd August. Course for fencers to be
trained by the trainee coaches on the above course, suitable for all ages &
all levels of experience. For details click here.
For an application form click here.
These forms
will also be available on the JUICE web site, www.juiceprogramme.co.uk & the Wesport web site, www.wesport.org.uk.
August every year. Millfield Summer Camp. Suitable for all fencers, all
weapons. For details look on the South West fencing web site at www.southwestfencing.net
19th
– 24th August 2007. Penzance 2007. Training for cadet & younger sabre fencers. For details click here.
Where to buy equipment
Second hand, Leon Paul, Allstar,
cheap Hungarian & Russian equipment
eBay
Auctions
Competitions
Bristol Sabre
Leon Paul
series
International FIE Competitions
National Competitions
South
West Competitions
South
West Fencing web site
South West entry forms
Fencing Forum
Home of Leon Paul’s online forum
About
the Sport
FENCING
The sport you've always wanted to try!
What
is Fencing?
Modern
fencing has retained the basic goal of duelling; hitting an opponent with your sword
without getting hit yourself. Contemporary fencers, however, use lightweight,
blunted swords to play a game of passionate, exhilarating physical chess. One
of the original modern Olympic sports, fencing provides a vigorous workout,
rewards mental agility over sheer strength & power, & is one of the
safest sports. In fact, you're more likely to be injured jogging or playing
golf.
Descended from the duelling
sabres of the late 19th century, which were in turn descended from naval &
cavalry swords, sabres have a knuckle guard. Hits can be scored with either the
point or the edge of the blade anywhere above the opponent's waist. Sabre
technique emphasises speed, feints, & strong offence. While the speed of
sabre often makes fights difficult to follow, if you focus on who starts an
action (who has "right of way"), the lively exchanges will soon begin
to make sense.
Similar to the duelling swords
of the 19th century, the epee has a stiff triangular blade, & a large guard
to protect the hand & the wrist. Hits are scored with point anywhere on the
opponent's body. Unlike foil & sabre, there are no rules of right of way to
determine which actions have precedence. The first fencer to hit wins, if the
fencers hit at the same time, both score a hit. Epee technique emphasises
timing, point control, & good counter-attacking.
Descended from the 18th
century smallsword, the foil has a thin, flexible blade with a square
cross-section & a small guard. Hits are scored with the point only on the
torso of the opponent. With the smallest target area of the three weapons,
precision & strong defence are crucial. As with sabre hits are awarded
according to which competitor has the "right of way" when the hit is
made.
How points are
scored
Sabre
The target
area is from the bend of the hips (both front & back) to the top of the
head, simulating the cavalry rider on a horse. The sabre fencer's equipment
includes a metallic jacket (lamé or electric jacket), which covers the target
area to register a valid hit on the scoring machine. The mask is different from
foil & épée, with a metallic covering since the head is valid target area.
Just as in foil, there are two scoring lights on the machine; one shows
a green light when a fencer is hit & one shows a red light when the
opponent is hit. Off-target lights do not register on the machine.
Épée
The entire
body is the valid target area.
The blade is wired with a spring-loaded tip at the end that completes an
electrical circuit when it is depressed beyond a pressure of 750 grams. This
causes the coloured bulb on the scoring machine to light. Because the entire
body is valid target area, the épée fencers equipment does not include a lamé. Off-target
hits do not register on th machine.
Foil
The valid
target area in foil is the torso, from the shoulders to the groin, front &
back. It does not include the arms, neck, head, & legs. The foil fencers
equipment includes a metallic vest (lamé) which covers the valid target area so
that a valid hit will register on the scoring machine. A small, spring-loaded
tip is attached to the point of the foil & is connected to a wire inside
the blade. The fencers wears a body wire inside his jacket which connects the
foil to a spool wire, connected to the scoring machine. There are two scoring
lights on the machine, one shows a green light when a fencer is hit, & the
other shows a red light when the opponent is hit. A hit landing outside the
valid target area (that which is not covered by the lamé jacket) is indicated
by a white light. These "off target" lights do not count in the
scoring, but they do stop the fencing action temporarily.
The Fencing
Piste
Fencers
compete on a piste, 14 metres long, 2 metres wide. After each hit is scored the
fencers stand in the centre of the piste 4 metres apart behind on-guard lines.
Fencing begins when the referee calls "fence" & stops when he
calls "halt".
Etiquette
Fences salute
their opponent, the referee, & the audience at the beginning & end of
each fight; they shake their opponent's hand at the end of the fight.
Protective
Equipment
One of the
reasons fencing has such a low injury rate is the gear fencers wear. Fencers
wear breeches to at least the knee, with long socks covering the rest of the
leg.
An underarm protector is covered by a long-sleeved jacket; women also
wear breastplates. The sword hand is gloved, with a long cuff to prevent blades
from catching in the sleeve. Foil & sabre fencers also wear lamés, made of
conductive material, covering the valid target area. A wire mesh mask protects
the head; since the head is valid target in sabre, sabre masks are also made of
conductive material.
The Referee
Each fight has
its own referee who starts & stops the action, interprets the exchanges,
& maintains order. The fencers may consult with the referee & ask for an
explanation of a decision, but may not question a referee's interpretation of
an action.
Occasionally, the referee must exercise his or her authority to award
penalties against a fencer (or coach) for violating the rules. A yellow card is
issued as a warning for a first-time or minor offence, such as arriving on the
piste with malfunctioning equipment. A red card, which automatically awards a
hit to the opponent, is awarded for a repeat of a yellow card offence or for a
more serious offence, including refusing to salute. A black card, for the most
serious transgressions, is used only rarely & means the offender is
disqualified.
Scoring
Confused by
the flashing lights? A red of green light means that a hit has landed on
a valid target area. The light on the side of the fencers who scored the hit
lights up & the referee then award the hit. When both red & green
lights flash, the referee decides who had the right of way in foil & sabre
& awards the hit accordingly. (In épée, both fencers can score at the same
time.) A white light can be an off-target hit in foil (no hit awarded) or a
fault in foil or sabre.
Right-of-Way
One of the
most difficult concepts to visualise in foil & sabre fencing is the rule of
right-of-way. This rule was established to eliminate apparently simultaneous
attacks by two fencers.
In essence, right-of-way is the differentiation of offence &
defence, made by the referee. The difference is important only when both the
red & green lights go on at the same time in foil & sabre. When this
happens, the winner of the hit is the fencer who the referee determines was on
the offence at the time the lights went on. Épée does not use the right-of-way
in keeping with its duelling origin - the fencer who hits first scores; if both
fencers hit within 1/25th of a second, both score a hit.
Fencing FAQ
