Taunton Deane Blades
Fencing Club
Taunton Deane Blades
JUNIOR Fencing Club
Affiliated
to British Fencing
www.britishfencing.com
Contacts:-
The
club meets at King’s College gym on South Road. Details & directions below.
New
term, Sept 2010. The club will not be meeting on the 27th October,
last session of this term will be 15th December
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 6th October. The cost will
include a pair of fencing breeches required by British Fencing safety
guidelines (with buy-back offer). Cost £90 for 8 weeks. The course will be 7:15
– 8:30 each week.
New
junior (U14) course starts 6th October.
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, & 3 other coaches, Fiona Wilson, Matt
McKenzie & Henry Walker. Neil coaches both the junior & senior clubs,
he is British U20 & U17 international team manager & Project Officer
for British Fencing. In 1993 he became the youngest ever full master of the British Academy of Fencing. Matt, Fiona are
former international fencers & Henry was in the British U17 team this year.
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).
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 £90 (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.
Coach
education courses are sometimes 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
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
