My daughter has been fencing this fall, and seems to have really taken to the sport. I'd never seen it (other than on TV) before my daughter started lessons and joined the local club.
Its an interesting sport. There are 3 different types of 'swords' used. Epee, Foil and Saber. My daughter fences with a Saber, which is the fastest and most brutal of the 3. Epee and Foil are more like playing chess and they have sensors on the very tips of the blades to sense touches of your opponent. Saber favors speed and also favors the attacker. Its common to get 'wacked' pretty hard with a saber, and bruises, even through the padding occur. Melen is one of only 2 girls the local fencing club, the other is a senior in high school who fences both Saber and Epee. We're considering sending her to a high school in Illinois that has a fencing team, but they don't fence Saber at that school so we are hoping they will change policy over the next year?
Here are some pictures just in case anyone is interested.
The first 2 pictures show close ups of the blade. The blade is triangular in shape near the base (called a bell) to prevent flexing. There is also something that looks like a blood groove, but it is not for that purpose, it is to control flexing farther up the blade.
Picture 3 shows the tip of a Saber. The shape of the blade changes from the rigid triangular to square about 1/2 way up the length of the blade. The purpose is to allow the blade to flex up/down and side/side. The tip is rounded off, or hooked, to prevent puncture of your opponent. Basically in saber you can beat the other guy with your blade, but you are not allowed to run him through!
Picture 4 shows the handle of a saber. It offers protection to the users knuckles, and also has an electrical connector to connect the saber, by wires, to the scoring lights.
Its an interesting sport. There are 3 different types of 'swords' used. Epee, Foil and Saber. My daughter fences with a Saber, which is the fastest and most brutal of the 3. Epee and Foil are more like playing chess and they have sensors on the very tips of the blades to sense touches of your opponent. Saber favors speed and also favors the attacker. Its common to get 'wacked' pretty hard with a saber, and bruises, even through the padding occur. Melen is one of only 2 girls the local fencing club, the other is a senior in high school who fences both Saber and Epee. We're considering sending her to a high school in Illinois that has a fencing team, but they don't fence Saber at that school so we are hoping they will change policy over the next year?
Here are some pictures just in case anyone is interested.
The first 2 pictures show close ups of the blade. The blade is triangular in shape near the base (called a bell) to prevent flexing. There is also something that looks like a blood groove, but it is not for that purpose, it is to control flexing farther up the blade.
Picture 3 shows the tip of a Saber. The shape of the blade changes from the rigid triangular to square about 1/2 way up the length of the blade. The purpose is to allow the blade to flex up/down and side/side. The tip is rounded off, or hooked, to prevent puncture of your opponent. Basically in saber you can beat the other guy with your blade, but you are not allowed to run him through!
Picture 4 shows the handle of a saber. It offers protection to the users knuckles, and also has an electrical connector to connect the saber, by wires, to the scoring lights.