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Fencing age groups

Youth fencing is usually divided up by age bands. The age of a fencer is normally taken as at Jan 1st in the current year, so if a fencer has not reached their 14th birthday on Jan 1st they are considered Under 14 for the whole of that year.

Some schools’ competitions use a similar system, but based on September 1st, in keeping with the school calendar.

Children under the age of 8 are not normally allowed to compete.

Fencers under 17 are referred to as Cadets and those under 20 are called Juniors. Lots
of competitions also use other age-groups, like under 11 or under 13, but these don’t have specific names.

Fencers over 40 may qualify for veterans competitions. There is no upper age limit.

Nine Parries

Fencers (c) Sylvain Sechet, Creative CommonsBy Robin Catling.

To parry: to defend yourself from a weapon or an attack by blocking or pushing the weapon away.

In sports fencing there are nine parries commonly in use. The positions are the same at foil and epée, we’ll leave aside the variations at sabre for now. The nine parries are spread across the notional lines of defence: high, low, inside and outside (which we’re illustrating for a right-hander). …

What is fencing?

Novices foilModern fencing is a martial art derived from older forms of duelling with swords. The objective is to hit your opponent without being hit yourself. Modern fencing is a competitive form that emulates a duel – the weapons are blunt and a secondary objective after winning the bout is not to injure anyone. …

The fencing experience – a newcomers’ guide

LSFC club sessionBy Robin Catling.

Before you even walk into any fencing club or tournament, you’ll hear the bright sound of clashing steel. This is both combat martial art and sport.

The modern sport of fencing has three different events: foil, epée and sabre, each with its own history, target area and rules. The goal in all three weapons is to hit the opponent on the valid target area without being hit yourself. …

Fiore’s longsword guards

By: Robin Catling.

Fiore longsword gaurdsFrom our Historical Swordplay class, our starting point is the twelve guard positions taken from Fiore’s treatise.

The four high, four middle and four low guards are:

High

1) Posta di Donna (guard of the lady)
2) Posti di Donna la soprana (High guard of the lady)
3) Posta di fenestra (Window Guard)
4) Posta di Donna la sinestra (Guard of the Lady on the left)

Middle

5) Posta Breve (Short Guard)
6) Posta Longa (Long Guard)
7) Posta Frontale (Front Guard)
8) Posta di Bicorne (Two-horned Guard)

Low

9) Posta di Dente di cinghiale (Boar’s Tooth Guard)
10) Mezzo Porta di Ferro (Middle Iron Gate)
11) Tutta Porta di Ferro (Whole Iron Gate)
12) Posta di Coda Longa d’esteso (extended Long Tail Guard)

Florio’s Italian to English dictionary of 1611 translates:

Pulsare – to smite
Pulsativa therefore translates as something like ‘great smiting’.

Instabile – ‘fickle, wavering, unstable’
Stabile – ‘stable, firm, permanent, steadfast, fixed, immovable, durable’.