Titan Games: Fencing

When I was in college, I took some courses in Fencing. My instructor placed a lot of emphasis on traditional technique and form. That's quite different from the display I watched at the Titan Games last night.

The fencers on the strip were very skilled and it was impressive to see their quick blade-work, but I was disappointed that there was little traditional form left in competitive fencing.

Foil fencing represents a duel to the death. Historically, one's honor was their life, so if another person questioned your honor, it was potentially devastating. The resolution was a duel -- to the death. That's why only the torso, abdomen and groin are valid target area. If you stab someone in the arm, they'll likely survive, and it's not honorable to duel with someone who can't fully compete. If you stab them in the leg, you have to wait until they heal before attempting to kill them.

Epee comes from a more minor form of feud. Historically, the object is to draw blood, not kill. In Epee, every part of the body is valid target area.

Sabre fencing developed for people on horseback. Slicing someone's leg off doesn't do much good if the horse their sitting on still has four more. The sabre weapon is also meant to slice, not stab.

The deviation from traditional form is a result of electronic scoring. This is particularly noticable in the foil event. Fencers wear a vest that is woven with electrically-conductive material. The tip of each blade is a button that is also conductive. When one tip touches the other vest, it completes a circuit letting the judge know that a touch has been made. This doesn't sound like a problem until you consider that fencing foils aren't the most rigid instruments (for many reasons, including safety). Fencers have exploited this by flicking the blade, causing it to bend around an opponent's parry and score a touch.

Also, classically trained fencers focus on proper stance and movement. It is possible to step forward and backward while keeping one's torso at the same level. The fencers at the Games bobbed up and down like boxers. That bobbing motion creates opportunities for an opponent. If your feet are not on the ground, it's incredibly hard to move out of the way of an oncoming blade.

The only fencers who maintained their stance were the wheelchair fencers, which was very interesting to watch. Not able to move forward or backward, this fencers had to rely on their blade work to score touches.

Although I was disappointed in the lack of form of the fencers, their skill was certainly respectable. During the competition, the blades were moving so fast, I could rarely see them. The action was fast and furious. Since it was a team competition, each bout's score was added together. The US and Korean teams traded the lead often, but the US ended ahead 99-88.