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72-435: A classical fencer is supposed to be one who observes a fine position, whose attacks are fully developed, whose hits are marvelously accurate, his parries firm, and his ripostes executed with precision. One must not forget that this regularity is not possible unless the adversary is a party to it. It is a conventional bout, which consists of parries, attacks, and returns, all rhyming together. Used in this sense, classical fencing

144-482: A 12-page booklet entitled Swordsmanship . After returning home from India in 1865, Hutton focused on the study and revival of older fencing systems and schools. He began tutoring groups of students in the art of 'ancient swordplay' at a club attached to the London Rifle Brigade School of Arms in the 1880s. In 1889, Hutton published his most influential work Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on

216-468: A book called Three Elizabethan Manuals of Fence . This work reprinted the works of George Silver , Giacomo di Grassi , and Vincentio Saviolo . In 1965, Martin Wierschin published a bibliography of German fencing manuals, along with a transcription of Codex Ringeck and a glossary of terms. In turn, this led to the publication of Hans-Peter Hils' seminal work on Johannes Liechtenauer in 1985. During

288-466: A duel, once almost mandatory for males of aristocratic backgrounds, all but disappeared, along with the classes themselves. Fencing continued as a sport like boxing or karate, with tournaments and championships. However, the need to prepare for a duel with "sharps" all but vanished. Scoring was done by means of four judges who determined if a hit was made. Two side judges stood behind and to the side of each fencer, and watched for hits made by that fencer on

360-480: A training weapon for small sword fencing. By 1715, the rapier had been largely replaced by the lighter and handier small sword throughout most of Europe, although treatments of the former continued to be included by authors such as Donald McBane (1728), P. J. F. Girard (1736) and Domenico Angelo (1763). In this time, bare-knuckle boxing emerged as a popular sport in England and Ireland. The foremost pioneers of

432-467: A variation of the eclectic knightly arts of the previous century. From sword and buckler to sword and dagger, sword alone to two-handed sword, from polearms to wrestling (though absent in Manciolino), early 16th-century Italian fencing reflected the versatility that a martial artist of the time was supposed to have achieved. Towards the mid-16th century, however, polearms and companion weapons besides

504-540: Is a frank encounter between two opponents" where the object is to touch the other fencer without being touched. Even though the "weapons" are blunt, the fencers treat them as though they were in fact sharp. Classical fencing still uses the same weapons that have been used in fencing since the early 19th century—namely, the standard (non-electric) foil , standard épée (equipped with a pointe d'arret), and sabre (including both blunted dueling sabres and modern standard sporting sabres). Olympic and classical fencing differ in

576-602: Is a style of historical fencing focusing on the 19th- and early 20th-century national fencing schools, especially in Italy and France , i.e . the schools out of which the styles of contemporary sports fencing have developed. Masters and legendary fencing figures such as Giuseppe Radaelli , Louis Rondelle , Masaniello Parise , the Greco brothers , Aldo Nadi and his rival Lucien Gaudin are today considered typical practitioners of this period. Classical fencing weapons included

648-597: Is a summary of the revisions: Most of the activity in the AFLA occurred at the divisional level. As a democratic organization, divisions enjoyed almost complete autonomy. Active (25) Inactive (10) Active (42) Inactive (10) Active (49) Inactive (11) Presidents (in order of service, through 1964) Secretaries (in order of service, through 1964) Treasurers (in order of service, through 1970) (office combined with secretary prior to 1936) Initially, members of

720-865: Is affiliated with the FIE. In the United States (and elsewhere), renewed interest in Western martial arts (beginning in the 1990s) has led some groups—often peer-led—to attempt to study classical fencing (e.g. from books or instructional videos) without the guidance of a classically trained instructor, creating further variation in the classical fencing community. These groups, in an effort to become more historically authentic, sometimes shift their focus to older, pre-19th-century weapons and techniques—i.e. historical fencing . Today, classical fencing clubs (and classical fencing instructors and masters) can be found in Europe,

792-632: Is first attested in Shakespeare 's Merry Wives of Windsor (1597). The French school of fencing originated in the 16th century, which is based on the Italian school, and developed into its classical form during the Baroque period. In the 18th century, during the late Baroque and Rococo period, the French style of fencing with the small sword and later with the foil ( fleuret ), originated as

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864-574: Is still a standard reference today. Starting in 1966, the Society for Creative Anachronism , an amateur medieval reenactment organization, renewed public interest in the practice of historic fighting arts , and has hosted numerous tournaments in which participants compete in simulated medieval and renaissance fighting styles using padded weapons. Dividing their focus between Heavy Armored Fighting , to simulate early medieval warfare, and adapted sport Rapier fencing, to reenact later renaissance styles,

936-656: Is used to refer to swordsmanship techniques specifically. The first book about the fighting arts, Epitoma rei militaris , was written into Latin by a Roman writer, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus , who lived in Rome between the fourth and fifth centuries. There are no other known martial arts manuals predating the Late Middle Ages (except for fragmentary instructions on Greek wrestling , see Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 466 ), although medieval literature (e.g., sagas of Icelanders , Eastern Roman Acritic songs ,

1008-787: The Digenes Akritas and Middle High German epics) record specific martial deeds and military knowledge; in addition, historical artwork depicts combat and weaponry (e.g., the Bayeux Tapestry , the Synopsis of Histories by John Skylitzes , the Morgan Bible ). Some researchers have attempted to reconstruct older fighting methods such as Pankration , Eastern Roman hoplomachia , Viking swordsmanship and gladiatorial combat by reference to these sources and practical experimentation. The Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 (also known as

1080-535: The Baroque period , wrestling fell from favour among the upper classes, being now seen as unrefined and rustic. The fencing styles practice also needed to conform to the new ideals of elegance and harmony. This ideology was taken to great lengths in Spain in particular, where La Verdadera Destreza 'the true art (of swordsmanship)' was now based on Renaissance humanism and scientific principles, contrasting with

1152-560: The sabre and the lance by cavalrists and of the cutlass by naval forces. The English longbow is another European weapon that is still used in the sport of archery . Apart from the many styles of fencing, European combat sports of the 19th century include Boxing in England , Savate in France , and regional forms of wrestling such as Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling, Lancashire Wrestling, and Cornish Wrestling . Fencing in

1224-480: The "Walpurgis" or "Tower Fechtbuch "), dated to c.  1300 , is the oldest surviving Fechtbuch , teaching sword and buckler combat. The central figure of late medieval martial arts, at least in Germany, is Johannes Liechtenauer . Though no manuscript written by him is known to have survived, his teachings were first recorded in the late 14th-century Nürnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a . From

1296-460: The 15th to the 17th century, numerous Fechtbücher (German 'fencing-books') were produced, of which some several hundred are extant; a great many of these describe methods descended from Liechtenauer's. Liechtenauer's Zettel (recital) remains one of the most famous — if cryptic — pieces of European martial arts scholarship to this day, with several translations and interpretations of the poem being put into practice by fencers and scholars around

1368-582: The 16th century. The treatises of Paulus Hector Mair and Joachim Meyer derived from the teachings of the earlier centuries within the Liechtenauer tradition, but with new and distinctive characteristics. The printed Fechtbuch of Jacob Sutor (1612) is one of the last in the German tradition. In Italy, the 16th century was a period of big change. It opened with the two treatises of Bolognese masters Antonio Manciolino and Achille Marozzo , who described

1440-722: The 17th century. Amateur Fencers League of America The Amateur Fencers League of America ( AFLA ) was founded on April 22, 1891, in New York City by a group of fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union . As early as 1940, the AFLA was recognized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) and the United States Olympic Committee as the national governing body for fencing in

1512-841: The 1890s, both in order to benefit various military charities and to encourage patronage of the contemporary methods of competitive fencing. Exhibitions were held at the Bath Club and a fund-raising event was arranged at Guy's Hospital . Among his many acolytes were Egerton Castle , Captain Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Captain Percy Rolt, Captain Ernest George Stenson Cooke , Captain Frank Herbert Whittow, Esme Beringer , Sir Frederick , and Walter Herries Pollock . Despite this revival and

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1584-481: The 1950s, sabre in the 1980s), side judges were replaced by an electrical scoring apparatus, with an audible tone and a red or green light indicating when a touch landed. The scoring box reduced the bias in judging and permitted more accurate scoring of faster actions, lighter touches, and more touches to the back and flank than were possible with human judges. The advent of the electrical scoring apparatus had far-reaching consequences. The electrical scoring apparatus and

1656-486: The 19th century and early 20th century, the greatstick ( pau / bâton / bastone ) was employed by some Portuguese, French, and Italian military academies as a method of exercise, recreation, and as preparation for bayonet training. A third category might be traditional "folk styles", mostly folk wrestling . Greco-Roman wrestling was a discipline at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Inclusion of freestyle wrestling followed in 1904. Attempts at reconstructing

1728-551: The 19th century transformed into a pure sport. While duels remained common among members of the aristocratic classes, they became increasingly frowned upon in society during the course of the century, and such duels as were fought to the death were increasingly fought with pistols, instead of bladed weapons. Styles of stick fighting include walking-stick fighting (including Irish bata or shillelagh , French la canne and English singlestick ) and Bartitsu (an early hybrid of Eastern and Western schools popularized at

1800-444: The 20th century's overall modernization of athletic activities occurred alongside an increase in the emphasis on fencing as a sport. The electrical scoring apparatus encouraged an emphasis on the athletic and offensive (rather than defensive) aspects of fencing by altering the ways in which a touch would be considered valid. The result was an eventual schism between sport and classical fencing, both stylistically and philosophically. At

1872-656: The AFLA incorporated as a nonprofit in Pennsylvania . By this time, more foil and épée competitions were being judged electrically than visually (sabre remained visually judged). In addition to the non-divisional group, the AFLA boasted 49 active divisions. The AFLA changed its name to the United States Fencing Association (c.f.) in June 1981. In 1982, the organization moved its headquarters to Colorado Springs, Colorado . These events in

1944-749: The AFLA's first year, divisional organizations formed in New England and Nebraska , while the New York fencers remained in the "non-divisional group". The first section (composed of three or more divisions), the Pacific Coast section, was formed in 1925, followed in 1934 by the Mid-West section. In 1939, the national championships were held in San Francisco , the first time they had ever been held outside New York City. The All-Eastern section

2016-706: The Association (then called the Amateur Fencers League of America) were only white men, and it excluded women, Jews, Blacks, and others from membership. In 1938, Helene Mayer won the Fencing Association's San Francisco Division men's title; however, two days later she was stripped of the title, as the Association adopted a rule banning competition between women and men, stating that since fencing involved physical contact, "a chivalrous man found it difficult to do his worst when he faced

2088-475: The Baroque period include Le Perche du Coudray (1635, 1676, teacher of Cyrano de Bergerac ), Besnard (1653, teacher of Descartes ), François Dancie (1623) and Philibert de la Touche (1670). In the 17th century, Italian swordsmanship was dominated by Salvator Fabris , whose De lo schermo overo scienza d'arme of 1606 exerted great influence not only in Italy, but also in Germany, where it all but extinguished

2160-640: The French styles of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries has been undertaken by Rob Runacres of England 's Renaissance Sword Club . Italian traditions are mainly investigated in Italy by Sala d'Arme Achille Marozzo, where you can find studies dedicated to the Bolognese tradition, to the Italian medieval tradition by Luca Cesari and Marco Rubboli, and to the Florentine tradition by Alessandro Battistini. Central and Southern Italian traditions are also investigated by Accademia Romana d'Armi, through

2232-541: The German school and Gustav Hergsell reprinted three of Hans Talhoffer's manuals. In France, there was the work of the Academie D'Armes circa 1880–1914. In Italy, Jacopo Gelli and Francesco Novati published a facsimile of the "Flos Duellatorum" of Fiore dei Liberi , and Giuseppe Cerri's book on the Bastone drew inspiration from the two-handed sword of Achille Marozzo . Baron Leguina's bibliography of Spanish swordsmanship

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2304-534: The Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance (14th to 16th centuries), followed by French , English , and Scottish schools of fencing in the modern period (17th and 18th centuries). Martial arts of the 19th century such as classical fencing , and even early hybrid styles such as Bartitsu , may also be included in the term HEMA in a wider sense, as may traditional or folkloristic styles attested in

2376-602: The Marquis di Ferrara . Between 1407 and 1410, he documented comprehensive fighting techniques in a treatise entitled Flos Duellatorum covering grappling, dagger, arming sword, longsword, pole-weapons, armoured combat, and mounted combat. The Italian school is continued by Filippo Vadi (1482–1487) and Pietro Monte (1492, Latin with Italian and Spanish terms). Three early (before George Silver ) natively English swordplay texts exist, but are all very obscure and from uncertain dates; they are generally thought to belong to

2448-543: The Napoleonic period. Angelo's text was so influential that it was chosen to be included under the heading of Éscrime in the Encyclopédie of Diderot. In the 19th century, Western martial arts became divided into modern sports on one-handed fencing and applications that retain military significance on the other. In the latter category are the methods of close-quarter combat with the bayonet , besides use of

2520-506: The SCA regularly holds large re-creation scenarios throughout the world. Their styles have been criticized by other groups as lacking historical authenticity, although a number of members of the group regularly engage in scholarship. A number of researchers, principally academics with access to some of the sources, continued exploring the field of historical European martial arts from a largely academic perspective. In 1972, James Jackson published

2592-523: The Sabre , which presented the historical method of military sabre use on foot, combining the 18th century English backsword with the modern Italian duelling sabre . Hutton's pioneering advocacy and practice of historical fencing included reconstructions of the fencing systems of several historical masters including George Silver and Achille Marozzo . He delivered numerous practical demonstrations with his colleague Egerton Castle of these systems during

2664-434: The United States, Canada, and Australia. Because there is no agreement as to the exact rules of classical fencing and because competition is de-emphasized, what competitions exist are generally local or regional in nature, with the rules depending upon where the tournament is held. However, there are a number of generalizations that unify contemporary classical fencing. First of these is the expression that "classical fencing

2736-520: The United States. Less than a year after the AFLA's founding, friendly relations were restored with the AAU. The AFLA grew slowly, with New York City initially dominating American fencing. The first competitions were visually judged using a jury of three people. Early rules included provisions to award points based on good form. Initially, members of the AFLA were only white men, and it excluded women, Jews, Blacks, and others from membership. During

2808-478: The benefit of mistakes (so-called "reputation touches"), and in some cases, there was outright cheating. Aldo Nadi complained about this in his autobiography The Living Sword in regard to his famous match with Lucien Gaudin. The article in the Daily Courier described a new invention, the electrical scoring machine, that would revolutionize fencing. Starting with épée in the 1930s (foil was electrified in

2880-599: The concept of classical fencing described in this article, preferring the early to mid-20th-century style of competitive fencing (which, in the United States, was formalized and governed by the American Fencing League , or AFL) to the more classical style of the 19th century. This should not be confused with the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA), which was renamed to the current United States Fencing Association (USFA) in 1981, which

2952-435: The dagger and the cape gradually began to fade out of treatises. In 1553, Camillo Agrippa was the first to define the prima, seconda, terza, and quarta guards (or hand-positions), which would remain the mainstay of Italian fencing into the next century and beyond. From the late 16th century, Italian rapier fencing attained considerable popularity all over Europe, notably with the treatise by Salvator Fabris (1606). During

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3024-616: The discontinued traditions of European systems of combat began in the late 19th century, with a revival of interest from the Middle Ages . The movement was led in England by the soldier, writer, antiquarian, and swordsman, Alfred Hutton . Hutton learned fencing at the school founded by Domenico Angelo . In 1862, he organized in his regiment stationed in India the Cameron Fencing Club, for which he prepared his first work,

3096-490: The early 1980s solidified the evolutionary branching between fencing (under the USFA) and standard fencing (which in 2006 began to experience a revival under the fledgling American Fencing League ). The intervening two decades also brought on the classical fencing and historical fencing movements, neither of which have much connection to USFA/AFLA fencing. The AFLA's rules of fencing went through many revisions. The following

3168-407: The fencer facing the opponent. This provides additional protection in the event of a broken blade penetrating the fencing jacket. Historical fencing Historical European martial arts ( HEMA ) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. While there is limited surviving documentation of

3240-477: The first fifty years of its existence, with approximately 1,250 members in 1940. It had grown from three divisions to 25, with about 300 scheduled competitions each year. Despite its small size, the AFLA fielded teams to represent the United States in fencing events at all of the Summer Olympic Games from 1904 onward. In 1949, the AFLA made American Fencing (at that time a bi-monthly magazine)

3312-506: The focus generally is on the martial arts of Medieval and Renaissance masters, 19th and early 20th century martial arts teachers are also studied and their systems are reconstructed, including Edward William Barton-Wright , the founder of Bartitsu ; combat savate and stick fighting master Pierre Vigny ; London-based boxer and fencer Rowland George Allanson-Winn ; French journalist and self-defence enthusiast Jean Joseph-Renaud ; and British quarterstaff expert Thomas McCarthy. Research into

3384-441: The interest that was received in late Victorian England, the practice died out soon after the death of Hutton in 1910. Interest in the physical application of historical fencing techniques remained largely dormant during the first half of the 20th century, due to a number of factors. Similar work, although more academic than practical in nature, occurred in other European countries. In Germany, Karl Wassmannsdorf conducted research on

3456-402: The jacket, with knee-high white socks, or long pants and athletic shoes. There should be no exposed flesh. In addition, female fencers wear rigid breast protection in the form of cups or a chest plate (as do some male fencers, albeit a flat chest plate in that case). Male fencers often wear an athletic cup. Fencers of both genders wear an underarm protector called a plastron worn on the side of

3528-560: The judges differed or abstained, the director could overrule them with his vote. This method was universally used but had limitations. As described in an article in the London newspaper, The Daily Courier , on June 25, 1896: "Every one who has watched a bout with the foils knows that the task of judging the hits is with a pair of amateurs difficult enough, and with a well-matched pair of maîtres d’escrime well-nigh impossible." There also were problems with bias: well-known fencers were often given

3600-418: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, including forms of folk wrestling and traditional stick-fighting methods. The term Western martial arts ( WMA ) is sometimes used in the United States and in a wider sense including modern and traditional disciplines. During the Late Middle Ages, the longsword had a position of honour among these disciplines, and sometimes historical European swordsmanship ( HES )

3672-418: The latter half of the 15th century. In the 16th century, compendia of older Fechtbücher techniques were produced, some of them printed, notably by Paulus Hector Mair (in the 1540s) and by Joachim Meyer (in the 1570s). The extent of Mair's writing is unmatched by any other German master, and is considered invaluable by contemporary scholars. In Germany, fencing had developed sportive tendencies during

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3744-409: The martial arts of classical antiquity (such as Greek wrestling or gladiatorial combat), most of the surviving dedicated technical treatises or martial arts manuals date to the late medieval period and the early modern period . For this reason, the focus of HEMA is de facto on the period of the half-millennium of ca. 1300 to 1800, with a German , Italian , and Spanish school flowering in

3816-442: The mid-20th century, a small number of professional fight directors for theatre, film and television – notably including Arthur Wise. William Hobbs and John Waller , all of them British – studied historical combat treatises as inspiration for their fight choreography. In the 1980s and 1990s, Patri J. Pugliese began making photocopies of historical treatises available to interested parties, greatly spurring on research. In 1994, with

3888-489: The most celebrated swordsmen battle it out on the piste . In many cases, fencers of the period trained for sport fencing the same way they trained for duels—indeed, many fought highly celebrated duels . Dueling went into sharp decline after World War I, following the wartime deaths of many members of the classes that practiced it, and the social changes following the war's mass carnage. After World War II, dueling went out of use in Europe except for rare exceptions. Training for

3960-515: The native German traditions of fencing. Fabris was followed by Italian masters such as Nicoletto Giganti (1606), Ridolfo Capo Ferro (1610), Francesco Alfieri (1640), Francesco Antonio Marcelli (1686) and Bondi' di Mazo (1696). The Elizabethan and Jacobean eras produce English fencing writers, such as the Gentleman George Silver (1599) and the professional fencing master Joseph Swetnam (1617). The English verb to fence

4032-606: The official publication of the league. Continued growth resulted in the formation of the Southwest section in 1950 and the North Atlantic section in 1955 (the All-Eastern section was discontinued). The league maintained a strict amateur code. Until 1953, professionals (those who received financial compensation for fencing or for teaching fencing) were excluded from membership in the AFLA. Competition for professionals

4104-446: The opponent's target. A director followed the fencing from a point several feet away from the center of the action. At the end of each action, after calling "Halt!", the director (or, formally, the president of the jury) would describe the action ("Attack is from my left. Parry and riposte from my right."), and then poll the judges in turn ("Does the attack land?"). The judges would answer "Yes", "Yes, but off-target", "No", or "Abstain". If

4176-547: The rapier style of the innovative Roman, Neapolitan and Sicilian School of Fencing in Italy's 16th and 17th century was pioneered by M° Francesco Lodà, PhD, founder of Accademia Romana d'Armi in Rome, Italy. While research focused on the Marcelli family of fencing masters and their pupils in Rome and abroad (e.g. Mattei, Villardita, Marescalchi, De Greszy, Terracusa), through publication of papers and books on rapier fencing, attention

4248-563: The rise of the Hammerterz Forum, a publication devoted entirely to the history of swordsmanship . During the late 1990s, translations and interpretations of historical sources began appearing in print as well as online. Since the 1980s and 1990s, historical European martial arts communities have emerged in Europe, North America, Australia, and the wider English-speaking world . These groups attempt to reconstruct historical European martial arts using various training methods. Although

4320-403: The sport of boxing were Englishmen James Figg and Jack Broughton . Throughout the course of the 18th century, the French school became the western European standard to the extent that Angelo, an Italian-born master teaching in England, published his L'École des Armes in French in 1763. It was extremely successful and became a standard fencing manual over the following 50 years, throughout

4392-615: The standard foil , épée (using pointes d'arret), and sabre (including both blunted dueling sabres and, beginning in the early 20th century, modern sporting sabres). During the classical period, fencing was used both for sport and preparation for the duel . Fencing as a sport was one of the original events in the Olympic Games and widely practiced at schools and domestic competitions. Additionally, there were professional fencers competing for prize money. Fencing tournaments were extremely popular events, with spectators flocking to see

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4464-465: The studies of Francesco Lodà on Spetioli (Marche) and Pagano (Neaples). Italian rapier instructors Tom Leoni (US) and Piermarco Terminiello (UK) have published annotated English translations of some of the most important rapier treatises of the 17th century, making this fencing style available to a worldwide audience. Leoni has also authored English translations of all of Fiore de' Liberi's Italian-language manuscripts, as well as Manciolino's Opera Nova and

4536-637: The teachings of Liechtenauer. From the late 15th century, there were "brotherhoods" of fencers ( Fechtbruderschaften ), most notably the Brotherhood of St. Mark (attested 1474) and the Federfechter . An early Burgundian French treatise is Le jeu de la hache ( The Play of the Axe ) of ca. 1400. The earliest master to write in the Italian language was Fiore dei Liberi , commissioned by

4608-519: The third book of Viggiani's Lo Schermo . Ken Mondschein, one of the few professional academics working in this field, translated Camillo Agrippa 's treatise of 1553 as well as the Paris manuscript of Fiore dei Liberi and written several academic articles. The martial traditions of the Netherlands are researched by Reinier van Noort, who additionally focuses on German and French martial sources of

4680-519: The time electronic scoring was introduced, all fencers were classically trained, but there were differences in accepting 20th-century changes in fencing practice. The fencing masters who rejected these changes either preserved their tradition, abandoned it in favor of employment as fencing masters in sport fencing, or, as time passed, simply retired. However, enough classically oriented fencers remained to keep traditional, classical fencing alive. Many people self-identify as classical fencers, but do not share

4752-458: The traditional "vulgar" approach to fencing inherited from the medieval period. Significant masters of Destreza included Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza ("the father of Destreza", d. 1600) and Luis Pacheco de Narváez (1600, 1632). Girard Thibault (1630) was a Dutch master influenced by these ideals. The French school of fencing also moves away from its Italian roots, developing its own terminology, rules and systems of teaching. French masters of

4824-420: The turn of the 20th century). Some existing forms of European stick fighting can be traced to direct teacher-student lineages from the 19th century. Notable examples include the methods of Scottish and British Armed Services singlestick , la canne and bâton français , Portuguese jogo do pau , Italian Paranza or Bastone Siciliano , and some styles of Canarian juego del palo . In

4896-574: The use of weapon grips for foil and épée. In sport fencing, the most used handle for foil and épée is the pistol grip, with the French retaining significant use in épée. Classical fencing prohibits the pistol grip and uses the Italian and French grips primarily, and occasionally the Spanish grip. Safety equipment for classical fencing is essentially the same as used in Olympic fencing. It includes: Fencers also usually wear breeches of material similar to

4968-755: The world. Normally, several modes of combat were taught alongside one another, typically unarmed grappling ( Kampfringen or abrazare ), dagger ( Degen or daga , often of the rondel dagger ), long knife ( Messer ), or Dusack , half- or quarterstaff , polearms , longsword ( Langesschwert , spada longa , spadone ), and combat in plate armour ( Harnischfechten or armazare ), both on foot and on horseback. Some Fechtbücher have sections on dueling shields ( Stechschild ), special weapons used only in trial by combat . Important 15th century German fencing masters include Sigmund Ringeck , Peter von Danzig (see Cod. 44 A 8 ), Hans Talhoffer and Paulus Kal , all of whom taught

5040-607: Was also paid to the influences of 16th century's masters active in Rome, such as Agrippa, Cavalcabò, Paternoster, or of the early 17th like D'Alessandri. Within Accademia Romana d'Armi historical research has continuously been carried out also on Fiore de' Liberi's longsword system, publishing the first Italian analysis and transcription of MS. Par. Lat. 11269, Radaelli's military saber and MS. I.33 sword and buckler, and more recently on Liechtenauer's tradition of fencing. Research into Italian sword forms and their influence on

5112-472: Was limited. By 1957, the AFLA was scheduling more than 400 competitions every year. The Cold War was affecting many sports, including fencing; the Soviet Bloc nations began systematically reinventing fencing to take advantage of the new electrical foil. In order to remain competitive internationally, AFLA fencers had to adapt to the emerging style. Steady growth of the league continued, and in 1964,

5184-413: Was recognized in 1939 as well. By 1940, the rules had been revised several times. Points for good form were no longer awarded, the jury had been expanded to four judges and a director, and rules for electrically judged épée bouts were adopted. Foil and sabre bouts remained visually judged, and electrical épée bouts were the exception rather than the rule. The AFLA remained a small organization for

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