Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Fencing by Jo Shaff ;)

I am going to cut out of my topic the England classification due to the fact that it will limit my research and I will not find as much. I got a book from the library at Lincoln High School. It's filled with the fundamentals for beginners, such as the three basic sword types and touch areas for each, uniform, and basic techniques.

The three basic sword types are: foil, epee, and saber. Someone fencing with an epee is allowed to hit anywhere in the body. A person fencing with a foil, however, is restricted to the torso, and while fencing with a saber a person is allowed to hit only from the waist up.

The fencing uniform is comprised of many things including a fencing jacket, glove, mask, sword, and a plastron (a plastron is a half-shirt designed to protect your underarm). The plastron gives extra protection to one side of the body. This is needed because the hand a person fences with is always the most targeted. Also, the jacket often breaks under the arm, which may harm a fencer. The plastron therefore gives extra protection as needed.

The beginner must first learn the basic moves: engarde, thrust, and lunge. The engarde is the ready position. The feet are at a ninety degree angle with your torso facing to the side. The fencing arm is in front, bent at the elbow with the wrist pointing forward. The other arm is bent upwards behind the head. A thrust happens when a fencer in an engarde position and straightens the fencing arm, pushing the blade forward. For a lunge, a fencer pushes the frontward leg as far as possible while extending the arm for more distance. Great lungers are really flexible.

The next time I go to the Lincoln Public Library I will see if they have any more books available on my topic.

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