Famous Fencing People In History;)

Today is Famous History Day in my blog, so here are some facts about a few historical fencers. For starters, many early presidents took up the sword, including those depicted on Mount Rushmore. Benito Mussolini, one of the three dictators during World War II, was an expert fencer. After World War I, Helene Mayer, a German athlete, won the Gold Medal for fencing in the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Some people know that in the time of our earliest presidents, having a sword was very common among men. George Washington, having gained his fame from the Revolutionary War, learned to fence from members of his family. He was taught by his father, brothers, and friends, who each had an interesting way of using a blade. His grandfather used his blade during war and his father wielded a cutlass(dagger) on a ship. His brother was taught by a fencing master at his boarding school. All this experience in his family made Washington a good fencer.

There is not much known about Thomas Jefferson and fencing. He fenced with a short sword. Some pictures show him fencing against Marquis de Lafayette and the Earl of Carlisle.

Abraham Lincoln had to learn how to fence in the tense times he lived in(around the Civil War). His largest fencing battle won him honor and his wife,Mary Todd. He wrote nasty things about a fellow politician in a newspaper. This politician set out to find Lincoln, who was in another town on financial buisness. Wanting honor,the politician challenged Lincoln to a duel. But with Lincoln at a height of six foot five versus five foot nine, the politician did not stand a chance. But before the fight could begin an associate from each man sent by Mary Todd ended the fight and each apologized.



During World War II there were three dictators controlling the war. Hitler from Germany, Tojo from Japan, and Moussolini from Italy. On a typical day Moussolini got up, ate breakfast, and then began to fence. He fenced with a saber and a style that was totally personal, full of clever tricks, fast and sudden counterattacks,and hits so unexpected they defied logic.

After World War One Germany was not invited to the next two Olympic games. Finally they were invited to the 1928 games. Helene Mayer knew that what her country needed the most was a morale boost and she knew just how to get it. Helene went on to win the Gold Medal for fencing, which was Germany's first Olympic fencing title. Having won her country's title at fourteen sha was already a celebrity.

More historical facts will come in my next blog entry.

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.

First Sources;)

Today on 3/4/2011 we started looking for sources of information. My first was an article on World Book.http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar194300&st=fencing
The second is also from worldbook http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar542620
The third is again from worldbook.http://www.worldbookonline.com/digitallibraries/inventions/article?id=ar838392&st=%22sword%22
Now that I've got a few sources that are all great time for the weekend!

Exploration Activity 1 ;)

The topic I chose to investigate is the history of fencing in England. I know that nowadays fencing is the Winter Olympic sport where two people fight each other with swords for points. This is called a duel. I also know that fencing was originally not a sport but a duel for honor. If a man or boy was disrespected, he could call for a fight, and if he disrespected someone else the other person also could challenge him to a fight. After being disrespected, a man or boy had to throw down his glove to give the other person a chance to apologize. If the other person refused, only then would the duel begin.

Questions I want to find the answer to about this topic are: Did people die? If so how many? What were old swords like? Where there different fighting styles? What were the big issues that would start a duel? What was the transition from early history to modern fencing? Were women allowed to fight? If not, did women ever dress up as men to duel? Was fencing ever for fun or was it always to defend honor? How did it evolve to be a sport? How would they practice fencing?