Thrusting my long, elegant weapon over and over again: ask me about fencing

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Thrusting my long, elegant weapon over and over again: ask me about fencing

Strom Cuzewon: Jul 1, 2010

thrakkorzog posted:

That was actually a pretty impressive fight scene. The actors actually look like they know what they were doing when handed a sword. 9/10. They pulled off some decent parrys and ripostes.

The usual complaint against most sword fighting scenes in movies or in plays is that the actors are usually more focused on hitting the other actors sword, instead of trying to stab someone, which is kind of the goal of fencing.

What I love about that fight is how it's both professional and sloppy. They (the characters) have quite clearly been taught the Noble and Honourable Art of Swordsmanship in a nice clean, empty piste. And they're determined to kill each other in that way, because they're gentlemen and that's how gentlemen kill.

But of course they're not on a piste, they're in a crowded office with a dodgy floor. There's all the obvious Errol Flynn stuff with the stairs and the cushion, but I love the little details, the clumsy steps, the little skids. It's really nicely done.

Edit: Also the dude in the background running back and forth with the biggest poo poo-eating grin.

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Strom Cuzewon: Jul 1, 2010

El Spamo posted:

Arms may be long, but blades are the same length so you always have the same distance to cover to reach their hand.

Hand hits are the best hits.

Nah, chest hits are the best because most epeeists I know will respond to a direct chest hit by waving their arms and swearing about foilists.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2015 19:24

Strom Cuzewon: Jul 1, 2010

Kim Jong ill posted:

There's a pretty decent body of dagger work, especially the Italian stuff from Fiore, that if you drilled and sparred with it rough enough you'd probably stand a reasonable amount better than average chance in a knife fight.

Which means you get to die in the hospital rather than bleed out in the gutter?

# ¿ Feb 18, 2015 15:39

Strom Cuzewon: Jul 1, 2010

Crazy Achmed posted:

Sport fencing has me perfectly prepared to defend myself against a mugger, provided that we're in a well-lit narrow alleyway about 15 metres long, with a nice flat and even surface, that the mugger and i are both armed with identical smallswords, and that the swords are completely blunt so we can go to a best of fifteen. Ideally there'd be an experienced referee passing by at the time as well who could help us out.

In actual fact, though, fencing has more likely made me completely loving useless in a real fight.
I was once walking home from a bar with a couple of friends and some guy jumped out at us from a doorway (he was drunk and thought it'd be a funny way of getting our attention to ask if we had a light for his cigarette).
One of my friends put his fists up, the other flinched. Completely off reflex, I went en garde in six, with empty hands, no less

[Edit] correct answer in post below

I tried karate a few years ago, and learned two facts.

1)If you slip into a fencing stance you'll get your feet kicked out from under you.

2) parry carte is really ineffective against fists

# ¿ Feb 19, 2015 12:51

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