The University of Sunderland Fencing Club

The Fencing Club is one of the oldest at the university. We do not know when it was founded, but it had definitely been running for several years (at least) when I joined in 1987. I took over as coach in 1989 and have run the class ever since.

The club is open to students of the University, or ex-students of any University who obtain an Associate Student Union Membership card. The class meets in Wearmouth Sports Centre (Over the swimming pool) 12-4PM on Saturdays and at Crowtree 7-9PM on Tuesdays. On Tuesdays we meet at 6:30 outside Edinburgh building.

All you need to try fencing is trainers and a t-shirt. We can supply all other necessary kit. And it’s cheap. Membership is the standard £5 per year for a sports club plus £1 per session.

Right: Lydia (centre) was the second woman to ever win our Best First-Year Fencer trophy. It was jointly won the next year by two more women; Marianne and Unna. We simply were not able to choose between them. Marianne will be captaining our womens’ team in BUSA this year. They were extremely successful last time, so we have high hopes for more silverware.

Fencing is a competitive sport, though the degree of competition varies. Some people fence for recreation in the club, others are determined competitors. It really is up to the students whether or not they become involved in competition, and how seriously. For those that want it there is BUSA, local novice and senior competitions, nationals and internationals. We have sent people to all levels of competition and even had a fencer invited to the Commonwealth Games some years ago.

We have both male and female BUSA teams and there is room on the team for beginners – competition experience is, to a great extent, the fast-track to becoming an accomplished fencer (that and good coaching; we like to think we can provide that).

We teach modern 'Sport' fencing at the club, though with a healthy respect for the historical origins of what we do – these were once deadly weapons and I tend to view fencing as a martial art as much as a sport. That is, if ever you found yourself in a fight with actual swords, what we teach would serve you well.

Modern "Olympic" fencing uses three weapons: the Foil, Epee and Sabre (Sabre).

Some fencers specialize with one weapon and fence the others only for an occasional diversion - or not at all. Most fence Foil as their main weapon and either Epee or Sabre as a secondary interest, and some try to be all-rounders. Which approach is chosen really depends upon the individual and the available clubs or coaches. As a rule though, if you want to be good, you pick one weapon as your main interest and really work at it, switching focus for a change of pace.

The Foil: A light, point-only weapon descended from the Smallsword or Court Sword. Foil fencing is where almost everyone starts, and they rapidly discover that a foil is only "light" until you try to take an hour-long lesson with one! Foil fencing tends to be very fast and uses a system of priority rules to determine who is awarded a point if both fencers land a hit. Valid points are only given for a hit on the torso. Hits elsewhere are "off-target".

In the event of an off-target hit, the bout is halted and the fencers moved apart before beginning again, but no point is scored. This is because in Smallsword fights, people would often be stabbed repeatedly rather than disabled by a single blow. A Smallsword wound might well not "stop" an assailant, though he would often bleed to death later or die from infection. Hits are only counted if made with the point; flat hits would not injure an opponent in a real duel, though done hard enough they can cause a good deal of irritation!

Left: An image borrowed from Fencingsucks.com, demonstrating a frighteningly deep lunge. Fencingsucks.com has a large collection of fencing images and generally pokes fun at our sport.

The other two weapons (Epee and Sabre) are sometimes referred to as "Advanced" weapons. This is not accurate, since although most beginners start with the Foil, it is possible to take up fencing from scratch with any of the weapons, and any or all of them can be taken to a high ("advanced") standard. Some fencers consider foil to be the 'hardest' weapon since the target area is small and attacks must be deep avoid falling short.

The Epee: The Epee is a direct descendent of the straight duelling sword. Similar to but heavier than the Foil, the Epee can only score with a thrust but a hit anywhere on the body (even the little toe!) is counted as a hit. This is because the Epee (or any other heavy thrusting sword) has some measure of "stopping power" - a live blade would be capable of inflicting considerable tissue damage, breaking bones rather than skidding off them, and generally spoiling your whole day.

Left: Another fencingsucks.com image, this time from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The fencer at right is launching a fleche (running) attack. The guy at left looks like he’s intending something similar but has been beaten to it. Rushing in like this is a bit all-or-nothing. Either you score or you get hit. Well-timed it’s devastating. Bad timing turns it into a sort of assisted suicide.

There is no priority system in Epee: the first hit that lands is counted, and double-hits are possible. Epee is about as close to real duelling as you can get. Fights are often technical and subtle, since the heavy weapon does not forgive mistakes that place you out of position. Epees are stiff. Where a Foil flexes readily upon a hard hit, with an Epee it is generally the target that does any bending. Epee is thus the most hazardous of the fencing weapons, though all of them are carefully designed to be very safe. Three people died in fencing accidents during the 20th Century, all of them at the Epee. On balance, that's a pretty good safety record.

The Sabre: The sabre is a light cut-and thrust weapon based on the cavalry sword. Sabre bouts tend to be fast and mobile, with fencers keeping their distance between attacks since with a cutting weapon it is quite possible to be hit by accident. Hits are scored with point or edge, anywhere above the waist. Below the waist is "off-target" in the same manner as Foil. (Slicing a horseman across the leg may upset him somewhat, but it is unlikely to disable him immediately and his counterstroke is often fatal; the Sabre rules attempt to reflect this.) Sabre parries tend to be stronger, almost "blocks", rather than the subtle deflections common with the other two weapons. Priority rules are used, similarly to the Foil.

Right: Another fleche attack, this time at sabre. The fleche is no longer allowed in sabre competition, which is a bit of a shame. Sabre fencing tends to be very fast and mobile, with fencers staying out of reach until they intend to attack then closing in fast to make their hit.

Being clouted over the head with a sabre is quite an experience! The fencing mask is pretty resilient, so you can hit the head harder than unarmoured bits of the body. This leads to a common sabreur's apology - "sorry about that, I was aiming at your head!" – which is actually quite sincere. A blow that would cause nothing more serious than some ringing in the ears and a wry grin from the recipient can be quite painful if it hits the sword arm or shoulder instead of the armoured head.

Electric Judging Equipment: