Kim--

I inserted the addendum, and this will fly.....Thanks for the trouble....

KFS submits this draft definition of classical fencing for discussion:
Classical fencing is based on the foil and its concepts and rules, including
courtesy. Though not “period dependent,” those concepts and rules emerged
during the French “Classical Age,” from the mid-17th century to roughly
1789
and with use of the court sword in dueling and foil as a training sword.
Control of the fencing encounter is the object of rule-bound actions. They are
very logical and simple, and derive from the concepts of “point in line,”
tempo, and safety for fencers in training for the real duel, in which
initiative could be most effectively retained by defense. “To be a good
fencer,”
wrote Domenico Angelo in the 1760s, “…is to be well-skilled in the
defensive
part.”
Logical corollaries are: the concept of priority or “right of way” and the
requirement of a full-arm extension for a valid attack; the emphasis on
bladework—parry and riposte--rather than rushing, charging simultaneously, or
using body evasions and disarms, that logically were de-emphasized over time
for
effective and theoretical simplicity first in the French and later the
Italian school, dominant in eastern and central Europe after the Prussian
defeat
of France in 1870 ; and finally, the requirement that a valid touch be
achieved with a bending of the foible, a foil blade section since the 17th
century,
simulating a lethal hit. These foil concepts, shared by both major schools,
apply equally to 19th century epee and sabre; this is what the great Aldo Nadi
meant when he said, “There is only one fencing.”
Classical fencing is the “two-beat” parry-and-riposte to a valid attack,
and maintenance of point-in-line, together with execution of logical actions
that depend upon a stance and footwork, derived from early modern knowledge of
human kinesiology, to transport an opponent’s blade and deliver a point with
accuracy and balance.
This is the simplicity, rationality, and elegance associated with the word “
classical” in every field—art, literature, music, manners--since the
mid-17th century. It expresses, with contingent rules, values that are
universal,
but also worked out in time—in history. Because of this, neither medieval
swords nor long, heavy rapier—which used the left hand for defense in stesso
tempo (“one beat”) assaults with limited bladework--are “classical;”
because of lack of sufficient scholarly depth and continuity of teaching
tradition
(we acknowledge rapier was taught in Italy well into the 19th century, as
were other weapons excluded from the canon), they remain romantic re-enactment
and we classify them as categories of theatrical swordplay.
Although challenged by 19th century romantismé, the fundamental concepts of
foil were the ground of all good fencing until the mid-20th century’s
catastrophic reaction to the Enlightenment and a consequent break with tradition
by
sport fencing. They are still ours.
Bill Leckie
Klassisches Fechten Soest
_flanconade@..._ (mailto:flanconade@...)
_soestfechten@..._ (mailto:soestfechten@...)



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]