Classical Fencing - Revival

Revival

In the United States (and elsewhere), renewed interest in Western martial arts (beginning in the 1990s) has led some groups—often peer-led—to attempt to study classical fencing (e.g. from books or instructional videos) without the guidance of a classically-trained instructor, creating further variation in the classical fencing community. These groups, in an effort to become more historically authentic, sometimes shift their focus to older, pre-19th-century weapons and techniques — i.e. historical fencing.

Today, classical fencing clubs (and classical fencing instructors and masters) can be found in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia. Because there is no agreement as to the exact rules of classical fencing and because competition is de-emphasized, what competitions there are generally local or regional in nature, with the rules depending upon where the tournament is held.

However, there are a number of generalizations that unify contemporary classical fencing.

First of these is the expression that "classical fencing is a frank encounter between two opponents" where the object is to touch the other fencer without being touched. Even though the "weapons" are blunt, the fencers treat them as though they were in fact sharp.

Classical fencing still uses the same weapons that have been used in fencing since the early 19th century — namely, the standard (non-electric) foil, standard épée (with a rubber or plastic tip or equipped with a pointe d'arret), and sabre (including both blunted dueling sabres and modern standard sporting sabres).

Olympic and classical fencing differ in the use of weapon grips for foil and épée. In sport fencing, the most used handle for foil and épée is the pistol grip, with the French retaining significant use in épée. Classical fencing prohibits the pistol grip, and uses the Italian and French grips, and occasionally the Spanish grip.

Safety equipment for classical fencing is essentially the same as used in Olympic fencing. It includes:

• A fencing mask, typically made of a wire mesh;
• A white fencing jacket, which may be canvas duck, stretch nylon, Kevlar, or some other puncture-resistant material; and
• A fencing glove, which protects the hand and overlaps the sleeve of the jacket.

Fencers also usually wear knickers (in British English called breeches) of material similar to the jacket, knee-high white socks, and athletic shoes. Depending on the formality of the setting and local custom, sweatpants may be used instead and bare calves may be seen, although this removes the protection provided by using proper fencing pants.

In addition, female fencers wear rigid breast protection in the form of cups or a chestplate (as do some male fencers, albeit a flat chestplate in that case). Male fencers often wear an athletic cup. Fencers of both genders wear an underarm protector called a plastron worn on the side of the fencer facing the opponent. This provides additional protection in the event of a broken blade penetrating the fencing jacket.