This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#26 | Back to Top08-18-2015 10:47:54 AM

KissFromARose
Thorn of Death
From: Austin, Tx
Registered: 09-29-2008
Posts: 507

Re: Fencers?

Yasha wrote:

To be honest, I'm more a kendo girl myself... there's a club here, but I've never been able to join due to work shit. Maybe I'll look it up.

Please let me know if you do! I don't know anything about kendo aside from what is in Utena, so I'd be really curious to see what it involves. I should youtube some basic kendo videos to find out...

Fencing lesson 2 is tonight! Weee!

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#27 | Back to Top08-18-2015 02:40:57 PM

ShatteredMirror
Yaoi Pet #1
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: 10-22-2006
Posts: 8858

Re: Fencers?

Oh wow, what a blast from the past!

Funny story, I ended up taking fencing for a couple of semesters at a local community college (I have since moved to a different area) and it was pretty fun! I only learned foil because the school only had foils for the whole class, but it was a lot of fun and yes, my legs were pretty sore after a practice.

I did learn a little bit of sabre after hours, and that was more fun than foil, but it hurts to be hit. My main advantage over the other fencers was that I didn't mind that it hurt.

Man, it's been ages. I should see if any of the colleges here will let non-students fence. Assuming I can make it work with my schedule.


Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source.

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#28 | Back to Top11-06-2015 09:19:07 AM

Yutah
Wakaba Wrangler
Registered: 06-10-2014
Posts: 11

Re: Fencers?

I started fencing because of Utena. I had always wanted to fence, but never the time, and after I watched it last year, I remember that I had come into a wealth of free time, and so I took it up. I've been fencing Epee for a year now, I love every second of it. Though I wish I could go to some competitions.
If you want fencing that hurts, try Epee emot-tongue, first time I fenced, I got a massive bruise on my inner thigh (that's right, they can aim for anywhere emot-aaa)

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#29 | Back to Top11-06-2015 01:15:34 PM

CarolineWellwater
Mikage Mistruster
Registered: 10-18-2015
Posts: 67

Re: Fencers?

(( Hey all,

Well, I used to fence foil at CWRU.  Did it for four years, and earned three letters.   Did about a year of Saber as well, but I wasn't considered quick enough for it.  Really odd thing is that I'm right handed, but I fence left.

I also noticed that the cast of Utena use French Grips, and not pistol grips.  Ugh, I hated using French Grip foils.

Every now and again I'll pull out my foil, and practice my parry 4 and parry 6 drills... and I quickly realize how sloppy I've gotten. ))

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#30 | Back to Top11-07-2015 04:02:50 AM

Decrescent Daytripper
Best Disney Princess
Registered: 04-09-2007
Posts: 2791

Re: Fencers?

I used to do more fencing, in a few styles, and did a little proper competition in forms, I never really put much focus on it. It's fun, though, to mess around here and there.

Kendo matches interest me more, in general, than seeing European styles, not that I don't enjoy/appreciate that. The emphasis on form and control, that your strikes and defenses should be elegant and correctly achieved, but that also you should have total control of your speed and strength and be able to stop your strike at your discretion impresses me. Pulling a strike while still executing it formally well, is hard. Taking a hit because that's better form, or shows awareness, is hard.

In Spring, our school and a nearby school's women's swordfighting teams practice in the same park once a week, doing their drills while facing the other school's team. I shamelessly bring a thermos of tea and watch, because really, it's amazing to watch, and occasionally bring donuts for everyone.


My Brain is the Wakaba and Shiori Funtime Hour. With limited commercial interruption.

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#31 | Back to Top04-07-2016 01:44:39 AM

Dreaded Claymore
Rose Bride
From: Sacramento, California
Registered: 01-28-2014
Posts: 116

Re: Fencers?

I just found this thread. I fenced a little bit in college. I loved the people in the club, they were all amazing and fun.

I stopped because I was having embarrassing emotional problems with it. I was fine doing drills, but then when we'd spar, I'd cry when I got touched. I didn't know why (and still don't), I couldn't stop, and I was deeply ashamed and afraid of what everyone would think. So I stopped. This is the first time I've ever told anyone that.

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#32 | Back to Top04-12-2016 10:49:57 AM

Astrinde
Tenjou Tilter
From: New Orleans
Registered: 01-26-2016
Posts: 89
Website

Re: Fencers?

Dreaded Claymore wrote:

I just found this thread. I fenced a little bit in college. I loved the people in the club, they were all amazing and fun.

I stopped because I was having embarrassing emotional problems with it. I was fine doing drills, but then when we'd spar, I'd cry when I got touched. I didn't know why (and still don't), I couldn't stop, and I was deeply ashamed and afraid of what everyone would think. So I stopped. This is the first time I've ever told anyone that.

Claymore, I did the same: fenced in college, loved both the activity and the participants.  I moved to épée after a few months on foil and even won the beginners' tournament that year, but ended up quitting after the fun club dynamic degenerated into constant drama.  My voice teacher is also a fencer and has offered to help me pick up fencing again, and though she finds the formality of foil far more enjoyable than I do, I'm seriously considering it.

I pasted your second paragraph because I have the same weeping reaction after singing - which I too, to my memory, have never told anyone else.  There are lessons during which something unlocks inside of me, and then I cry disconsolately on the entire ride home.  Maybe it's a feeling of being guarded and shielded, which becomes vulnerable when pierced - not literally, as with a blade, but rather through deep breathing and effort and self-expression in an unfamiliar way.  I wish you'd been on my university's team, because I'd never have looked down on you for your reaction...and épées can make compelling arguments in favour of others' compassion, too. emot-wink

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