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

#1 | Back to Top12-18-2006 07:51:53 PM

Archambeau
Muffy, the Forums Trophy Wife
Registered: 11-20-2006
Posts: 499

Fencers?

I figured that with a group of Utena fans, there are bound to be some fencers in our midst.  Anyone?  I've personally been fencing foil since the eighth grade, though I'm a year out of practice on account of moving and losing my beloved salle.  Fortunately, though, my college has a good program, so I've gotten my feet wet again.  I'm hoping with some more practice to give epee a try, soon.

And why yes, I did indeed sew my Utena patch onto my jacket.  How could I not? emot-rolleyes

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#2 | Back to Top12-18-2006 08:16:21 PM

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

Re: Fencers?

I don't fence yet. But I'm thinking about taking it up. My college has a decent program, as does another fairly local one. It looks like good exercise and a lot of fun. And I'd be able to sew an Utena patch on to my jacket.


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#3 | Back to Top12-18-2006 09:26:11 PM

Tamago
God of Comedy
From: Minami Goushuu
Registered: 10-17-2006
Posts: 14280
Website

Re: Fencers?

I did try my hand at fencing a year or so ago but thanks to the fact that I have very poor eyesight which prevents me from being able to see the foil blade when I am wearing the fencing mask. 

I also sweat like a pig which means I cannot even wear my glasses when I wear the mask as I drip sweat all over my lens.

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#4 | Back to Top12-18-2006 09:58:31 PM

Archambeau
Muffy, the Forums Trophy Wife
Registered: 11-20-2006
Posts: 499

Re: Fencers?

Tamago wrote:

I did try my hand at fencing a year or so ago but thanks to the fact that I have very poor eyesight which prevents me from being able to see the foil blade when I am wearing the fencing mask. 

I also sweat like a pig which means I cannot even wear my glasses when I wear the mask as I drip sweat all over my lens.

That's too bad. emot-frown

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#5 | Back to Top12-18-2006 10:00:22 PM

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

Re: Fencers?

What's it like to participate in? I've seen it done but that doesn't tell you what it's like to do it.


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

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#6 | Back to Top12-18-2006 10:34:10 PM

Archambeau
Muffy, the Forums Trophy Wife
Registered: 11-20-2006
Posts: 499

Re: Fencers?

It's certainly invigorating; while the speed is certainly conveyed by watching, it's all the more intense when you're facing your opponent.  I find a large element of the experience to be getting up the confidence to make your move.  The speed is intimidating at first, so to save yourself you generally hold off from attacking, hoping you can deflect your opponent without sticking out your own neck.  Once you find out how you move best, though, it's a very calculated, precise sort of sport -- regulated footwork, specific parries, and so on.  I personally find I fare for the worse against new fencers than more seasoned opponents, as the amateurs are all over the place whereas someone with experience is using moves I can (hopefully) defend against, rather than warding off someone's flailing.

I would recommend some cross-training if you don't have very good stamina or lower body strength.  Proper footwork requires you to essentially maintain a squat -- you'll be sore after the first few practices, not to mention exhausted.

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#7 | Back to Top12-18-2006 11:23:50 PM

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

Re: Fencers?

It seems like it would be as good a mental exercise as anything else.


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

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#8 | Back to Top12-18-2006 11:29:00 PM

Tamago
God of Comedy
From: Minami Goushuu
Registered: 10-17-2006
Posts: 14280
Website

Re: Fencers?

Archambeau wrote:

Tamago wrote:

I did try my hand at fencing a year or so ago but thanks to the fact that I have very poor eyesight which prevents me from being able to see the foil blade when I am wearing the fencing mask. 

I also sweat like a pig which means I cannot even wear my glasses when I wear the mask as I drip sweat all over my lens.

That's too bad. emot-frown

Maybe I can try my hand at kendo instead, the bokkens are easier to spot than the foil even with my dismal eyesight.

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#9 | Back to Top12-19-2006 03:55:02 AM

allegoriest
Delicious Duellist
From: Cloudcuckooland
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 2507
Website

Re: Fencers?

My roommate wants us to take up fencing, but I'm soooo lazy. X___x Its also obscenely early in the morning too, so I passed. (early for me is anything before 12 and I think this was 7 X____x)

I used to do kendo for like... forever until I pulled a Ruka and now just sit here... does that kinda count?

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#10 | Back to Top12-19-2006 04:52:17 AM

angelicreation
The Breast Saviour
From: Denver, CO
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 1323
Website

Re: Fencers?

I can do a little saber, but I never learned any foil beyond what I'd need to know to write Juri fics.  I find epee kinda silly, but that's just my opinion.

Last edited by angelicreation (12-19-2006 04:56:36 AM)


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#11 | Back to Top12-19-2006 07:51:01 AM

Giovanna
Ends of the Fandom
From: Edmonton, AB
Registered: 10-12-2006
Posts: 8797
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Re: Fencers?

Archambeau wrote:

I would recommend some cross-training if you don't have very good stamina or lower body strength.  Proper footwork requires you to essentially maintain a squat -- you'll be sore after the first few practices, not to mention exhausted.

Yeah that sounds seriously terrifying. emot-gonk

How/where do you learn something like fencing? I mean, with kendo and pretty much every martial art there are schools all over the place and ranking systems, but I've never heard of anyone going to fencing school or anything. But then I live in South Florida. We don't do that fancypants stuff 'round here.


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#12 | Back to Top12-19-2006 11:36:31 AM

angelicreation
The Breast Saviour
From: Denver, CO
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 1323
Website

Re: Fencers?

The only places I've known to teach fencing is colleges.  Occasionally you'll find a high school that has fencing, but usually they're the expensive private schools.  A lot of the college teams/clubs will allow non-students to join the team if they sign a bunch of papers, pay the dues and it's not written in their organization charter that members have to be students.  I learned the little saber I know from my friends who were on the college fencing team.  If they don;t allow you on the team cause you aren't a student, you can always find out who the instructor for the college group is and see if they'll let you take private lessons.  The whole fencing uniform and foil isn't terribly expensive if all you're going for is functionality.


Life is short: break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.

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#13 | Back to Top12-19-2006 12:14:53 PM

Archambeau
Muffy, the Forums Trophy Wife
Registered: 11-20-2006
Posts: 499

Re: Fencers?

Giovanna wrote:

Archambeau wrote:

I would recommend some cross-training if you don't have very good stamina or lower body strength.  Proper footwork requires you to essentially maintain a squat -- you'll be sore after the first few practices, not to mention exhausted.

Yeah that sounds seriously terrifying. emot-gonk

How/where do you learn something like fencing? I mean, with kendo and pretty much every martial art there are schools all over the place and ranking systems, but I've never heard of anyone going to fencing school or anything. But then I live in South Florida. We don't do that fancypants stuff 'round here.

When I fenced in junior high/high school, it was through my city's recreational center.  If you live in or near to a large city, you may be able to find a fencing studio and practice there (the program I attended was an extension of the SwordPlay studio).  You can run a search on usfencing.org for fencing clubs near you; I searched for Florida, but I wasn't sure of Homestead's approximate location to any other cities, so I'll leave it up to you -- but fortunately, there were plenty of clubs.

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#14 | Back to Top12-19-2006 12:56:59 PM

Lightice
Azure Paleontologist
From: Finland
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 1255

Re: Fencers?

No experience, whatsoever with the modern fencing, but I do occasionally practice the really classical Medieval European swordsmanship with two-handed longswords, in Italian style. It's damn difficult, I must say and it makes me so tired that I don't go to practice nearly enough. It's not the physical side that's so straining, though its rough enough, but incredibly complex and precise drills, emphasized by the fact that by screwing up I could seriously injure my pair. That sort of stresses me up.

I would recommend some cross-training if you don't have very good stamina or lower body strength.  Proper footwork requires you to essentially maintain a squat -- you'll be sore after the first few practices, not to mention exhausted.

Ah, yes, the guard-position. It hurts even after months of training, at least if you have long legs, like me. But if someone in the street suddenly shouted "En garde!", I'd propably fall in the position immediately. One of the few things that's been properly drilled in my backbone...


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#15 | Back to Top12-19-2006 01:18:48 PM

Personal_IceQueen
Covert Diarist
Registered: 11-27-2006
Posts: 822
Website

Re: Fencers?

I have wanted to go into fencing, but never took it up or anything. My tennis instructor said I should though....so who knows one of these days, I might pick up a sword and do some stuff.


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#16 | Back to Top12-19-2006 01:32:10 PM

Arki
Dark Whisperer
From: Croatia
Registered: 10-28-2006
Posts: 1123

Re: Fencers?

This thread inspired me to do some research on any local fencing activities. I've found several fencing clubs (including the one which a friend of mine from primary school attends :) that I could join. The only problem is... I'm such a wuss. The lack of any sort of confidence or determenation is what always pervented me from doing sports. Knowing myself, I'd most probably go emo after a month of attending. But the more I read about it, my wish to attend just seems to increase. x:

Last edited by Arki (12-19-2006 01:32:20 PM)

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#17 | Back to Top12-19-2006 05:13:41 PM

Hinotori
The Notable Death Mantis
From: Soviet Ohiostan
Registered: 10-23-2006
Posts: 1335

Re: Fencers?

As much as I love swordplay I fail at fencing hard.

And from my experience the "fencing" taught at my local SCA is way more fun. O:

PS: I'd reccomend SCA over a college to anyone when it comes to learing combat sports. You'll probably never get into the Olympics but you'll have a shit-boat of fun.


Hinotori made this post, and then went back and changed it later. Such is life.

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#18 | Back to Top12-19-2006 05:38:48 PM

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

Re: Fencers?

Fencing seems much more civilized than the SCA. I've heard horror stories about injuries from former stick-jockeys. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't seem fun.


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

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#19 | Back to Top12-21-2006 04:31:29 PM

Nessy
Sunlit Gardener (Prelude)
Registered: 11-04-2006
Posts: 169
Website

Re: Fencers?

I tried my hand at fencing, but turned out to be miserably bad at it. (Well, no worse than the rest of the class, but it still annoyed me that I wasn't instantly a champ. [I might expect too much of myself, sometimes.] Anyway, I was really timid about actually doing anything except backing away and my coordination is absolutely terrible--lifting my arm, thrusting forward, and moving my feet the right way all at the same time is a lil' too much for me to handle. Also I'm not very tolerant to physical discomfort...so my arms and thighs hurting forever wasn't the most pleasing experience. Also the teacher was totally insane and very very German. So.)

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#20 | Back to Top08-15-2015 12:40:34 AM

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

Re: Fencers?

KFAR here to revive another thread!

I took my first fencing lesson last night. It all happened on a whim... I had been telling myself I wanted to look into getting into lessons of some sort, piano, fencing, painting, sewing, cooking... really anything i could find. I decided to look up fencing first and discovered they had an open (and free for the first night!) group that fences both for fun and for competition. I called the guy up, and he told me to show up Thursday at 6:30... So I showed up!

Man it was such a blast. First of all, putting each piece of the armor on one by one was invigorating. As a woman, I was required to wear a chest protector -- and let me tell you a thing... that was hilarious. I'm a smaller chested woman, but having to poke through the different women's chest plates was quite the experience. After getting suited up w/ the exception of the helmet, he gave us our Epee (which, i had not learned that there were 3 types of fencing swords until i showed up!). 

After some safety warnings we started to poke the dummies on the wall. Thrusting, lunging, parrying, and shuffling about in front of these dummies in our armor / outfit / suit? what do you call it? ... Then the helmet came on.... what world! My heart was pounding. The suit was ridiculously hot, but once I had the helmet on it felt real.

Then we began fencing each other. This is what blew my mind... It really is just linear chess. You have the strip you stand on, but you are constantly thinking of your move and how to fake out the opponent. Everything is a mind game. Endurance is definitely key, but knowing to strike at the same time and knowing not to be afraid of the blade were all very important pieces that were trying to fit together in my head. Sadly, as it was my first night, i got my ass handed to me a few times, but over the course of the night I did better. The bouts can feel endless at times and fatigue will definitely begin to show towards the end.

As for muscles, man, everything but my left arm hurts!  I am right handed and got poked a lot on my right side, but that isn't what did me in. Legs, back, shoulder -- everything just sore from the new movements it was experiencing.

Overall it was a fantastic experience, but definitely a mental challenge. I highly recommend at least taking one try-it-out class. I did some googling and found a few places near me, so i'd suggest the same to you all!

Has anyone picked it up since 2006?

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#21 | Back to Top08-15-2015 05:38:06 AM

TheOnlyFlorence
Revolution Televisor
Registered: 09-16-2012
Posts: 454

Re: Fencers?

I did fencing back in college, and I had a blast doing it. I miss it, and it's expensive to start up again. I have all the equipment, and if I want regular practice, I have to pay special gym memberships and then tournament costs. I could just do tournaments and practice solo, though this doesn't get me the actual bout practice required.

What style are you practicing, KFAR?

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#22 | Back to Top08-15-2015 08:42:39 AM

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

Re: Fencers?

I hope you can find an awesome gym like the one I found. Its only $50 a month to practice and let you use their own gear. I'm definitely considering picking up my own kit because comfort factor seems to be a big hurdle for me when i'm sitting there thinking of everything going on around me.

I havent decided on a style, just playing with everything. Each month they switch the weapon up that we will use until we settle on one that we prefer. My first attempt was with the Epee.

Totally going to get a rose crest embroidered on my suit though, just you wait.

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#23 | Back to Top08-15-2015 12:25:49 PM

purplepolecat
Atlantean Singer
From: Vancouver, B.C.
Registered: 03-26-2007
Posts: 570

Re: Fencers?

This is a pretty serious thread necro!

I've never done sport/Olympic style fencing, but I did historical fencing for about five years (also sometimes referred to as Western Martial Arts, Historical European Martial Arts). Mostly rapier, with a bit of sidesword & buckler. I'm taking a break right now to recover from injuries and reassess my goals. I'm not that great at sports or martial arts, but I got a lot further than I thought I would.


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#24 | Back to Top08-15-2015 12:36:05 PM

Snow
Troublesome Insect
From: under the dogstar sail
Registered: 09-30-2013
Posts: 643

Re: Fencers?

Wow, fencing sounds awesome! I've been considering taking up a martial art of some sort, and trying to decide between kickboxing and something like fencing or archery for a while now, but watching Olympic fencing made it look a bit meh. But it sounds fun to actually do, instead of just watch.

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#25 | Back to Top08-18-2015 08:50:47 AM

Yasha
Bitch Queen
From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Registered: 10-15-2006
Posts: 6031
Website

Re: Fencers?

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.


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