new semester

January 23: the beginning of the Spring 2009 Chinese New Year's Tournament

January 30: fencing meeting (secretary absent, so I can't describe it :-) )

January 6:
Drills, interspersed with Ronald Regan quotes and sword facts :-)
The completion of the Spring 2009 Chinese New Year's Tournament (tournaments take a lot of time :-) )
More bouts

Thank you to all who participated, and to Jeremiah for directing!
results of the 2009 Chinese New Year's Tournament
Michael, first
Kati, second
James, third
Kirk, fourth


How scoring works:
Each person is assigned a number from 1-10. For example, Kirk is recorded as fencer #1, and the row across from #1 shows the points he scores on every other fencer. The column down from #1 shows the points he receives from every other fencer.
The "HS" column records the total number of hits he scored, and the "HR" column records the total number of hits he received. The "T" column records the final total, or the hits scored minus hits received. The final results of the tournament are determined by the "T" column.
The second chart shows the order in which the fencers will bout. If there are 10 fencers, there will be 45 bouts.

fencing meeting January 16

Fencing meeting January 16

Kati / Abby, foil
5/2

Nick / Michael, saber
7/6

Peter / Shane, foil
5/4

Dan / Royal, foil
5/3

James / Ashlynne, foil
5/1

Shane / Kati, foil
5/4

fencing meeting, November 21

There were many good bouts, including several sabre bouts.


The secretary, however, regrettably did not record the scores, since she was writing a paper.

~Kati, secretary























photo by Abby C.

The fencing club will not be meeting this Friday (November 14) due to the Eden Troupe performance. Support Eden Troupe and enjoy the play! :-)

November 7

Bouts:
Michael / Kati
foil, 5 / 3

Kirk / Nick
sabre, 7 / 5

Kati / Abby
foil, 5 / 4

Shane / Dan
foil, 5 / 4

Michael / Nick
sabre, 7 /5

Josh / Aaron
foil, 5 / 3

Kirk / Jeremiah
sabre, 7 / 6

quote of the week: "That would be really cool--to do kung-fu fencing!" --Josh




~Kati, secretary

no fencing meeting tonight





Have a great fall/election break! :-)

New semester

Friday, October 17 meeting

Quote of the week: "I have faith in you, my padwans"-- Jeremiah


Bouts:


Kirk / Dan
foil, 5 / 3


James / Shane
foil, 5 / 2


Kati / Abby C.
foil, 5 / 4


Abigail M. / Kelly
foil, 5 / 4

Kirk / Nick
saber, 7 / 4
















Dan / Aaron
foil, 5 /2

NEWS:

Fencing club T-shirts are still available. The cost is $10.

Next week is the hoedown, so the president has said we will not be meeting on Oct. 24.

~Kati, secretary

Pictures!

Fencing Club blog back online

Madam Secretary apologizes for the hiatus of the blog these many months. The elections last fall resulted in the rise of M. Zeller to the presidency, K. Sosebee to the Treasury, and the continuation of A. Cossette as the Secretary.

Fall 2006 Fencing Club Elections

results...

President. N.Ryan

Secretary. A.Cossette

Treasurer. M.Zeller

February Fight

I. Mr. M. Zeller vs. Mr. E. Hill. (5-4). Foil.

II. Mr. B. Gibson vs. Mr. B. Flint. (5-4). Foil.

III. Mr. N. Ryan vs. Mr. President. (7-5). Saber.

IV. Mr. G. Evans vs. Mr. Instructor. (5-4). Foil.

V. Mr. M. Zeller vs. Ms. Secretary. (7-4). Saber.

VI. Mr. G. Evans vs. Mr. E. Hill. (5-3). Foil.

VII. Mr. Instructor vs. Mr. M. Zeller. (7-6). Saber.

VIII. Mr. B. Flint vs. Mr. G. Evans. (5-3). Foil.

IX. Mr. N. Ryan vs. Ms. Secretary. (7-5). Saber.

X. Mr. Instructor vs. Mr. M. Zeller. (7-6). Saber.


Starting weapon
When teaching fencing, instructors often start new fencers with the foil. Because of its origin as a training weapon, the foil comes with a set of rules, technique and conventions that translate easily to the epee and sabre. As students become comfortable with the concepts of fencing, they can switch to the other weapons. Many students opt to stay with foil, however, and it is frequently the most popular weapon at tournaments.
In recent times, high-level fencing has been increasingly taught by weapon specialists, and the "foil-first" approach has been challenged by the successes of fencers who only ever fenced Sabre or Epee.~
http://www.whatisfencing.com/article.htm?itemid=16

LOTS of Fight

After modified drills:

• I. Ms. E. R. Cockerham vs. Ms. K. Graupner. (5-3). Foil.

• II. Mr. M. Zeller vs. Mr. B. Flint. (5-4). Foil.

• III. Mr. Instructor vs. Mr. President. (5-4). Foil.

• IV. Mr. N. Ryan vs. Ms. Secretary. In which both parties took full advantage of weaknesses. (7-6). Saber.

• V. Ms. Treasurer vs. Ms. B. Kneynsberg. Which was an instructional match for everyone. : ) (5-3). Foil.

• VI. Mr. Instructor vs. Ms. Treasurer. (7-2). Saber.

• VII. Ms. Treasurer vs. Mr. N. Ryan. (7-6). Saber.

• VIII. Mr. M. Zeller vs. Mr. B. Gibson. (5-1). Foil.

"From what I could see, which was kind of nil, he hit him!" ~ Ms. Treasurer during III.

A Shorter Night

Back from break and new records set.

• First Bout: Mr. E. Hill vs. Ms. Secretary. In which Ms. Secretary proves that saber technique is terrible for foil. (5-0). Foil.

• Second Bout: Mr. N. Ryan vs. Mr. K. Ly. (5-2). Foil.

• Third Bout: Mr. E. Hill vs. Mr. M. Zeller. (5-4). Foil.

• Final Bout: Mr. N. Ryan vs. Ms. Secretary. In which Ms. Secretary proves that saber drills do help with saber. (7-6). Saber.

After which, Mr. Instructor demonstrated the basics of Saber to several promising new recruits, and Mr. Z. broke another saber blade.

"Real fencers know that I can’t keep form, and the PHC fencing club makes me their instructor." ~Mr. Instructor Lorrig*

*He can keep form quite well during a match.

After the Hiatus

Since the fencers were unanimously desirous of fighting, the drills were once again shortened and the fighting commenced.

• First Bout: Mr. Instructor vs. Ms. Secretary. (7-4). Saber.

• Second Bout: Mr. President vs. Mr. E. Hill. (5-3). Foil.

• Third Bout: Mr. Instructor vs. Mr. P. Kamakawiwoole. (5-3). Foil.

• Fourth Bout: Mr. G. Evans vs. Mr. B. Flint. In which is seen most unusual and creative footwork. (5-4). Foil.

• Fifth Bout: Mr. Instructor vs. Ms. Treasurer. In which was seen how aggressive a fencer can be made after the mention of a troublesome class. In which was also demonstrated that fencing swords can break. (7-5). Saber.

• Sixth Bout: Mr. N. Ryan vs. Mr. President. In which the president was soundly beaten and both parties received minor injuries. (7-2). Saber.

• Seventh and Final Bout: Ms. Treasurer vs. Ms. Secretary. (7-4). Saber.

"Weapons: Weapons should be regularly checked to ensure they are in a safe usable condition.
Blades: Blades should be observed and tested to see whether any portion is "soft", that is to say whether any portion of the blade bends more than the rest. "Softness" indicates a dangerous weakness which may lead to a break A 'soft' portion is indicated when a blade bends into an irregular or uneven curve. The portion which bends more than the rest is 'soft'. A new blade should be tested by placing the point on the floor and depressing the top about six inches and checking that it bends evenly. Blades can be checked similarly during the non-fencing breaks in a bout. " ~http://www.shakespearesswords.co.uk/safety_guidelines.htm

A Quiet Night?

For the first time, Mr. President N. Bolzman led drills after Mr. Instructor J. Lorrig had led warm-ups. Happily, Mr. President taught new and interesting moves. Interestingly, Mr. Instructor did not completely demonstrate his superiority in the drills. Unfortunately, Mr. President will need to learn projection before he will be able to effectively lead drills on a consistent basis.

Due to the conflicting schedules, here follows a shortened and incomplete account of the night. Additions are welcome.

• First match: Mr. Instructor vs. Mr. B. Flint. In which Mr. Flint holds his own remarkably well (5-3). Foil.

• Second: Mr. President vs. Mr. G. Evans. Which transpires much as expected (5-1). Foil.

• Thrid: Mr. President vs. Ms. Secretary. In which Ms. Secretary displays her taste for blood and Mr. President demonstrates his taste for metal (7-3) Saber.

"Foil technique emphasises strong defence and the killing attack to the body." "Sabre technique emphasises speed, feints, and strong offence." "Fencing is one of the safest sports, yet gives a wonderful, stimulating workout of body and mind."

http://www.shakespearesswords.co.uk/starting.htm