A Night of Fight

Due to the lack of members, the instructor (with the Secretary heartily in concurrence) called off the drills. Instead, there were various and sundry matches.

• First match: Ms. K. Graupner vs. Ms. Secretary A. Flowers. Or rather a rematch, in which Ms. Secretary nearly redeemed herself. (5-4). Foil.

• Second: Mr. Instructor J. Lorrig vs. Mr. E. Hill. In which Mr. Hill nearly held his own. (5-3). Foil.

• Match the Thrid: Mr. G. Evans vs. Mr. K. Ly. A close match with a twist at the end. (5-4). Foil.

• Fourth of the night: Mr. Instructor vs. Ms. Secretary. In which Ms. Secretary had her first taste of hard knocks, both given and received. (7-2). Saber.

• Fifth: Mr. Instructor vs. Ms. Treasurer G. Farris. A match of questionable outcome due to poor directing by a complete novice, Ms. Secretary. (7-5). Double Sabers.

• Sixth: Mr. E. Hill vs. Mr. S. Swendsboe. In which it is proved that hakama do not help fencers. (5-0). Foil.

• Seventh and final: Mr. Instructor vs. Mr. N. Ryan. (7-6).

"The 'right of way' principle in foil and sabre is that the first person to properly execute an attack has priority. Simply put, if one is attacked, one must defend oneself before counterattacking -- rather than attempting to hit one's opponent even at the risk of being hit oneself. Attacks can be made to fail either by bad luck, misjudgement or by action on the part of the defender. A properly executed parry (deflecting the incoming attack with one's own blade) causes priority to change and the defender has the opportunity to attack (riposte). The original attacker must counterparry the defender's reposte before attacking again, but if the parry is ineffectual (malparry), if the riposte misses, or the defender hesitates before riposting, the attacker can continue his attack (remise or redoublement ) without counterparrying." http://www.arthistoryclub.com/art_history/Fencing#Right_of_way