Many have seen movies about sword fighting, but in Carmichael Complex, room 1211, real sword fighting takes place as the fencing club team practices on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s.
All fencing is based on real combat between opponents. And as a result, there are three different weapons used in the sword fights.
The first weapon a fencer masters is called the foil. It has a pistol grip or a plain flat grip, with a small bell guard. The actual blade is very flexible.
“The foil was the sport of the soldiers,” seven-year fencer Kelly Herrick, a freshman in engineering, said. “The idea was to hit the vital organs, so the target is chest only.”
Also keeping with historical sword fighting, the foil is just a piercing weapon, not a slicing weapon. The result is that points are only scored by a hit with the tip of the blade.
The foil is also unique because it is governed by right-of-way.
“You have to attack before you defend,” Club President Robert El-Jaouhari, a sophomore in philosophy and history, said.
This is based on that any fighter obviously has to stave off a surprise attack by his opponent, before making one of his own.
The second weapon, the epee, was a weapon used in dueling.
“The épee was dueling — first blood, first touch. So the entire body is the target,” Herrick said.
In addition to not requiring any limitation on striking, épee bouts are also not regulated by right of way.
“It’s more mental chess, because each person can choose when to attack,” Herrick said.
The saber is the final weapon. It is unique from the other two because it is a piercing and a slicing weapon. It gets its basis from cavalry.
“The idea is to kill the rider, keep the horse,” Herrick said.
Because of this basis, the target area for the saber is from the waist up.
Everything else aside, when it comes to the sword fighting, the bouts are fast and take a large amount of individual skill.
“It’s a one-on-one sport. It’s not a team effort,” the Vice President and armorer of the club, Isaac Smith, a junior in biological engineering, said. “You either win by yourself or you lose by yourself. There’s no one else to blame.”
There are many reasons students in the club participate in fencing, from the individual’s skill factor to the club’s atmosphere. The most unique reason would be Herrick’s.
“It legalizes the abuse of one another with metal sticks,” he said.
But what stands out about the club is more than the ringing of metal as students slash at each other — it is the friendly environment the club maintains, according to El-Jaouhari.
“There were some good people here when I first came in,” he said. He also said the people were still a great part of the Club now.
Smith said it’s very easy for new people to join the team.
“It’s definitely a friendly atmosphere. We’re not a selective group,” Smith said. “We don’t hold tryouts. If you want to learn it, we’ll teach you, and we’ll take anyone from beginners to advanced fencers.”
