7/1/2023 0 Comments Fencing toucheNow retired from competition, she especially enjoys teaching women. Eugenie Mansfield, Seattle attorney and Auriol instructor, has fenced for 22 years and ranked seventh in the nation in 1994. In the old days, women did not fence but they do now, and in increasing numbers. "It takes years to master these techniques, but it's a wonderful workout for both mind and body." That's why training is so important, says Mitch Kief, an Auriol instructor. Injuries are more likely to occur from repetitive motions and turned ankles from leaps. To minimize battering, the fencing tunics are made with the same material used in bulletproof vests, which also protect from the occasional broken blade that could pierce skin. While the deep lunges and slashing may seem dangerous, injury rarely comes from the weapons the edges aren't sharp and the tips are blunted and padded. Each weapon has its own strike zone, technique and motions. "This is a sport like any other but with the fastest reflexes," he says.Īuriol's students, ranging in age from 8 to people in their 70s, learn to use three types of weapons - the foil, epee and saber. He came to Seattle to train an Olympic hopeful in the '60s and has been instructing others since then. One of Seattle's oldest modern fencing schools, Salle Auriol, is run by Leon Auriol, a Frenchman from Toulouse. There are few rules to this kind of sword fighting although style and guile are still required. This is the ballet of fencing.Īnother brand of fencing, akin to the street brawl, has roots in Renaissance-era dueling. ![]() Light-footed practitioners perform deep lunges and quick feints, following rigid rules that govern movement and technique. Fencers, wired to an electronic scorekeeper, wear the familiar white tunics their faces covered with mesh masks. The most recognizable form is modern sport, or Olympic, fencing. Oh, the good old days of swordsmanship.įencing as an art of finesse and strategy still exists today, but - we can be thankful - without casualties. A furious slashing of shining blades, then one man lies dead.
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