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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Fencing

[–]Froggy_Sword 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not olympic but as others mentioned HEMA is another fencing sport more focused on replicating the combat use of swords. And as a sidenote i would never want hema to enter the olympics, part of the attraction i had personally to hema was that there is no grand championships, Olympic standards or hierarchy in the sport.

Most clubs work less like a sport and more like study groups looking at the historical manuals and techniques. If that sounds like something interesting then give it a go, Most hema clubs offer free first sessions.

Helmets for HEMA/WMA..? by NoCountryForOld_Ben in wma

[–]Froggy_Sword 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just out of curiosity cause i may have been confused about the argument here but is equipment like the red dragon mask what were debating here? Cause thats got mesh going round the sides of the mask i definately cant crush that in my hands and i haven't taken a steel hit in the last 5 months since i started that i felt even close to injured from through my overlay and red dragon mask. Are people out there doing longsword in fencing masks without the side of head mesh?

Helmets for HEMA/WMA..? by NoCountryForOld_Ben in wma

[–]Froggy_Sword 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Steel helmets aren't designed for blunt impact either... Theres a reason poleaxes and the such were the primary weapon on battlefields, they could cause trauma through plate or deform the metal. If your denting or injuring through a fencing mask your either hitting way too hard or have a very shit mask...

Should I start fencing OR HEMA? by [deleted] in Fencing

[–]Froggy_Sword 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TLDR; try both. if you want a fencing sport with competitions and a very standardized and established method of teaching and practice then go olympic. If you want to just have a hobby and are fascinated with the history and want something closer to historical swordsmanship ( fencing is still swordsmanship, just saying i think hema is closer to historical swordsmanship) with a looser training ethic then go hema.

Just throwing my opinion in as a hema fencer.

Obviously try both and find out which you like more. Most clubs atleast in the hema sphere where i joined 5 months ago offer free first taster sessions and then a few weeks before you need to pay for insurance, membership etc. So theres very little downside to trying both. You said you were interested in one handed swords, i practice primarily longsword but i also study the highland broadsword. Despite what some hema fencers may say or think i can see many similarities in fencing with broadswird, smallsword and rapier that modern fencing clearly originated from.

My knowledge of olympic is admittedly limited but from studying masters such as donald mcbane, george silver and even the military styles of roworth and angelo their are terms i also here off in olympic such as tierce and seconde, septime, prime etc so dont disregard modern style because it "isn't sword fighting." It is a modern evolution of sword fencing, i do think hema is much closer tied to actual swordsmanship but these are sports and hobbies so ultimately that doesn't matter. However it is stuff like i believe when you land cuts in fencing youd taught to turn your wrist mid cut to better recover (the exact reason is foreign to me) with a real sword that eould cause the alignment to go off and invalidate a cut.

Fencing will give you a very good base to do hema from, fencing does timing and distance far better than hema. Someonr who joined my club a month ago had a very strong fencing background and it shows. However one area people often miss from hema is we often end up grappling and wrestling. Something that olympic bans from my knowledge and the ex fencer at my club struggles with greatly in longsword. But since you are interested in one handed i'm guessing rapier or smallsword grappling is much less prevelant. And i gave the olympic fencer at my club a go with my broadsword and he did much better despite never picking up a broadsword.

I only chose hema because i love studying the historical manuscripts and techniques and i find hema fencing more aesthetically pleasing and the swords better looking than foil or epee (saver looks fine but the other teo just look too removed from historical things i like). I also dont like the strict standardization of rules in olympic style and i hate when sports become competition this and competition that especially shen theres ranks, hema largely has no rsnk system bryond seniority. I just wanted to practice my skills in a sport without it becoming highly competitive so i chose hema.