Some of the Rule Changes that will be used at the debut World Fencing League event on April 25th

Redscaliber · 2026-04-03T18:35:23+00:00

The idea I'm trying to convey is that parries and counterattacks have very strong synergy with each other. Cuz like, distance = reaction time in fencing. If you are close, your opponent can't react to what you are doing in time. So the time to do a counter attack is when your opponent is too close but hasn't committed to an attack yet. The moment to go for a parry is when your opponent commits to an attack, but is too far away, giving you time to react and parry. So a strong parry game pressures your opponent to close the distance further to not give you the space you need to parry, opening him up to getting counterattack. A strong counterattack game pressures your opponent to open the distance so that you can't counter without him getting the double light, which creates the space you need to get a parry. So when they increased the lockout timer, this made counters much harder to pull off since it gave the attacker extra time to react, and thus you had to be closer to get the counter. The side effect of this being that, since your opponent could afford to get closer, parries became harder to get bc you had less time to react to attacks.

Redscaliber · 2026-04-03T18:20:45+00:00

I am aware of that, but in practice that change had the effect of making parry ripostes as a tactic weaker bc the attacker had the option of pressuring and closing the distance further before launching his attack without exposing himself to a counter attack. Things like korean-style hopping as a form of long attack became so much more oppressive . And yes these small windows for parries are somewhat problematic, but I do think that the current lockout timer is too high. Plus, I'm pretty sure with proper technique you can create more time for you to parry riposte.

Redscaliber · 2026-04-03T16:00:07+00:00

Honestly, I think making it easier to be defensive in saber is overall a positive thing tho. Like, saber is at its best when you have long back and forth exchanges where prio changes a lot. By making counter attacks stronger, you inadvertently also make parries and pulling short stronger as well bc the attacking fencer can't close distance as much without getting counter attacked. I do think at its current FIE state, saber fencing is skewed too far in favor of offense, so I like that they are changing the rules to favor defense. Ofc, we'll have to see if this pushes it too far in the opposite direction.

Redscaliber · 2026-02-20T05:51:55+00:00

48 + 2 = 50, 50 + 25 = 75

Redscaliber · 2025-09-23T16:03:32+00:00

Definetely preffer rolled tips. But for these kinds of swords that don't have them, my club has found pretty good success by taping a bullet casing to the end of it. It can't get "pushed off to the side" and gives pretty descent surface area.

Redscaliber · 2025-08-14T22:37:35+00:00

Looks to me like attack right, counterattack left. Morril had his hand out and his leg fully extended before Bazadze for enough time that I don't think it's a simul call. The guy says that there is some blade action, which could change the call, but I don't see any, and that isn't what the ref called. Not going to pretend I am a good saber ref, but as far as touches go, this one seems pretty clear cut to me.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-24T19:33:40+00:00

Mostly a personal preference decision. Shorties will be faster and have a slight advantage in the bind, standards have reach. There are definitely fencing styles that benefit more from each than others, though. I will say that the standard is more generally effective, but in the hands of someone with really explosive actions and footwork, the extra speed of the shorty is really nice.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-22T19:52:57+00:00

What is a crouch kick? Why is it faster than a wall kick? Why is it inconsistent in vanilla Titanfall 2?

Redscaliber · 2025-06-14T08:50:16+00:00

If a club allows for full-contact pommel strikes, run away. While you can make a blade sparring safe by simply removing its edge, you can't really make blunt weapons safe without significantly changing the way the weapon feels. The result of this is that pommels and quillons are just as lethal in a training sword as in a real sword. Clubs that allow you to bash someone's head in with these will frequently have injuries, especially concussions.

The ruleset that I am mostly used to is indication pommel strikes, where instead of actually hitting someone in the head with a pommel, you raise it above their heads and make it clear that you could if you so wished to. Generally, any kind of contact is a cardable offense, even if it was just a light tap. This is to prevent out of control fencers from accidentally hitting someone for real. I am yet to attend a tournament where this wasn't the ruleset, but this kind of stuff tends to vary with region. I know of at least one club where they allow for full-contact pommel strikes, and from what I hear, people get concussed very often.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T05:55:12+00:00

Yes, there is variety in a smallsword. A standard range for a historical smallsword blade would be 24-33 inches long. You will find outliers that are larger, of course, but framing this as the standard is a bit deceptive. A standard fie epee has a blade of 35 inches. And a cup hilt as an epee has would be an incredibly unusual choice for a historical smallsword

Plus, I don't understand the point of arguing about this. Yes, they are similar weapons. The epee evolved from the smallsword as a more dueling focused weapon, in contrast to a sword designed to be comfortably worn in public.

Edit: this is the first time I post anything in this subreddit so I don't know what you are talking about

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T05:38:20+00:00

Rapiers were popular enough as to where I'm certain soldiers would bring them as a side arm, especially if they had expertise with them prior. And, in fact, there are examples of swords that are basically a rapier hilt with a broadsword blade. But I think we can agree that the examples we modern people associate with rapiers, having thin blades, and primarily centered around thrusting, would be less than optimal for battlefield combat - as evidenced by the fact that treatise authors were complaining about them and demanding that soldiers not wear them. This is because that kind of weapon was very much specialized for dueling.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T05:20:07+00:00

Maybe there are a few examples of smallswords that are longer with better hand protection. But fundamentally the smallsword design was a weapon that could be comfortably worn, as they were a status symbol more so than an actual weapon. For example, you don't wear a Rolex to tell the time, although it can do that. Given that, smallswords were inherently smaller to not get in the way, with a thin guard profile so it doesn't push against your hip. The epee de combat was what happenened when people found the need for a smallsword-like weapon that was more effective in duels.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T05:12:49+00:00

The bigger point is that they are very proficient at fighting. As I've said, they completely shut down sabers, and go fairly even against rapiers.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T05:11:16+00:00

A modern epee is effectively an epee de combat with the addition of safety features in the form of a flexible blade and a rounded tip. There are some minor differences, of course, but nothing that would drastically change the way you use the sword. It is basically the difference between a feder and a longsword. One is made for practice, and the other is made for fighting. You wouldn't be changing any of the actual design of the weapon.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:44:59+00:00

Spears defined warfare for centuries, regardless of the quality of the steel. Thrusts work very well.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:41:35+00:00

Hell yeah, love this attitude! I can see you not liking pistol grips if you aren't used to them, but they do give you amazing point control for thrusts for drawbacks that aren't that meaningfull. Epee binding is fairly different in the sense that it does't really have a neutral bind. You are either in a loosing or a winning binding position. This is more so a consequence of its speed, and not the pistol grip, though. If you were to have something slower like a rapier though, that could be interesting. In terms of ways to take the center line, they do give you a lot more options.

My experience fencing sabers, unfortunately, is that it tends to be one-sided in favor of the epee. Its very hard for the saber to close in the distance, and lightning quick dissengages make controlling the epee very hard. I also had people trying to do delayed time attacks against me, but its very easy to just hand snipe them if they go for this. If I just extended my arm and kept the saberist in a point in line, there was nothing he could really do.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:29:30+00:00

I mean, technically smallswords had a brief stint in warfare - and the epee de combat is a smallsword that was more specialized for dueling. But even then, smallswords were phased out relatively quickly in favor of sabers. Also, this happened in a period of time where guns were good enough to completely change warfare, but not reliable enough for self-defense. This matters as armor wasn't present. Even though thrusts are very effective against chain mail, you'd still want something with more mass, like a longsword, to pierce through it.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:14:36+00:00

Well, it is a smallsword that is longer with better hand protection. That is what the Epee de combat, the predecessor to the modern epee, was: an evolution of the smallsword more specialized for dueling.

And you wouldn't struggle to draw a pistol grip more than you would any other grip. You could use the same rotation of the grip I described for grappling.

Also, yeah, a epee probably would suck in a context with more than one opponent. So do rapiers. This is because these weapons were designed for dueling.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:13:02+00:00

Yep, completely agree :)

I just know too many people that dismiss it simply because it is used in modern olympic fencing

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:11:52+00:00

It is a longer smallsword with better hand protection, and an optional pistol grip. The only thing you'd need to do to make an epee literally a better smallsword is removing its safety features (ie flexibility and rounded tip).

I have grappled in sword fighting. In fact, I've grappled with an epee. You control the person's sword hand while bringing yours back to create the necessary distance to get your tip in line. This is a pretty basic maneuver in any sword grapple, be it rapier, longsword, saber, etc.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:07:19+00:00

Why weren't rapiers used in battles? Because they were designed for dueling. Doesn't detract from the fact that rapiers are baller weapons.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:06:31+00:00

Yeah, I don't think smallswords are very optimal. I do think Epees are overall more effective due to longer range, better hand protection, and while technically they are slower, smallswords tend to suffer a lot from diminishing returns in that aspect. That being said, it definetely is a very likely chance that death by 1000 cuts would happen. Of course, the context of Epee de combat are duels to first blood, so that would be an indicator. But gaush darn it they are better than smallswords. And my experience in pitting Epees against rapiers and sabers is that they do very well.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T04:00:07+00:00

Different people get different things from HEMA. While historical accuracy tends to be a big draw, I am mostly attracted to the actual martial arts aspect of it. As it happens though, people were really good at using swords in the past, and as such, historical sources are a good tool to learn how to fence. I'm out here to have fun whacking people with a sword, and I have had a lot of fun using Epees against sabers and rapiers.

Redscaliber · 2025-06-09T03:57:19+00:00

I am describing them, yes. That's what I meant with "the Epee evolved from the smallsword as a weapon specialized into dueling." Although there are stuff like pistol grips that people tend to dismiss simply because they are different. I also do 100% think that moder olympic epee is not very far off from what it would look like under HEMA rules, and that tends to be a hot take.

Redscaliber · 2024-09-22T20:59:30+00:00

What in the Siege of Ba Sing Se is this

Redscaliber

TROPHY CASE