Fencing

I've started a short fencing course in my school and I've got to say, rubbish though I am, I love it! Foil and Épée more than Sabre but really there's just something profoundly fun about learning it. As I said, I'm not that good at it; I've only had a few lessons with a smallish group of people in my year, but I think it's brilliant! Definitely something worth considering as a sport in college. I would recommend it to everyone, but then again I know that not everyone in my class feels as excited about it as I do. Still, it's a really good sport, and it's so fast! Apparently at a high level, the matches will normally be over in a matter of minutes!

The two types I prefer, Foil and Épée, are 'point' games. That means that to score a point you have to hit your opponent with the (blunt) point of your sword. The rules are very difficult and as I've already said that I'm not very good at it and haven't been doing it long, I don't feel bad about not explaining them. Mainly because I don't know them. I do know, however, that in Épée you can hit your opponent anywhere. Legs, toes, head, they all count as long as you hit with the point.

Sabre is different; in fact, one of our coaches described it as 'real, proper pirate swordfighting'. In sabre, you can use the point and the side of the blade, and you are allowed hit the person in their torso, head and arms. Don't worry, you're head is protected by a mask and you also wear a protective jacket.

Anyway, just to reiterate, fencing is awesome/amazing/fantastic and you should try it out if you get the opportunity! A lot of colleges have fencing clubs, if you are a student and interested in learning. If you want more information here's a link to the encyclopaedia of all Earthly knowledge, Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencing

Please give it a go you won't regret it! Enjoy! :)

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