What is Classical Fencing?
There are many different definitions of classical fencing, and that can make life very confusing when you are trying to figure out what to expect from any particular school or event. In a broad sense, classical fencing references the study of the Art of Defense in Europe and America (more specifically the study of the Foil or Fleuret, Spada de Duello or Epee, and the Duelling Sabre or Academic Sabre) from somewhere around 1800AD to around 1950AD, and the mentality that fencing swords are weapons, and should always be considered as such during their study. It should be obvious however that the way those weapons were used, and even the weapons themselves, were subject to significant changes during such a long time-period. Moreover, the mentalities of their users, both accross time and accross political boundries, varied and changed. Those three things together make it very difficult to put together a cohesive definition of classical fencing. So, instead of trying to lay a definition in s
Classical fencing is simply fencing AS IF the swords were sharp. As if your life depended on it. It is the direct descendent of 500 years of swordsmanship and was the ONLY kind of fencing until after World War II. We continue that tradition keeping intact not only the techniques, tactics and terminology of real swordplay, but also the attendant code of honour. I began using this term in around 1984 in order to distinguish fencing as it had always been practiced, from the hyper-stylized stuff that was the latest fad in what I referred to as “olympic style” fencers. At the time, I considered that saying “classical fencing” and “olympic fencing” was much more charitable than saying “correct fencing” and “stupid fencing.
Classical fencing is simply fencing AS IF the swords were sharp. As if your life depended on it. It is the direct descendent of 500 years of swordsmanship and was the ONLY kind of fencing until after World War II. We continue that tradition keeping intact not only the techniques, tactics and terminology of real swordplay, but also the attendant code of honour. I began using this term in around 1984 in order to distinguish fencing as it had always been practiced, from the hyper-stylized stuff that was the latest fad in what I referred to as “olympic style” fencers.
