By Beatrice FannonROUND UPWHITCHURCH FENCING CLUB’SFIRST INTRA-CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPSWhitchurch Fencing Club heldits first intra-club championshipon Tuesday 28th April, which hasbeen introduced to coincide withits first-year anniversary in its newpremises at Rhiwbina MemorialHall, Cardiff, and <strong>the</strong> decision torebrand <strong>the</strong> club as an ‘épée-onlyclub’.The Whitchurch Club Championship is <strong>the</strong>Club’s latest attempt to improve its serviceto members and consequently make <strong>the</strong>club more successful. So far, <strong>the</strong> club hasimproved coaching provision with <strong>the</strong> adventof Lyndon Martin as Senior Coach, brought inlower subscription rates, introduced BAFaccreditedProficiency Awards, and launcheda Welsh-closed, Intermediate competition(The Whitchurch Shield). An indicator of <strong>the</strong>success of such initiatives is that <strong>the</strong> club hasmore than tripled its membership.Club Secretary Michael Clemitson said:“Although we are a small club, we have animportant function to play in <strong>the</strong> competitioncalendar in Wales. We are now seeking toimprove our own competitive spirit within <strong>the</strong>club itself.”The Whitchurch Club Championship has beenintroduced in order to enable club membersto compete in a friendly atmosphere, but withall <strong>the</strong> trappings of a normal competition,including Fencing Time, FIE scoring sets andreferees.Steve Poyser, one of <strong>the</strong> club’s recentlyqualified coaches, commented: “Thecompetition enables social fencers to haveexperience of <strong>the</strong> application of <strong>the</strong> rules of<strong>the</strong> game. When you are fencing at club level,<strong>the</strong> rules are not always adhered to and thiscan give a distorted view of <strong>the</strong> game. It iseasy to forget that, more often than not, itis through competing that fencers learn <strong>the</strong>rules. Not knowing <strong>the</strong> rules, however, can initself be a barrier to entering competitions.”The competition was run as a pool unique,fenced to 5 hits/3 minutes, owing to <strong>the</strong>number of entrants and time constraints. Apool unique has <strong>the</strong> added benefit of ensuringthat fencers remained occupied throughout<strong>the</strong> competition, and that <strong>the</strong> winner came asmore of a surprise at <strong>the</strong> end.The Club has purchased a modern, abstractfencing trophy to distinguish it from <strong>the</strong> cupand shield that it awards at its two WelshClosed competitions, The O’Sullivan Cup(one-hit épée) and <strong>the</strong> Whitchurch Shield(Intermediate épée). The winner is allowed tokeep <strong>the</strong> trophy for a year. There were alsomedals and prizes for <strong>the</strong> top three positions,as well as a prize for <strong>the</strong> highest-placedbeginner.The competition was well attended by clubmembers, and even included fencers who hadrecently completed a beginners’ course. Thecompetition was a closely fought contest,in which everyone won at least one bout.There were many 4-5 results, which, had <strong>the</strong>yfallen out differently, would have significantlyaltered <strong>the</strong> final placements. Krystof Gibbonwas <strong>the</strong> clear winner with 9 wins. AdrianStoneman and Rupert Nute both scored 7wins, but Adrian just beat Rupert to secondplace with a higher indicator.Tom Bennett, who was awarded a prize forbeing <strong>the</strong> ‘highest-placed beginner’, sharedhis impressions of his first competition: “Theevening was a fantastic way to experience acompetition environment for <strong>the</strong> first time,with <strong>the</strong> added benefit of being in <strong>the</strong> verysociable environment of a club that meetsevery week. Everyone has been tremendouslywelcoming and patient with <strong>the</strong> beginners,and really I look forward to my fencing everyweek. The competition night was a greatmaster class too, thanks to being up againstso many experienced fencers in one evening.”Lyndon Martin, <strong>the</strong> Club’s Senior Coach, iskeen for club members to start competing asearly as possible: “Competing is an integralpart of <strong>the</strong> sport, but it is often <strong>the</strong> case that<strong>the</strong>re is not much enthusiasm for enteringcompetitions, which is both disappointing forcompetition organisers and bad for <strong>the</strong> sport ingeneral. Initiatives such as this are importantways of trying to introduce a competitive edgeto <strong>the</strong> club night. It takes some of <strong>the</strong> anxietyout of competing, and hopefully will encouragemore club fencers to take <strong>the</strong> plunge on <strong>the</strong>competition circuit.”Full details and results are available on <strong>the</strong>Club’s website:“The evening wasa fantastic way toexperience a competitionenvironment for <strong>the</strong> firsttime, with <strong>the</strong> addedbenefit of being in <strong>the</strong>very sociable environmentof a club that meetsevery week... ”Photograph of <strong>the</strong> winners (from left to right):Adrian Stoneman (2nd place), Krystof Gibbon (1stplace), Rupert Nute (3rd), Tom Bennett (highestplacedbeginner).Group shot (from left to right): Steve Down, Kristof Gibbon, Jake Tucker, Tom Bennett, Mike Tucker,Chris Tatham, Joe Stoate, Rupert Nute, Liz Gulliver, Adrian Stoneman, and Steve Poyser.28 THE SWORD JULY <strong>2015</strong>
REVIEWSREVIEWSCUT & THRUSTSwords remain a powerful symbolof authority and continue to exert afascination long after <strong>the</strong>y have ceasedto have any practical use as weapons.And <strong>the</strong>ir mystique has brushed off onfencing which, despite <strong>the</strong> reality, retainsa glamorous and slightly dangerous image.In Cut & Thrust*, <strong>the</strong> military historianand fencing coach Martin Dougherty haswritten a clear and well informed guide to<strong>the</strong> development of western <strong>sword</strong>play.Its chapters impart just <strong>the</strong> right amountof information without becoming boggeddown in unnecessary detail. They cover<strong>the</strong> basic principles of <strong>sword</strong>smanship,Roman <strong>sword</strong>s with particular attention to<strong>the</strong> gladius, weapons of <strong>the</strong> early MiddleAges, <strong>the</strong> medieval long<strong>sword</strong>, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>rapier, small<strong>sword</strong>, broad<strong>sword</strong> and o<strong>the</strong>rcutting weapons, finishing with an outlineof fencing in <strong>the</strong> modern era. Fifty-onesmall colour photographs show re-enactorsdemonstrating specific moves with variousweapons.Overall, an excellent introduction to <strong>the</strong>different types of <strong>sword</strong> used in Europeover <strong>the</strong> past 2000 years, let down onlyby a poorly researched section on <strong>the</strong>origins of foil in which <strong>the</strong> author repeats<strong>the</strong> myth that <strong>the</strong> foil was developed as atraining weapon for <strong>the</strong> small<strong>sword</strong>. Sincebuttoned small<strong>sword</strong> blades were availablefor practice, <strong>the</strong> reason for <strong>the</strong> introductionSidney Sabre VideosSydney Sabre was founded in December2011 by a small group of fencers, clubadministrators and friends to create <strong>the</strong>first dedicated training facility for sabre inAustralia. From time-to-time <strong>the</strong>y produceinteresting sabre videos on YouTube. Acouple of recent examples follow which arewell worth viewing:Sabre Refereeing <strong>2015</strong> (a littleunder 7 minutes)This is an update on sabre refereeing for <strong>the</strong><strong>2015</strong> season, <strong>the</strong> main premise being that,at its heart, sabre refereeing is an exercisein pattern recognition. What follows areexamples of typical challenge calls for variousattacks:1. Simultaneous Attacks.2. Attack/Counter Attack.3. Preparation: Attack.4. Attack no/ Attack.5. Compound Attack.of a new sporting weapon with artificialconventions remains to this day a matter ofdebate. The book also has a curious cover,with an illustration of two WWI foilists inmilitary uniform bedecked with medals; whatthat has to do with <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>sword</strong>s isunclear.Malcolm Fare* Cut & Thrust – European Swords andSwordsmanship, Martin J Dougherty,Amberley Publishing, £17.99.The basic principles outlined are:1. Make calls based on your initialinterpretation.2. Make <strong>the</strong>m fast.3. Don’t over think.Their training suggestions:1. Watch current FIE tournaments.2. Referee to <strong>the</strong> pattern you see <strong>the</strong>re.3. Video and review your own calls.You can find <strong>the</strong> video here:If you enjoy watching <strong>the</strong>se, you might alsolike:Nicholas Limbach: Epic SabreCompilation (a little over 3minutes)You can find <strong>the</strong> video here:If any of our readers wish to write reviewsof <strong>the</strong>se, or similar video clips, <strong>the</strong>n pleaseforward your contributions to <strong>the</strong> Editor.JULY <strong>2015</strong> THE SWORD 29
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