Fencing is a Language
Nick Evangelista
Fencing is a Language
By Nick Evangelista
Fencing is a language, the same as any language, because it conveys information. It is purely a physical language, though, the same as, say, sign language for the hearing impaired. The one difference fencing has from all other languages is that it is a language of deceit, a language that misdirects or fools one’s opponent into acting in a desired fashion, both offensively and defensively, or stymes them to operate effectively in their desired actions. If unchecked it may also give away one’s own intentions.
And let me be clear, I am not talking about sport fencing here, with its screaming, one-note brutish dash and clash poking, or its childish performance art displays of superiority after each touch. These shallow displays take the participant no further than making a light flash on an electric scoring machine. An opponent is nothing more than a surface to jab one’s weapon against as quickly as possible. This is the trivial logic of the scoring machine: making one’s light go on first is all that matters. To do so successfully and often designates a “champion” in this post-modern spectacle.
I am referring here to traditional fencing, fencing as an art and science as it has been fashioned, action by action, over the centuries. A knowledge of psychology is helpful, as are observational skills, and a well-established understanding of fencing’s varied actions and nomenclature. To be an excellent fencer in the traditional sense, it’s not just the touch that counts but the how of the touch. It’s the how that you carry with you into each match, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. A touch by itself is nothing, a thing of the moment, if it is not backed up by know-how.
In the end, learn to speak the language of fencing as you would learn to speak French, Spanish, or Latin. Think the language of Fencing. As I tell my students, “If it’s not in your head, it’s not in your hand.”
By the way, again, be careful you aren’t telling your opponents everything you’re up to. Speaking the language of fencing is a two-way street.