Fencing Is Real Sword Fighting”

There is something magical about a sword. Just as it can be used to strike, to hit, to attack, it can equally be used to block, to parry, to defend. It is this duality that makes sword fighting so compelling. A balance, a fairness almost. To hit and to avoid being hit. This is the golden rule of sword fighting. Two clear objectives, that's it. The simplicity is reinforced by popular media, where swordsmen take turns to exchange their blows in an orderly, metronomic fashion. Yet modern sabre fencing is messy. The layman might look on in bemusement as a fencer hurtles towards his opponent with little regards for his own protection, or even as they both charge simultaneously. This is not what was promised. Where is the balance between aggression and self-preservation? The truth is that the golden rule is a paradox. That the two aims, to attack and to defend, are contradictions. The most dangerous attacks are those made without fear of being hit, and the key to good defence lies in the credible threat of offence. Therefore, the golden rule can be condensed to the following. The aim of fencing is simply to hit. Just as the layman is bemused by the modern sabre fencer's lack of defensive instincts, the sabre fencer is bemused by the stage fighter, or the so-called classical fencer's lack of intent to actually hit the opponent. The layman does not understand the value in learning to land one's blow mere milliseconds before that of the opponent. They don't see the value in these marginal efficiencies. Yet it is in the pursuit of marginal gains that one truly distinguishes oneself. Usain Bolt was only milliseconds faster than his peers, but against the layperson there is no comparison. And so by pitting themselves against the most powerful attacks, the sabre fencer learns to defend themselves in the most unfavourable conditions. This is real defence, as real as it can get. They are defending their pride, their social status, maybe even defending their income and livelihood. Perhaps this isn't life or death, but believe it or not, this is one of the realist forms of sword fighting to exist in the modern day. These swords aren't sharp, yet their movements can determine the trajectory of a fencer's life. The suffering, the pain they can cause, is real. The consequence is real. This is real sword fighting.