Modern versus Classical Fencing: Diversion from sharp-edged weapon to a blunt-edged toy
When you hear the word fencing, the first thing that comes to the mind is a sword-play with aggression, a battle all about power and domination and a fight-for-life kind of thing.
Fencing, in short, was all about a fight, where a person could risk his/her life over a wrong judgement. But this perception has now become the total opposite of what fencing actually was in the past.
The historical type of fencing called ‘Classical Fencing’ was more a part of wars and battles with heavy cutting-edged swords to fight with and metal masks and armours in order to be safe from the opponent’s attacks.
In the later years, this fencing vanished and a new style of fencing invaded the world known as the ‘Modern Fencing’. It is more or less a faked classical fencing in which the heavy metal guards have been replaced by light-weight covers and the rapier swords
have been changed for blunt-edged swords made of flexible fibre-glass.
This is commonly related as the Olympic fencing in which the sword-play tradition has been confined to some set rules of play. The attack is now mere reason for scoring a point over the opponent.
The battle field has now replaced for a long 14-metre strip on which the fencer is just allowed to move forward and backward. The swords are no more pointed, but have push-button over their tips to generate a score point on the connected electronic board.
The level of life-risking danger has reduced to the minimum with just injuries that may take place if precautionary measures are not taken.
Classical fencing was a martial art, where swordsmen holding mastery were brought down to battle the enemy, whereas modern fencing is a sport that is to be played as instructed by the governing body International Fencing Federation (FIE).
The classical fencing was intended towards self-mastery, whereas today’s fencing is aimed towards winning medals and world rankings.
As compared to the past, the objective to attack was not to hit first, but to beat down the other person such that he no longer remains in a position to strike back.
There were no electronic apparatus attached in order to determine who hits first in order to award a point.
A competitive game can never be synonymous to a fearsome fight and a sharp-edged blade can never complement to an edge-less faked sword.
However, both the styles originated for a totally different cause. With the advancement in arms and ammunitions, the method of wars had totally changed, substituting human with technology. Therefore, the fencing masters along with rapiers became obsolete,
endangering the fencing to survive any longer.
There came a need of changing the classical method of war into a competitive sport, giving birth to the modern fencing.
This newly defined use of sword enchanted common people not just to gain knowledge about it, but also to involve themselves into learning the sport. Hence, fencing was saved from heading towards extinction.
The modern fencing, though replaced it with a newly revived concept, but it also gave life to the classical fencing by associating it with the history of the sport.
Conclusively, modern fencing has three weapons in contrast to the past, including epee, foil and sabre, each having three different target areas. It is a world-renowned sport with the honour of being one of the nine sports enlisted in the oldest Olympic
Games in time.
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