Classical fencing, often abbreviated as CF, is a semi-formal expression used to distinguish one branch of traditional fencing from modern sport or Olympic fencing. A sense of the "ideal" Classical fencer is provided by 19th century fencing master, Louis Rondelle: "A classical fencer is supposed to be one who observes a fine position, whose attacks are fully developed, whose hits are marvelously accurate, his parries firm and his ripostes executed with precision. One must not forget that this regularity is not possible unless the adversary is a party to it. It is a conventional bout, which consists of parries, attacks, and returns, all rhyming together."

The essence of CF is that one fences in a martially accurate manner with the weapons used. Emphasis is placed on training as if for a real encounter with sharp blades - "to hit and not be hit."

Weapons

Classical fencing uses the three contemporary fencing weapons: the foil, épée and sabre, though in a slightly different manner than in sport fencing. CF also uses side judges to determine if touches land, rather than the electrical scoring system used in sport fencing. Study of the weapons and techniques of fencing prior to the 19th century is properly termed Historical fencing.

History

As it is commonly understood today, Classical Fencing is best represented by the teachings of 19th and early-20th century National schools such as the Italian and the French, although other pre-WWII styles such as the Russian and the Hungarian are also deemed Classical. Masters and legendary fencing figures such as Giuseppe Radaelli, Louis Rondelle, Masaniello Parise, the Greco family, Aldo Nadi and his rival Louis Gaudin can be considered some notable Classical Fencing exponents. In many cases, these fencers trained for sport the same way they would have trained for duels--indeed, many fought highly-celebrated duels.

During this time (and unlike today), fencing tournaments were extremely popular with spectators, who flocked by the tens of thousands to see these celebrated swordsmen battle it out on the strip. Scoring was achieved by means of four judges who determined if a hit was made.

After World War II, duels, already in decline, went out of use in Europe, and classical fencing as a training for a real fight all but disappeared. Fencing continued as a martial sport like boxing or karate, with tournaments and championships including the Olympic Games where it was one of the original events. With the advent of the electrical scoring apparatus, the need for four judges disappeared and faster actions as well as lighter touches could now be easily scored without human error. This, in turn, emphasized more and more the athletic and offensive side of fencing, which caused the two disciplines of sport and Classical fencing to part ways stylistically and philosophically.

Today, there are a few centers and individuals where Classical Fencing is carefully cultivated, both in Europe and in the US and Australia.

Critiques of Classical and Sport Fencing

Background. Martial wins in CF are generally achieved by defensive prowess. In many CF tournaments, points are scored based upon lack of hits received. As such the fencer with the least hits is the winner. Seeding and promotion from round to round is solely determined by lack of hits against rather than by counting hits made. This contrasts with sport fencing, which is completely offense-oriented. Winning and seeding competitors is based on who has given the greatest number of hits. In seeding from pools to direct elimination rounds, seeding "indicators" are effected by both the number of hits given and received. However, Such competitive wins in sport fencing may often be achieved with both fencers being hit, the winner having only hit shortly before the loser.

Given these fundamental differences in approach, Classical fencers and sport fencers voice some points of criticism to one-another's discipline. These points are borne of the difference in philosophy outlined above.

The main objections raised by CF practitioners to sport fencing are the following:

1 - The current sport of fencing has lost meaningful connections with its origin as a martial art. By de-emphasizing the defense, fencing has become an electronically-judged game of tag rather than the simulation of life and death sword combat. In the simulation of a real duel, there is no buzzer to go off to invalidate a point received a split-second after a point is given.

2 - Tactics like the flick that are enabled by fencing's modern scoring system detract from realism. A real sword is in fact not flexible enough to be "flicked" around the opponent's back.

3 - The majority of sport-fencing schools teach a few basics and immediately encourage the novice to compete. Instead, CF curricula are long and highly technical, and competition is traditionally discouraged until a solid grasp of the theory and practice is achieved.

In contrast, the sport fencing world points to these shortcomings in Classical fencers:

1 - Many Classical fencers are unwilling to compete in electrified tournaments - even in epee, which has few conventions to favor one style or the other.

2 - Classical fencers' insistence on form is stilted and martially-unsound.

Also, a perennial conflict stems from rules on priority of attack in the conventional weapons to determine which fencer should be considered hit when both fencers land a touch. These are also called right-of-way rules. Under Classical rules in the conventional weapons of foil and sabre, a fully extended weapon arm is required to gain the priority of the attack. Sport fencing, by comparison, changed its rules to recognize an extending arm as sufficient.

Many sport fencers feel that until a CF practitioner achieves a reputation by showing skill in competitive situations, their claims against sport fencing will be dismissed as "sour grapes." However, the catch-22 is that for the CF practitioner to prove this, he or she would have to do under sport-fencing scoring rules.

This conflict does not seem to be going away. Some classical fencing thinkers believe that the solution is to try to reclaim the sport of fencing for classical traditions. Others think that classical fencing should separate from the existing sport fencing structure to form its own world.

See also

• Fencing
• Academic fencing
• Association for Historical Fencing