The Science Of Fencing by William M. Gaugler

To Greco, an experienced duellist, it was perfectly obvious that the sabre fencer's advanced target was especially vulnerable. Thirty-six year-old Nedo Nadi, at the close of his competitive career in February, 1931, in a sabre match that attracted world wide attention, defeated the powerful Hungarian swordsman, Gyorgy Piller (Olympic sabre champion, 1932), 16 to 12.Īgesilao Greco, in his later years, developed a sabre technique based on use of the point in particular, he stressed counterattacks with the point to the wrist. It will be remembered that Nedo and Aldo Nadi placed, respectively, first and second in individual sabre, and first in team sabre in the Olympic Games of 1920.

And he attributed his success, and that of his brother to their preparation in foil, and use of the point. Modern sabre is, after all, based on foil, and its most skilled practitioners during the early decades of this century were generally foilsmen, such as Carlo Pessina, Agesilao Greco, Italo Santelli, Nedo and Aldo Nadi, Gustavo Marzi, Ugo Pignotti, and Renzo Nostini.Īldo Nadi once observed that he and his brother, Nedo, had never taken more than five sabre lessons in their entire lives. Couderc and Wendel, in particular, took full advantage of the capability of the electrical scoring device to register light hits to the arm.īecause of its sensibility, the electrical sabre permits the fencer to utilize actions used in foil and epee fencing. In the final classification of the World Cup event, Laurent Couderc of France placed first, Marco Matin of Italy, second, and Martin Wendel o f West Germany, third. For example, I observed the Bulgarian coach of the West German team drilling his fencers almost exclusively with actions to the forearm. The French, Italians, and West Germans were all cognizant of the possibilities offered by the electrical weapon, and prepared their fencers accordingly. The change in this direction has, in fact, already begun and was clearly evident in the 1990 edition of the Trofeo Luxardo. In other words, the electrical sabre is taking us back to the past, when sabre fencing resembled duelling practice.

Instead, we shall, very likely, see a return to the sabre fencing technique of the Radaellian school, with point attacks, circular parries, and complex fencing phrases consisting of counterparry ripostes, actions on the blade, renewed attacks, counterattacks to the advanced target, countertime, and the feint in time. No longer will extended running attacks with multiple cut feints be effective. With the advent of the electrical sabre the current method of fencing, based on the standard weapon is obsolete.

The Science Of Fencing by William M. Gaugler