A quick guide to holding the sport fencing weapon of your dreams!
by Cathleen Randall with lots of help from her friends
Sabre is one of the three weapons of modern, competitive sport fencing.
This brief manual shows you how to hold one.
Holding a weapon--in this case, a sabre-- is a necessary part of fencing. You need to have one in your hand in order to fence!
Here are the parts of a sabre.
We will focus on the part between the bellguard and the pommel nut: the grip.
The "grip" is also known as the "handle." But everybody says "grip."
Here is a grip by itself. It is made of rubber. Some grips are plastic or wood with a leather covering.
The shape of the grip is important. Notice that the grip is square at the top and round at the bottom.
Notice that it is curved.
In this case, this grip is a right-handed grip because the grip curves outward and down from the top (at the tips of the fingers) to the bottom (at the base of the thumb).
It is designed to fit the hand.
Before actually picking up the sabre by its grip, practice using your "manipulator fingers." These are the two fingers-- the thumb and index finger--which do the real work of moving the sabre as you hold it.
To do so, place your hand so that it is extended straight from your elbow and level (parallel) to the floor. Have your thumb at top and slightly to the right if you are a right-handed person (to the left if you are a lefty). This would be at the "one o' clock position" if your hand were a round clock face and your thumb were the hour hand. "One o' clock" is to the "outside" of the twelve o'clock mid-line (starting point of reference for hand position).
Now place your place your flat, extended thumb on top of your index finger. The index finger will bend at the second joint and form a right angle (90° angle) to your thumb. Put the tip of your index finger on top of the first joint of your thumb.
Then practice squeezing and releasing the two tips of your fingers.
You will hold the grip between these two fingers, but first feel how they work together.
Now pick up the sabre grip with your thumb and index finger.
Position the grip so that the curve of the grip is out and down, and matches the curve of your hand at the base of the thumb.
Position your hand in the same way you just practiced without the grip in it.
Balance the flat edge of the grip (at the top) on the first joint of of your index finger. Place your thumbpad on top of the grip at this spot.
This picture is of a right-handed person holding a right-handed grip. We can tell because the electric socket is on the "inside" at "nine o'clock" position.
The remaining three fingers are not needed to move the sabre by the grip. They will gently curve around the grip and be used for balance. You could manipulate the grip by using just your thumb and forefinger (index finger). This is a good thing to keep in mind!
Also feel how your wrist is bent slightly back toward your head. This is about a 30° angle formed by the base of your thumb in relation to your forearm.
Hold the sabre grip as gently as you would hold this bird!
(This is a metaphor from a Renaissance fencing master's manual on how to fence.)
If you want to fence, don't hold the sabre like this!
Here is the correct grip for a left-handed sabre for a "lefty" fencer.
Notice that the thumb and index finger grip, and the positioning of the grip in the hand, are the same.
Notice that for the lefty, "outside" for the thumb is at "eleven o'clock."
Here's a more complete view of someone holding a sabre.
Notice that the thumb and index finger are in the correct position.
Also notice the how the hand holds the entire weapon upright and aimed forward.
The entire bottom edge of the blade can be used to make "cuts" (strike the opponent). This leading edge is the part used most often to cut and score. Therefore it is aimed at the opponent.
What you see here is the "en guard" (starting) position. From it the fencer can do many different things to score a "touch" on the opponent. Touches are points. The fencer with the most touches wins.
The overall position of the hand can change, especially during competition when the fencer is trying to score a touch.
How the fingers hold the sabre grip in the hand, however, remains the same.
Learning how to hold a weapon (in this case a sabre) is one small part of learning how to fence.
But knowing how to do this...
...can lead to this!...
...or this!
To see more Olympic level sabre fencing in action, click on the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWvaOasOxCs
So, learning how to hold a sabre is a first step in learning how to fence.
Have fun with it!
THE END.
HOW TO HOLD A SABRE.
For additional information on fencing, try the United States Fencing Association Website:
http://www.usfencing.org/usfa/
Many, many thanks to Ernie Abhrams, Kevin Chou, David Blake for all their help in making this (any faults are not theirs)! And to Ariana Klinkov and Ruben Brown for borrowing their names and wisdom!