she's got a name

[anotheranon]

I call it "Vera" ;)

After a loan of almost (over?) a year, one of my historic fencing coaches offered to sell me the rapier I've been using at a hideously good discount. It a Paul Chen practical rapier - not as posh as a Darkwood Armory but still pretty damn sexy! And after all this time with it, I know what it feels like and how I can handle it.

Total armory = 1 practice foil, 1 electric foil, 1 dueling saber, and now 1 rapier. Let's hunt some orc!

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I suppose there are some people who can use them, but in general the whole movement toward the smallsword happened because the advantage in speed was quite often a life saver. Thus my general preference for 35 inch musketeer blades.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

I've fenced some rapierists (what IS the word for a rapier fencer?) who favored 1630s/40s shorter (like, 30") blades and yes - the technique is completely different from the earlier periods. The techniques we study (primarily Capo Ferro/Fabris) rely heavily on lining up to "take" the opponent's blade and lunge/advance in one motion. Parrys are rare and feints are accomplished by constant changes of line.

I've found it a hard weapon to learn and use, but the logic and geometry continues to interest me. It's also rather helpful that it's different enough from modern fencing that it doesn't impact my foil game (much).