"En guarde, foul dog! For this insult I shall run you through!" without hesitation, he reaches to his left side, drawing forth a long, slim bladed weapon with a simple round guard. He takes a stance with his elbow bent, blade pointed towards his opponent, legs shoulder width apart, his other hand up just behind him, ready to be brought forward to sweep away his opponent's blade.

This image could be from one of dozens of films involving men and women called Swashbucklers, Musketeers, Duelists, and even Fencers. Or it could come from the participants in the Arte of Defense in the SCA. The Arte of Defense, called Rapier Combat or more commonly Period Fencing in the SCA, is a form of fighting involving light swords such as the Rapier, from the period beginning in the mid 15th century. Our attempts at the recreation of this form of combat comes from multiple documented sources. This is a very basic overview, and an introduction into the world of fencing from the SCA perspective.

The use of the lighter weapons of the Arte of Defense came into play after gunpowder came into more common usage, replacing the bow and arrow and rendering heavy armor fairly useless. With these lighter weapons, and no heavy steel plate on their bodies, swordsmen learned defense as well as attack. Thus, the Arte of Defense as it was called, became an important part of swordplay.

Eventually, schools developed where this art could be studied and taught. Over time, as swords became outmoded, the arte of defense moved towards a sporting form, leading to modern day fencing and the unsharpened, blunted weapons involved.

Modern fencers in Olympic and Collegiate sports use three kinds of weapons, the foil, epee, and sabre. In the East Kingdom, we use the foil and epee, in addition to the schlager. The foil is a long thin blade with a square cross-section. The majority of East Kingdom fencers use the epee, a long thin blade with roughly triangular cross-section. The epee is heavier than the foil, and less flexible, thus closer to the Rapier we are attempting to recreate. The schlager, the most recent weapon to come into play in the society, is a long, thin, flat blade approximately 1/2 inch wide. Heavier and much closer to the classic rapier than the epee, more and more fencers are starting to work with this blade. In fact, only schlagers can be used for fencing in the nearby Midrealm. Like modern fencers, we also wear a 12 kilo mask. Our body armor is slightly heavier than the modern fencing jacket (the modern jacket is considered the equivalent of three layers of twill or trigger cloth - our rules require four layers to the elbow). We are also required to wear two leather gloves, back-of-the-head protection, and some form of gorget to protect the neck more thoroughly than the bib of the mask. In other words, no exposed skin. As we are attempting to recreate period style swordplay, fencers attempt to make this armor look similar to the garments worn by those who walked the streets with a rapier at their side.

Modern fencing involves very specific rules and regulations, and is done on a strip, in a single line. Fencers attempt to score a touch, tip only, to a specific target area on their opponents' body. Judges determine whether a touch was valid, and a point is scored for this. Each segment of the fight is called a "bout". There is also a time limit, depending on gender and weapon type. Men and women do not fight each other, and epees and foils only fight like weapons.

Our recreation of medieval period fencing varies dramatically from this elaborate, complicated sport. We fence in the round - no specific strip or line. Thus we can circle our opponent. We are not attempting to score points - in most fights we attempt to kill or disable our opponent, metaphorically speaking. The exception to this is a bout fought to first blood - where it's usually considered in poor taste to kill your opponent. The entire body, bottom of the foot to the top of the head, is a target.

In the East Kingdom, there are four ways to use a blade against your opponent. The thrust - pressing the tip of the blade into the body, is the expedient way to kill or disable your opponent. This is done to the lightest calibrated touch your opponent can feel (thus the term "touch calibration"). Thrusts to the head, neck, chest and belly kill. Thrusts to any limb, arm or leg, hand or foot, disables that limb. This is generally considered the quickest, most desirable form of attack.

The other three uses of the blade are cuts. The push cut and draw cut involve a blade being pressed against an opponent, and either drawn or pushed in a straight line. Two cuts work the same as a thrust, with the exception of neck and belly, where one is sufficient. The tip cut is when the tip of the blade is drawn across an opponent, rather than pressed into them.

Though there are, in tournaments, marshals to keep an eye on things, SCA fencers use an honor system, calling the type of shot they have taken. There is no time limit - although it can be a bit tedious to watch a pair simply circle around one another for ten minutes. Men and women can fight one another, and foil can fight against epee, although schlagers may only be used against other schlagers.

There are several approaches taken to the teaching of rapier combat, ranging from that based purely upon period techniques, to slight modifications of the basic modern style of combat. Individual teachers use their own style and skills as the basis for training new combatants, and most fencers develop their own unique style with time and experience. This will be continued and detailed in Part II.

Now you have my take on the history of the Arte of Defense in relation to what we do here in the East Kingdom. This is an exciting and complex form of combat, requiring a decent amount of time, effort, and instruction. I hope this is an informative beginning. Part II will deal with styles, teaching, and a more detailed look at the weapons we use to recreate this combat, Part III will deal with the other forms of period fencing, dagger, case, rigid and non-rigid parry.

So the next time someone hurls an insult at you, you'll be ready to give them a sharp, pointed response.

Part II - Rapier Combat Instruction and Style