A Brief History of Time (I Mean Fencing)
I found some interesting history (thanks goes out to the USFA and NCAA sites) regarding Fencing and Fencing competition. Adds some interesting insight to the sport and it's colorful past.
1190 B.C.: The earliest relief carving of a fencing match (using blunted swords and wearing face masks with referees and an audience) is drawn in Egypt.
1400s: The combination of the new influence of firearms in warfare and the development of harder metals results in less armour and lighter swords. Bullets (from single-shot guns) can penetrate armor, so mobility becomes more important.
This becomes probably the most significant influence to modern fencing as we see it today. With the development of the firearm, the heavy sword becomes unnecessary in even the heaviest of battles. Although, heavy weapons still play a role in combat (the full sabre', the cutlass, the claymore, glaive, poleaxe) they become less and less effective and less and less popular. The sword becomes the personal defense weapon (Epee', rapier) carried by the guard and the nobles. Although, still completely necessary as firearms were bulky, single shot weapons, the sword is used primarily in one-on-one combat without significant armour to cut through. The lighter blades develop and, thus, the styles from which modern fencing evolved.
1500s: The rapier, a narrow and lightweight sword becomes popular. (Today's epee is the descendant.) Because men use a sword and buckler, or shield (hence, swashbuckler), long-bladed rapiers are developed to enable fighters to stab from a distance. Writings on fencing first appear. The earliest was the Spanish Francisco Roman's treatise in 1532. Agrippa first numbered the parries (from 1-5) in 1568.
Eventually, laws were enforced in Europe regarding the legal length of the dueling blade. Anything over 44' was confiscated or broken.
1600s: Non-military gentlemen begin using a single, lightweight sword, held in one hand. This results in the development of the small sword (a defensive weapon), which becomes popular with French nobility.
1754: The first record of a fencing teacher in his own store front in the colonies (USA) ... John Rievers opens a physical education club at the corner of Whitehall & Stone in New York City.
1859: The New York Athletic Club is established. By the 1880s it is deeply involved in fencing.
1883: The Fencers Club, the oldest continuous running fencing club, is founded in New York City. The first U.S. club devoted exclusively to fencing was the New Orleans Fencing Club: date of establishment is not known.
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