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Friday, April 26, 2013

A to Z: Whites and Celebrate the Small Things




  • Whip-over: in sabre, a touch that results from the foible of the blade whipping over the opponent's guard or blade when parried.
  • Whites: fencing clothing.

  • Olympic Epee Fencers
     
    What's with the whites?
     
     
    Back in the olden days, before electrics (see that cord hanging off the back of their jackets), the end of each blade was red, and the judge could see the red tip/edge against the white jacket clearly. The entire match had to be judged/refereed with the human eye, and the red tips (on foils and epees) and red edges (on sabers) were much more visible against white. Epee fencers still fence in nearly all white, since the entire body is target area. 
     
    However, these days, modern foil and saber fencers wear silver lames (pronounced lamays) over the target area for each blade. (remember, dull blades, not sharp)
     
    Foil lame (the silver jacket over the white jacket)
     
    The modern electrics are set up so that in foil and saber fencing the lights/buzzer only go off if the silver part is hit.
    Foil target area is the torso.
     
    Saber lame.
     
    Saber target area is everything from the waist up. That means that a saber fencer wears a special glove, and a special helmet during competitions.
     
    All of these extras are worn over the regular whites, not in place of them. The regular whites are better for sweating in (really) than the electric competition lames, mainly because those lames are lame to clean, nearly impossible actually.
     
    Other fencing W terms:
    Whip-over: in sabre, a touch that results from the foible of the blade whipping over the opponent's guard or blade when parried. (I wish I could find a video of this)
    Terms from ARMA (The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts)
    Ward - one of five to seven fighting postures, ready stances, or guards
    Waster - a wooden stick used as a practice sword, also called a “bavin” (later a “cudgel” or “wiffle”)
     
     
     Hosted by the awesome VikLit!
     
    1. My parents are recovering from their surgeries really quickly! This is awesome, huge news because I love them, and because it means I have less to do. (yes, it's totally selfish of me) My dad's fingers are up to the task of putting on both his prosthetic leg, and his leg brace (on the "good leg"), and my mom is able to bend over enough to empty out her dishwasher and so stuff like that. Yay!
     
    2. I wrote a bit this week, and managed a 2 mile walk, and a 2 mile bike ride around a bunch of household craziness (some related to parents' surgeries and some not)
     
    3. I love A to Z, but this year I'm also thankful that it's nearly the end.
     
    4. I'm celebrating all the awesome A to Z hosts who make A to Z possible!
     Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Tina Downey at Life is Good, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude 2.0, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Matthew MacNish at The QQQE, Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Livia Peterson at Leave it to Livia, L. Diane Wolfe at Spunk on a Stick, and Nicole at The Madlab Post
     
    5. I went to see Oblivion last Saturday night with my parents (pre-surgery, happy 75th party for my dad), my husband and our kids. We enjoyed it, and had fun talking about it afterwards, especially that last five minutes of the film.
     
     
    Tomorrow, I'll highlight the eXception to whites, the men(and women) in black. Who are they? What are they hiding under their masks?
     
     
    Happy A to Z!
    Hope you have something awesome to celebrate today!
     
    
     

    21 comments:

    1. Glad your parents are doing so well. (And no, not selfish.)
      I'm guessing the saber lames are rather expensive.

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    2. I'm so happy your parents are doing better T! What great news.

      I am glad we are on the home stretch in the A-Z too. I am starting to get tired.

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    3. That's great news about your parents, and definitely worth celebrating!!

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    4. very cool info about the gear!

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    5. Alex - Thanks for keeping them in your prayers! and yes, saber lames and competition gear can get a little more expensive. Most fencers have their own, but my coach owned several sets that he would "loan" to students.

      jaybird - Thanks for your prayers for them!

      Rebeccah - Yes! Thanks!

      Brinda - Glad you enjoyed it!

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    6. Great news on your parent's recoveries....good to hear!

      Those whites look sort of hot and, especially with the mask...I'll bet you sweat like crazy.

      Another interesting one :)

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    7. The month is almost done! Oblivion is getting mixed reviews, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it.

      Allison (Geek Banter)

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    8. I'm very glad your parents are recovering quickly, good news ;)

      Yay for writing, walking and biking!

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    9. Mark - Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for my parents.
      Yes, the whites are pretty warm, but the material "breathes" pretty well. And a fencer's mask is never shared . . .for a reason.

      Allison - I think Oblivion is worth seeing . . .but it depends on your taste in scifi. I think it's fun, slightly thought-provoking, and includes some beautiful scenes.

      S.K. - I'm glad too! Thanks for celebrating with me!

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    10. Happy for you at your parents' recovery.

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    11. I am glad your parents are doing well and indeed we must celebrate the A to Z hosts. Well done on finding time to walk and bike with all that craziness.

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    12. So glad your parents are making a good recovery that is indeed excellent cause for celebration. I saw Oblivion a couple of weeks ago with the family and enjoyed it too. Have a lovely weekend :)

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    13. Great news about your parents! And I'm with you on the Challenge, it's been great but I'm ready to be done.

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    14. It's tough taking care of people, so I'll tip my hat to you! Nothing selfish about it. We all need to refresh our own souls from time to time. Stressful times are hard, which is why we look forward when we see a light at the end of their tunnels. Your fencing information is interesting.

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    15. I always wondered why they wore white.

      Wonderful that your parents are doing so much better.

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    16. Best wishes to your parents!!!!

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    17. Happy your parents are doing better!~
      Wow, you have been busy~
      Nice you went to a movie as a family-I love doing that~
      I agree you are so not selfish!
      I enjoyed your post :D

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    18. I've always wanted to try fencing, heard it is great exercise.

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    19. Brilliant info on fencing. I love to see sportspeople wearing white, particularly the tennis players at Wimbledon!

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    20. I think I know the secret to the men and women in black. Will be back to see if I'm right. :-D

      Sigh... Had to miss fencing today because I caught myself a bad case of the flu.

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    21. Your dad having surgery? I shall pray for him. :)

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    Thanks for taking time to share your awesomeness!