| Academic Fencing |
Article Index for Academic |
Website Links For Academic |
Information AboutAcademic Fencing |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ACADEMIC FENCING | |
| fencing | |
| german student societies | |
| student culture | |
|
Also see Fencing , the modern competitive sport. TECHNIQUE bore a large smite from fencing]] Academic fencing differs considerably from non-academic fencing. The participants, or ''Paukanten'', use heavy sharp Sabre s, the so-called ''Mensurschläger'' (or simply ''Schläger''; the plural form is identical to the singular form) and are protected by a Chainmail shirt and Gauntlet s, padding on the throat and right arm, and steel goggles with a nose guard. They fence at arm's length and stand more or less immobile, attempting to hit the unprotected areas of their opponent's face and head. Flinching or dodging is not allowed, the goal being less to avoid injury than to endure it stoically. A doctor is generally present to attend to injuries and abort the fight if necessary. The scar resulting from a hit is called a ''Schmiss'' ( up to the first half of the 20th century. Wounds were typically sewn up rather crudely then, in order to provoke scarring. Today the fencers prefer the work of thoracic surgeons and other physicians, successfully avoiding unnecessary scars. HISTORY Before the Communist Revolution in Russia and before World War II academic fencing was known in most countries of Eastern Europe as well. Academic fencing in Germany was temporarily abolished, along with the ''Studentenverbindungen'' , during the Third Reich , but today it is still practised by hundreds of traditional ''Studentenverbindung'' fraternities. EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|