EDITORIAL
What a full, action-packed, fun-filled bumper edition this is going to be! The last edition came out at the beginning of May, and since then we’ve had the RAF Seniors competitions and a few more events out on the civilian circuit.
So, where to start? Well, firstly, I’d better mention the Wordsearch I plonked onto the last page of the last edition;

I’m an honest man, so do you think I’d put words in the list that weren’t in the grid? OK, so scrap that, it’s a silly question ... OF COURSE I would! HOWEVER, I didn’t ... so if you can’t find a word then keep looking because they are all in there somewhere!

I’ve had some good feedback regarding the “Lessons learned” article in the May edition, with other fencers taking my words to heart and picking up lessons of their own out there on the civvy scene. Encouraging stuff. Enclosed are some proper lessons that you might want to try out too.

Now I promised you information on how to rewire an epee in this edition (how riveting!). Actually, scrap that ... if you have to resort to riveting to fix your epee there’s something drastically wrong! Our new Armourer though has requested that I put pen to paper on fixing/operation of spools, so all you people with epee blades awaiting attention will have to wait just a little longer! We’ve got the results of the Seniors, something about hamsters (!!!) and also full details from Ashley on the John Warburn trophy, so get your calculators out! I was supposed to have a report from Rob Desforges and Gary Brailsford on the Middlesex Closed, which took place in February, but it still hasn’t materialised (sorry guys, but maybe naming and shaming you will get me the article quicker!!). However, even without that report there’s more than enough for you to get your teeth into ... Enjoy!

THE JOHN WARBURN TROPHY
John Warburn was a member of the RAF Fencing Union who enthusiastically believed that to improve the standard of RAF Fencing we should all compete in civilian competitions. It was during one such competition that John Warburn was tragically killed. The John Warburn Memorial Trophy was presented to the RAFFU to encourage fencers to participate in as many competitions as possible, in particular, those on the civilian circuit.

The trophy is presented annually during the RAFFU AGM, held during the RAF Junior Championship weekend, to the fencer who gains the most points from their participation and progression in any military or civilian fencing competition. Not only does the award recognise participation in a wide range of competitions, it also provides the RAFFU Selection Committee with an indication of the fencers who are regularly competing at open events and the standard that they are reaching.

Points will be awarded as follows:

Individual Events

Type of Individual Event	Points for Entry	Points for Placing
RAF Competition	10	Last 16 1st Place – 16 Points 16th Place – 1 point
Combined Service Individual Event	20	Last 16 1st Place – 16 Points 16th Place – 1 point
County Championships	30	Last 32 1st Place – 32 Points 32nd Place – 1 Point
Open Competition	40	Last 128 1st Place – 128 Points 128th Place – 1 Point
National Championships	50	Last 128 1st Place – 128 Points 128th Place – 1 Point
Team Events
Type of Team Event	Points for Entry	Points for Team Placing
RAF Team Competition	10	1st Place – 30 2nd Place – 20 3rd Place – 10
Combined Service Team Event	20	1st Place – 30 2nd Place – 20 3rd Place – 10
County Team	30	1st Place – 30 2nd Place – 20 3rd Place – 10
Open Competition	40	1st Place – 30 2nd Place – 20 3rd Place – 10
Team at National Championships	50	1st Place – 30 2nd Place – 20 3rd Place – 10

 

In September you will be sent a proforma requesting your results for the year, once complete your submission will be used to calculate your Warburn points for the year. Each fencer is responsible for keeping a record of his or her own performance; please do not rely on the Match Secretary or the Captain remembering your results. Good Luck and may the most enthusiastic fencer win.

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Ashley for sending this information through; I can honestly say that the first thing I did was to reach for my pen, paper and calculator! It was good to finally see how things were calculated, however it did raise one question which I would like to pose to Ashley. Hopefully she’ll be able to answer it for the next edition: Is any weighting provided to differentiate between Men’s and Ladies events? On average, the entry to Ladies competitions is much smaller than Men’s e.g. Isle of Wight: 72 in men’s epee, 16 in ladies.

So, you now know how the points for the John Warburn trophy are calculated; so that’s one incentive to get out on the civvy circuit. Another incentive is a lot more tangible and achievable: UK rankings. If you get a result in the top 75% at an Open competition, you will get ranking points. The amount of points is determined by your position and the number of “ranked” fencers at the event, but they all add up. I’ve actually got a ranking in all 3 weapons for the first time ever ... and I’ve got my eye on the Top 100 for foil! So get out there; you may not win a trophy, but you can have your name in lights on the world wide web!

SENIORS 2002
plagiarised, edited, hashed and re-hashed from a Match Report by Dave Long
This years RAF Seniors Championships took place over the weekend of 11-12 May at RAF Cosford, with a high turnout and an extremely high standard of fencing on display throughout the weekend.

Men’s Foil
Twenty eight fencers entered the foil and the early leader was Dave Orme, taking the No.1 seeding. Trainee AC Javesh Mistry of Cosford gained a creditable 19th seeding in his first ever competition. However, seedings are there to be toyed with, and so the first shock of the day came when Pete McKenzie-Brown, fencing in his last senior competition, knocked out Dave Orme in the first round of DE. The surprises didn’t stop there though, with Javesh Mistry also upsetting the form books as he knocked out Gary Brailsford 15-11. Unfortunately for Javesh his run was cut short by an in form Andy Alcock. Jon Davy, after a very poor first round performance, recovered from his 13th seeding to beat Rauri Henderson-Begg 14-13 in a thrilling encounter. Dave Coombes from Leuchars at his first ever RAF competition was the “wild card”, steadily moving his way through the field, and Dave Long was also quietly but surely moving up. The semi-finals saw Jon destroy Dave Long though 15-5, while Dave Coombes fenced brilliantly to go past Andy Alcock 15-7. The final saw neither fencer giving any quarter, but eventually Jon dug deep into his reserves to gain victory with a final score of 15-13.

Women’s Sabre
While the men competed in the foil, 5 women entered the sabre event. Ann Gibson started her bid for a successive Master-at-Arms title well, gaining the No.1 seeding, hotly pursued by Sharon Booth. In the first round of DE Lisa Taylor secured her place in the last 4 with a 15-10 triumph over Suzie Cowden to set up a match against Ann. The other semi-final saw Ashley Newing take on Sharon. The battle between Ann and Lisa went according to the formbook, 15-3, with Ann showing she is a very capable sabreur. Ashley on the other hand had a “battle royal” against Sharon, the pair exchanging points until Ashley exploited a flaw in Sharon’s fencing style and won 15-11. The final between Ann and Ashley was a well-fought match between the two seasoned fencers. (Dave, you’re taking your life in your hands referring to our lady fencers as “seasoned!! Try “experienced” next time! – Ed) Ann though finally managed to get the better of Ashley to claim the ladies sabre title with a 15-10 victory.

Men’s Sabre
Twenty two competitors entered the sabre immediately after the foil and Mark Gumley proved he was nearly at his devastating best as he took the No.1 seeding. On his way to the 2nd round of DE Shaun Taylor crushed Phil Brewer 15-5, while Phil McNulty showed his flair for the sabre discipline when he beat Andy Alcock 15-9 to gain his place in the final four. Dave Long started off promisingly (seeded 4th) but crashed out 15-13 to Tim Hamilton in a match that pitted exuberance against good, methodical fencing technique. Mark Gumley secured his place in the last 4 when he defeated Andy Cooke 15-9, before destroying Tim Hamilton’s dream of the final 15-3. Phil then stepped up his game and stopped Shaun Taylor in his tracks in what proved to be a very physical match 15-10. The final saw Mark in no mood to toy with Phil though, and he overpowered him 15-7 on his way to the men’s sabre title.

Women’s Foil
There were seven competitors for the ladies foil, and once again Ann Gibson claimed the No.1 spot after the seeding round. In the first round DE, Carla Makepeace made a determined effort to remove Sharon Booth from the competition, but Sharon had other ideas and showed that she is a force to be reckoned with by despatching Carla 15-6. Meanwhile, Ashley Newing moved her way into the last 4 with a 15-4 victory over Brigitte Morgan and Suzie Cowden went toe-to-toe with Lisa Taylor in a lively match which saw Suzie the eventual winner with a score of 15-11. Ashley again found herself against a very confident Sharon but on this occasion she couldn’t find an answer to her opponent’s onslaught and exited 15-5. A focused Ann put paid to Suzie’s dreams of getting to her first Senior’s final in ruthless fashion 15-1 (Dave, do you have a deathwish? First you call her seasoned, and now ruthless? Would you prefer burial or cremation??!!! – Ed). In the final though Ann could find no reply to Sharon’s charge to the ladies foil title and succumbed 15-5.

Men’s Epee
After the usual Saturday night frivolity, 27 participants entered the epee competition. As expected, George Liston claimed his place as No.1 seed. In the first round DE, Gary Brailsford was shown the door by Dave Orme in a match that finished 15-11, while after a first round bye Rauri Henderson-Begg charged his way to the last 8 with an emphatic 15-4 win over Richard Price. Also in the 2nd round DE, Andy Alcock beat Phil McNulty in a 14-12 extravaganza, and Shaun Taylor rediscovered some of his epee flair of old as he gained a 15-9 victory over Skippy Hosking. Dave Long then met his nemesis of the competition in the form of Jon Davy while George went into the last 4 with a 15-5 win over Dave Orme. Rauri swept past Pete McKenzie-Brown in a 12-6 battle. Shaun and Andy met in the last 8, with Andy taking the win 15-9 to set up a nail-biting semi-final match against Jon which he narrowly lost 15-12. In the other semi-final, George showed his supreme technique to overpower Rauri. The final was a cat and mouse affair with the two protagonists trading points, but it was George who eventually changed gear and overwhelmed Jon 15-9 to take the epee title.

Ladies Epee
Five ladies entered the epee competition, and this time it was Sharon Booth who came to the fore in the seeding round by taking the No.1 position. Ann Gibson ensured she remained in touch with Sharon for the Master-at-Arms competition by claiming the 2nd seed position. In the first round of DE, Lisa Taylor almost became a fly in Ashley’s ointment, with Ashley’s experience eventually helping her into the final four with a 15-12 win. An on form Sharon though then swept Ashley aside 15-6 on her way to the epee final. In the other semi-final, Ann was once again in astounding form and outgunned Suzie Cowden’s brave attempts to gain her place in the final. The final itself was a mouth-watering display of top quality fencing with Ann and Sharon matching each other point for point, and after a scintillating 9 minutes of fencing Sharon took the title by the narrowest of margins 13-12.

Men’s Master-at-Arms
With two 3rd places in foil and epee, and a 6th in the sabre, Andy Alcock took the Master-at-Arms title with 15 points, with Shaun Taylor nipping at his heels on 11 points. The “heart goes out to him” award has to go to Jon Davy. With 15 points from 1st in foil and 2nd in epee, had he just entered the sabre event he would have taken the title on the strength of his weapon win, not even requiring a top 8 finish!

Ladies Master-at-Arms
The women’s Master-at-Arms title was also extremely close, with both Ann Gibson and Sharon Booth tied on 21 points. With two 1st places in foil and epee though, the title went to Sharon.

Inter Station 6 Man Team
Odiham, Coltishall and Benson mustered teams for this event, and it was to prove extremely close. As Benson won the sabre match and Coltishall won the epee, both Stations thought they had it in the bag, and that they had each done enough in the foil to win. Unfortunately for them Odiham had other plans, taking victory in the foil match to give all 3 Stations a weapon win. Individual victories were then counted, but once again all 3 Stations were tied; 12 wins each. A countback on indicators was then carried out, and it was judged that Coltishall had secured 1st place. Only 2 indicators behind were Odiham, with Benson in 3rd place.

Awards
As always, several awards and presentations were made at this competition. This year the Tindall-Carill-Worsley Brassard for the most promising male Junior fencer was awarded to Flt Lt Tim Hamilton of RAF Benson. The Howard Travis Memorial Quaich, awarded to the Junior fencer who produces the best result at Senior Epee, caused a chuckle as it was awarded to Wg Cdr Dave Orme, our new coach!
The final award was the Williams Rose Bowl, awarded to the most promising female Junior fencer. This year it was awarded to SAC Suzie Cowden of RAF Aldergrove.

Conclusion
The competition was a remarkable success, with plenty of new fencers showcasing their sporting prowess, and indeed some older more established fencers coming out of the woodwork to “de-rust” themselves! It has to be realised though that these competitions don’t run themselves, and thanks go to:

Director of Combats (Tech) Phil McNulty and Jon Davy, for their unflagging enthusiasm in keeping the contest running smoothly, even when the Director of Combats (Admin) is having kittens.
Ashley Newing and Ann Gibson for giving me the benefit of their guidance and support in my first year of organising this competition.
Gary Brailsford and Rob Desforges for their efforts in preparing, checking and repairing the weapons and piste equipment.
Gp Capt Nick Kurth for his unswerving support of the RAFFU and it’s member.
And finally, all the fencers who attended, without whom RAFFU could not go from strength to strength.

Ed’s note: Can I just say Dave that the occasions when you “had kittens” were few and far between, and pass on my own thanks to you for making sure we all had a roof over our heads and warm food in our bellies!

ISLE OF WIGHT OPEN
by Phil McNulty

Some of us are gluttons for punishment. As if it wasn’t enough that the Seniors had been just the weekend before, we decided a little ferry trip was in order and so off we went to the Isle of Wight for two days of fencing ... and some rather impromptu line dancing lessons!

This is our story!

Saturday 18th May saw the men’s and ladies foil. In the men’s event were myself, Gary Brailsford and Rob Desforges. Sharon Booth flew the RAF flag in the ladies event. The event was obviously being used as a pre-Inter Services warm-up, with both the Army and Navy fielding competitors in both men’s and ladies competitions. With 62 fencers entered for the men, a single seeding round was held followed by an incomplete tableau of 64. I had fared quite well in my pool, winning 3 fights to come 3rd in the pool, securing a seeding of 30th. Unfortunately, Gary and Rob had not done so well, with Rob losing every fight and Gary winning just 2. The only comfort was knowing that both the Army and Navy had fared just as badly!

And so it was that after the first round of the DE the first 16 people knocked out entered the plate competition; with 9 military fencers in it, including Rob and Gary, the chances of a military win were high. Myself and one other Army fencer made our way into the Last 32 and my next fight was against the No.2 seed, and it was hard fought, but unfortunately I discovered how to beat him just a fraction too late as I tried to overcome a 4 point deficit. Clawing my way back into the match after realising that my defence wasn’t working against this left hander and attacking, it was satisfying to know I’d pushed him but still frustrating as I dropped out 15-11. In the plate it was to prove to be equally frustrating as not 1 of the 9 military fencers could take advantage and take the medal! The good point though? At least I finished higher than the Army!

Over in the ladies foil, there were 25 entered, which resulted in 2 seeding rounds, where Sharon did very well to attain a good seeding. From this it was then into the DE where Sharon did reasonably well but unfortunately her opponent just managed to pip her to the post 15-13.

Men’s Foil (62 entered) Ladies Foil (25 entered)
Cpl Phil McNulty 26th SAC Sharon Booth 10th
JT Gary Brailsford 45th
Cpl Rob Desforges 62nd

Now I mentioned line dancing. And no, I’m not kidding! We were staying at the Savoy Holiday Village, a 1950’s a la Butlins holiday camp, with our own little chalets. Th e place was quite full over the weekend though on account of there being about 100 line dancers; and so it was we found ourselves not only watching on the Saturday night, but also taking part! Much to my eternal shame, after our attempts on the dance-floor two of the ladies informed me that I was a “natural” ... NOOOOOO!!!!!

The next day brought the Men’s and Ladies Epee and an increase in entries in the men’s event to 72 was offset by a decrease in the ladies, with only 16 women entered. Joining myself, Gary and Rob was Mal Mather, dragging himself down from Coltishall. The organisers then made what was the strangest decision of the day; the plate competition would ONLY include the bottom 8 fencers after one seeding round of pools. The remaining 64 would then go into the DE. Confident that we could avoid the bottom 8 easily, I went on to come 2nd in my pool, with both Mal and Rob managing to win at least one fight to guarantee the cut.
Unfortunately, Gary had a disastrous round, failing to get a single win and dropping out into the plate. His one consolation was that out of the bottom 8 on the day he was top as he went on to win the plate after a poule unique! The rest of us then had the DE to face, and one by one we fell to the higher seeds. I was seeded 30th, mimicking my performance in the foil; unfortunately the No.35 seed hadn’t read the script and in a very unsporting gesture beat me 15-13! So it was early bath time for the men.

Over in the ladies event, Sharon had an indifferent first round pool; but this was more than made up for as she then won every match in her second round pool. This gave her a high 5th seeding to take into the DE. As the less experienced fencers then fell by the wayside it was to her great delight that she found herself in the final, narrowly losing to finish 2nd overall.

Men’s Epee (72 entered) Ladies Epee (16 entered)
Cpl Phil McNulty 34th SAC Sharon Booth 2nd
Sgt Mal Mather 43rd
Cpl Rob Desforges 62nd
JT Gary Brailsford 71st

The weekend had come in very handy for some, with Rob picking up some good tips on his grip and angulation (or lack of!) on his blade; tips which straight away showed their value as he improved immediately! Now that’s what I call getting results from competing on the civvy circuit! I even managed to offer Sharon some advice on her foil; don’t just remise, parry first!!!

CAPTION COMPETITION
I thought I’d got away with it ... and I would have if it hadn’t been for those pesky kids (Sorry, slipped into Scooby Doo disguise for a second there!)!
In the March edition, I finally opened myself up for some ridicule; after all, I had to prove that I could take it as well as dish it out. To my great surprise, not one of you took up the opportunity to have a pop ... I have to say it filled me with a warm and happy glow as I thought you all liked me! But then I got the email from Ashley after the last edition; “When did the censorship start?” she asked. Apparently, she’d sent something through ... but I can honestly say that I never received it... honest, really, I mean, would I lie to you?

Anyway, here’s a reminder of the incriminating pics, and Ashley’s entry:

Banner Headline – “Shock Horror – RAFFU Armourer auditions for stage version of The Full Monty”

Now I thought that was funny ... until I saw her other caption;

“Whatever happened to Bros?”

I have to take my hat off to you for that one Ashley. That was VERY funny. (Mumbling and muttering under my breath “I WILL get you back!!! hehehee”

So, just to prove that I can take a joke and laugh at myself, and would never hold a grudge, no way, never, uh huh ... get searching out there. All pictures of Ashley in compromising positions gratefully accepted!! Or of course, pictures of ANYONE in compromising positions will do too!

HOW DO I DO THAT?
by Phil McNulty
As I mentioned in the Editorial, I was supposed to tell you all about rewiring epees this issue; but at the new Armourer’s request I’m going to tell you all about spools ... how exciting!

So where to start? We all know what a spool does; it lets you run up and down the piste, whilst connected to the electrical apparatus, without tripping up over cables because it automatically reels in the wire for you. What a marvellous invention!

So how does it work? Again, quite simply, a length of cable is coiled onto a cable drum. Springs are fitted and the drum rotated (or wound up) to tension these springs; thus, when the cable is pulled out, the tension on the springs is sufficient to rewind the cable on the drum when the cable is let go.

Simple, eh?? So why oh why do they always seem to cause us so many problems at our competitions then? The answer to that is quite simple too ... old age! A lot of our spools are so old, and have been reconditioned, repaired, rewired, cleaned, bodged and butchered that they are simply giving up the ghost! Not a great deal of help when it comes to trying to bodge them yourself, I know, but the truth! In order to understand better just WHAT gets worn out with age, let’s now break the spool down into its separate parts.

Case ... Possibly the only part of the spool we DON’T have problems with. We still have some of the old metal ones, but most spools these days are made of toughened plastic. The case is made in two halves, a lower and an upper, with a solid metal spindle connected to the lower half by a hexagonal nut. This spindle feeds through a hole in the top half where it is fitted with a knurled nut which can be removed by hand.

Brush Assembly ... This is what you plug the ground lead into. Opening the case, you will see that it sits over the spindle and consists of 3 metal arms. These make contact with 3 metal “commutator” rings inside the spool. The rings ensure that as the cable drum rotates, the electrical contact is maintained over a full 360º. Over time, these contacts can tarnish, but the most common problem is that they become mis-aligned, either missing the commutator rings, or shorting together. The arms are held in place with screws; simply re-align and tighten the screws. They can also become widened, the distance between each end of the arms becoming wider than the circumference of the commutator rings. If this happens, remove the brush assembly from the spindle, bend the arms back in, then ease them gently apart with your fingers as you slide it back onto the spindle. The electrical contacts should now be nice and snug.

Nozzle ... The small, plastic ring that the cable runs through, which then slots onto the “exit hole” of the spool. This ensures that the cable drum is held stationery, even when one side of the case is removed. If you are dismantling a spool, hold onto the bottom half of the case, while lifting the nozzle from it’s resting place and then let the cable carrier revolve slowly until it comes to rest, thus de-tensioning the springs.

Cable & Fencers End Socket ... The fencers end socket does exactly what it says on the tin; its the socket where the fencer plugs in his body-wire. This is one end of the length of cable, and is a common area of problems. Dismantling the socket you will see that there are 3 contacts; one for each of the 3 wires inside the cable. Continual wear and tear often means that one of these thin wires will snap; simply re-terminate the terminal and Bob’s your uncle! The cable itself can also be a source of problems. The outer insulating sheath is made of woven cotton, and with age and wear this gets stretched and misshapen, sometimes bunching up. As a result, sometimes the cable will not fully retract into the spool. If this happens the time has come to buy a new length of cable.

Cable Carrier ... The cable is coiled around the cable carrier. This is usually made of plastic, and is simply a drum, with one empty side, and the other side having the commutator rings and termination points. The end of the cable will be fed through a small hole in the drum, where the 3 wires are then split off and terminated on screw contacts. Each one of these contacts is connected to one of the commutator rings. These contacts are another area where the connection could be broken. When testing a spool, check the continuity between each contact in turn to it’s associated contact at the fencer’s end socket. Also check that there are no short circuits between wires. To fully check continuity, fit the brush assembly over the commutator rings and check each contact here to the fencer’s end socket.

Spring Case ... Lifting the cable carrier from the spindle will expose the spring cases; each spool will have 3 of these. Each spring case is a round disk, with a lid which clips on and a hole in the centre through which the spindle fits. At the centre of this hole will be a plastic “key”, shown here; this has square edges and is designed so that the 3 spring cases lock together. This means that as the one spring case is rotated, the other 2 rotate with it, and thus all 3 springs are tensioned as one, giving the power required to rewind the cable fully. One common problem is that these “keys” become worn, and instead of square edges, the plastic becomes rounded. As a result, the 3 spring cases slip against each other and tension is lost ... most commonly seen by the cable failing to fully retract. Removing the lid of a spring case (carefully!!!), will expose the spring itself; a greasy, oily, sharp (experience there!) ribbon of metal, coiled up in a spiral. The plastic key is attached to one end of this ribbon by a metal screw (which can again be a source of problems, becoming detached) and the other end is screwed to the spring case (another potential weak spot). Occasionally a spring will explode, with the ribbon shooting out of the case; you WILL get extremely dirty and cut your fingers as you methodically coil it back up! And of course, after you coil it, and put the lid back on the case, it will suddenly pop off and you’ll have to start all over again! Be aware that Leon Paul also do a plastic spring case now, but don’t ask me what it looks like or how it works because it’s NEW, and since when did the RAF buy NEW stuff???!!!!

So those are all the component parts of a spool, and what can possibly go wrong with them. All you need to know now is how to re-tension one. With everything assembled (except the top half of the case), hold the fencer’s end socket and nozzle and rotate the cable carrier 15 times CLOCKWISE. Fit the nozzle into the lower half of the case, reconstruct the case and hey presto, a fully working spool!

Unfortunately spools are the bane of the Armourer’s life, causing him the majority of all his equipment problems. Hopefully this will have been of some use to you and you now have a better understanding of how the spools work and how you can help the Armourer to fix them. Also it will explain why the Armourer shouts at you when you let the fencer’s end socket go from half-way down the piste and it smashes at Mach 2 into the spool case. Because he’ll have to strip down that end socket and fiddle with those thin wires you’ve just snapped! And we all know how much Armourers:

a. Hate having to work.
b. Like shouting.

Next time, possibly, probably, maybe, providing I don’t get asked to cover something else, I’ll let you know how to rewire that epee like I promised last time!

FOOTWORK LESSONS
by Phil McNulty
(from lessons posted at www.fencing.net)
As Club Coach at Odiham, I often find myself giving lesson after lesson, and find myself repeating my criticisms of student after student: distance and footwork! I often tell my students that practising footwork until it can be carried out CORRECTLY, with little or no thought, is the key to a good fencer. After all, if you can maintain good footwork (which will automatically assist you in maintaining your correct distance), without having to think about it, your mind is then free to concentrate on blade-work.

So, if you can train your body to carry out simple and complex series of footwork exercises you will be better able to use them in a bout. Just as you would practice a beat-disengage as one action, in footwork you would practice a step forward-lunge as one action too.

The following exercises can be used either in a group or individually, but emphasis should be placed on keeping steps short (to maintain balance) and ensuring that each action is carried out CORRECTLY.

Key: / = slight pause, - = continuous action, : = new action

Exercise 1
Lunge/on-guard: step forward-lunge/on-guard: double step forward-lunge/on-guard: triple step forward-lunge/on-guard: lunge/on-guard: lunge/on-guard-step back: lunge/on-guard-double step back: lunge/on-guard-triple step back

Exercise 2
Step forward-step back: lunge/on-guard: step forward-lunge/on-guard-step back: double step forward-lunge/ on-guard-double step back: triple step forward-lunge/on-guard-step back

Exercise 3
Step backward-lunge/on guard: step forward-lunge/on-guard: double step back-lunge/on-guard: double step forward-lunge/on-guard.As you can see, these lessons tend to emphasise quick changes of direction. If you are good at making these quick changes of direction you will be able to take advantage of those that can’t; closing the distance down by “sucking them in”. Try this one out for size though!

Exercise 4
Jump forward-lunge/on-guard: lunge-on-guard: lunge/on-guard: step forward-lunge/on-guard: jump forward/jump forward-lunge/on-guard: step forward/step forward-lunge/on-guard: lunge/on-guard: lunge-on-guard: double step forward-lunge/on-guard: triple step forward-lunge/on-guard/lunge-step forward-lunge.

And if you’re still alive after that little lot, do it all again until you can do it without making any mistakes and without losing your balance one! (Because trust me, when you start doing it quickly, your balance WILL go!).

HAMSTER HAIR
See this picture? Cute, isn’t it?
Have you ever noticed how soft a hamster is?

Ever run your fingers, lingeringly, through a hamster’s fur?

Ever wondered how a hamster keeps its fur so lovely and soft and silky?

Nope, me neither. But apparently the state of hamster’s hair is of great importance to someone out there in the RAF Fencing fraternity.

At the recent Seniors competition, during one of the obligatory lulls in fencing while the DOC tries to keep a grip on sanity, Ashley began a conversation with the individual concerned. Naturally, as the conversation progressed, talk turned to matters of hair care (naturally? OK, maybe for women, but I’ll point out now that this individual is a man!). Also confusing was how the conversation could get onto hair when one of the participants had none! (So at least you know I’m not talking about Steve Jackman!)
This individual began to express concern that their hair had gone dry and brittle, and that they had tried everything to return it to its former glory, changing shampoo, conditioner, washing it under a full moon with the water from a maiden’s bath, but it was like straw. “Alas, poor me,” cried Mr Gumley, “I used to have hair like a hamster, really fine and soft ... I wish I could get it back!”

Naturally, upon hearing about this I:

a. Laughed!
b. Decided that here was an article of ridicule for the next Reprise!

That was when I decided to do some digging, and came to the shocking revelation as I uncovered this photograph. Compare this one with that on the previous page.

See the beady little eyes?

See the little hamster teeth?

Notice the way that Mark can sneak through even the tiniest hole in your guard, just like a hamster?

It’s official then; Mark Gumley IS the world’s only human/hamster hybrid.

By the way Mark, it’s just a joke, but if you do take offence, it was Ashley that put me up to it!! Honest mate! - Ed!

FINAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please keep those articles coming in ... and if you’ve promised me something, please deliver!! Other wise I’ll send the wife round, and you don’t want THAT happening, let me tell you! it’s always great to get stuff to put in, especially as it means I don’t have to go to the time and effort of having to get creative and write anything!