Foiled Again

No, I'm not talking about cooking (foil, as in aluminum, you know?!) S had his first fencing tournament recently. Considering he has only had 6 lessons, I thought he did well. He perked up before it finished, once he won a bout. Poor guy, he lost the first five bouts, didn't score a single touch in any of them. But, he did really well in the one he did win.

In fencing, there are three blades with which you can fence; epee (pronounced ep-ay), foil and sabre. S fences with a foil. A touch is when you touch the target on your opponent with your blade (before they touch you). In foil, the target is the front and back of the fencing jacket but not the sleeves or anywhere else on the body. And you musn't cover the target. That's why in the next picture you see S grabbing his strap behind his back. That way, he doesn't get a warning and possibly lose a point. It' pretty interesting but I must say it's the only sport that a lot of the time, I can't tell who the winner is.

It's fun to watch S practice and gain confidence. And, yes, I do let him practice in the house. But only with Hubster's supervision and only in the basement. Definitely not when it's only S & C. Now that would definitely be something to foil.