LOUIS AND REGIS SENAC
Fencing has been a method of defense for hundreds of years. Over time the practice of sword fighting was transformed into a sport of skill, style, and form. This passage describes the grace and physical prowess the sport demands. Fencing is not as popular today as it once was, but it still remains an esteemed sport and a great exercise in discipline.
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The fencer is always enthusiastic concerning his art, his “grande passion.” And why is this the case? Why does he not accept his fencing pleasures philosophically and continue in the even tenor of his way? The truth is, that he has found something of great value, of undeniable fascination, and about which he believes all his friends and acquaintances should know.
Sometimes uninitiated folk marvel at the unbounded praise fencing devotees shower on their favorite diversion. They stand aloof with a superior air and occasionally condescend to show a modicum of interest in the foils.
There comes a time, however, when the supercilious one becomes infected by the fever. He dons fencing garb, grasps a foil, and makes some instructor’s life one continuous round of labor for weeks at a time. Then one day he realizes that he is actually a convert to the foils and that his enthusiasm may well be said to border on the fanatical. “I came to laugh and I remained to learn,” he says to himself, and delves still deeper into the mysteries of the intricate, yet unparalleled science.
It is through many rewards to its disciples that fencing holds the attention of every man and woman, even though he or she taste ever so sparingly of its cup of pleasure. First, the practice of fencing affords an exercise that is absolutely unrivaled as a natural aid to the highest form of physical development and education. (Muscles as well as brains can be educated.) Can you fail to recognize the fencer? His grace and elasticity of bearing; his elegance of manner; his calm reserve, and, withal, the keenest of eyes; his firm hand-clasp, literally vibrating with energy; the admirable poise of his head; his erect carriage, and his buoyant step set him apart from ordinary men, men of sedentary pursuits.