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Please Note: Newbury and District Fencing Club cannot accept any responsibility for the content of any sites linked from this page.
www.fencing.net/ - Excellent global site devoted to all aspects of the sport. www.britishfencing.com/ - The home of British Fencing. www.bbofencing.org - Berks, Bucks and Oxon region site, to which we are affiliated. www.britishfencingsouthern.org - The Southern region site. Results, Fixtures and News
www.leonpaul.com - Leon Paul. www.allstar-fencing.com - Allstar Uhlmann (previously Blades). www.duellist.com/ - Duellist www.athosuk.com/ - Athos UK ebay - Click on this link to find cheap kit!
The Fencing Master by Aturo Perez-Reverte. On the eve of the Revolution of 1868, old-fashioned gentleman and master of fencing, Jaime Astarloa, is above the rumours of political exploit and the Queen's love life. But even he is distracted when mysterious, beautiful young Adela arrives at his door and asks him to take her on as a pupil. A great read and full of fencing action!
By the Sword by Richard Cohen. The secret history of the fiercely beautiful art of fencing. Though fencing is seen as a graceful and noble sport, it is not without its seamy sides. By The Sword traces the darkness behind the mask, from the sport's early brutal days to the more civilised, yet no less dangerous, days of duelling and then to the present day. Abraham Lincoln, Karl Marx and Mussolini were all involved in duels, Hitler gave fencing a special emphasis in his regime and the best fencer the world has ever seen was an anti-Soviet spy. Cohen delves behind the headlines exposing lurid tales of cheating and blackmail, of murder and strange love affairs, the honour and dishonour of swordmanship and its cultural side from The Three Musketeers to Star Trek. Above all the book portrays the character of fencing - at once graceful, balletic, rough, technically beautiful and fiercely competitive. A thoroughly engrossing history of the sport!
One of the great directorial debuts, Ridley Scott's The Duellists is an extraordinary achievement which weaves an epic-in-miniature set around the edges of the Napoleonic Wars. Based on a story by Joseph Conrad, in turn inspired by real events and filmed in part where those events took place, this is the tale of a 15-year conflict between two French army officers: the level-headed Armand D'Hubert (Keith Carradine) and the obsessive Gabriel Feraud (Harvey Keitel). Each time they meet they duel, until the original purpose of the conflict is all but lost.
Not the rubbish 90's remake but Richard Lester's 1973 opus. Realistic sword fights and swashbuckling aplenty, coupled with a wry sense of humour to make this film a joy to watch. Oliver Reed was never better than as the tortured Athos.
Ok, so it's not Bond at his best but this film certainly helped to bring fencing back into the public consciousness, so it is worth a look for this fact alone. The fight scenes were choreographed by the masterful Bob Anderson and the Paul brothers supplied the skills.
Think about why you are interested in fencing and chances are a film like this is probably responsible. With the notable and very worthy exception of Richard Lester's Robin and Marian most modern incarnations of Britain's favourite freedom fighter are rubbish. Errol Flynn's Robin was thigh slappingly perfect; the final swordfight on a shadowy staircase with the wonderfully evil Sir Guy is a true movie classic. Sir Guy was played by Basil Rathbone who, unlike Flynn, was an expert fencer in real life.
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