Italian-School Saber: “Slipping the Leg”

Since we just reviewed and edited this posting and still have one more article on Italian-style sports saber in the pipeline, we’ve decided to make this “Eye-talian Saber Week” at SHotS Fencing Classics…

Family Reunion: The Kirchoffers, together again!

Nobody say that FencingClassics isn’t community minded!

After more than a century, we’re reuniting father and son Kirchoffer, famous French fencing masters from pre-Word War I Paris.

Or at least a small part of their correspondence…

“La schiabola e la vostra penna”: The Expansion of the Italian Saber

For non-competition oriented forms of Central European cut fencing, this was the beginning of the end: Starting in the 1870’s, a diaspora of Italian fencing masters managed to displace, and then obliterate, traditional European cut fencing systems.

How, who, and why?

Read on!

Italian foil or épée; Italy, c. 1890

 

 

 

 

 

Pessina vs. Pecoraro

 

 

 

 

 

Italian épée fencing… or are these foils?