i was wondering if any of you ever heard of a guy named dino hinton - he's my new neighbor and claims to have been rated #1 in the country several years back - he has a school in San francisco - he appears to be REAL GOOD - just wondering if anyone has any info on him - thanx
sreiter,
Despite my own sports fencing background, I've never really "followed" the current sports fencing scene. There are too many aspects of the current competitive fencing game that I'm not too crazy about. Be that as it may, Mr. Hinton may indeed be a high-level fencer. You state that he claimed to have been "rated #1" in the country--for what weapon? Foil? Saber? Epee? All three?
TFS
i believe foil - but he used to compete in all three - i think he was ranked 3rd in saber - and we didnt really talk about rapier or epee -
he also trains/trained in various MA's - and sayes that fencing helps get other MA's sharper - because of the speed of the foil, it trains your reaction time - funny shit - he stood about 15 feet away from me - and wit just a lunge hit me w/the blade (he's tall - and has abnormally long arms for his 6'3 frame) - he is just starting to compete again. he said he hasnt trained in 4 years - and he won a tourney just last weekend -
the other interesting thing is his handle - i just may not be knowledgeable enough, but i've never seen anything like it before - it was what he called a pistol grip - basically your index and middle finger wrap the handle, while your thumb pinches it - and the handle is contured to your fingers - he was doing wacky things like - if i ducked - he bent the blade over me and still hit me - and he was scoring hits on me from behind his back - all kinds of stuff -
sreiter,i believe foil - but he used to compete in all three - i think he was ranked 3rd in saber - and we didnt really talk about rapier or epee-The three modern weapons are foil, epee, and saber--rapier fencing is essentially a dead art, though modern WMAers of the "classical fencing" or "historical fencing" community are reconstructing it. he also trains/trained in various MA's - and sayes that fencing helps get other MA's sharper - because of the speed of the foil, it trains your reaction time - funny shit - he stood about 15 feet away from me - and wit just a lunge hit me w/the bladeYes, fencing can definitely sharpen your reflexes. Here's a few interesting facts concerning fencing:1. The only sport that requires sharper/faster reflexes than fencing is race car driving.2. The only thing in sports that is faster than the tip of a fencing blade is the bullet from a skeet shooter's rifle.3. Fencers have stronger legs (for their body size) than NFL football players.the other interesting thing is his handle - i just may not be knowledgeable enough, but i've never seen anything like it before - it was what he called a pistol grip - basically your index and middle finger wrap the handle, while your thumb pinches it - and the handle is contured to your fingersPistol grips, otherwise known as othopedic grips, were first introduced many decades ago, to allow fencers who were missing one or more fingers to be better able to actually fence. The very first pistol grip (and still the best, though unfortunately now illegal) is the Gardere grip, named after the fencer who developed it (he had some fingers missing). Eventually, all sorts of new pistol grips were developed (Belgian, German, Russian, American, etc), and fencers who had perfectly fine hands started using them too. They are now, by far, the most widely used grips in foil/epee fencing, followed by the plain French grip, and lastly by the Italian grip, which has a crossbar and finger rings, like a rapier in minature.- he was doing wacky things like - if i ducked - he bent the blade over me and still hit meIf I'm reading you correctly, it sounds like he was doing what is known as a "flick attack", which is essentially a bastardized form of the coupe' or "cut-over". Basically, a "flick attack" involves casting the foil almost like a fishing rod, to get the blade (which is more flexible than an epee) to bend and still land with the point. It is certainly dramatic-looking, but it is also totally unrealistic, if only because a real fighting sword does not have a blade that is flexible enough for such actions. The "flick attack" is one of the things about modern sports fencing that I don't care for. My old Maestro from BCAF, Mark Holbrow, has even gone so far to say that he feels that foil blades should be banned, and replaced by epee blades altogether--an interesting proposition...and he was scoring hits on me from behind his back - all kinds of stuff -Such "wacky things" are useful for infighting in a sport where you are not allowed to use the free hand for anything. Also, there are some moves from old French smallsword (ancestor of the epee) fencing that are similar.Sounds like you had fun, bro--keep fencing!TFS