Facts

Some quite interesting facts about fencing ... or they may just be rumours or actual lies.

  • Bob Anderson - Fencing Master

    Bob Anderson (1922-2012) was the fencing master who coached and acted as a stunt double in almost every modern film which contains any fencing. He also coached the British fencing team for 30 years. From Star Wars to James Bond; from Highlander to The Mask of Zorro; and from The Princes Bride to The Master of Ballantrae - he helped make them all. Reputedly during some rehearsals, he once slashed Errol Flynn in the thigh by accident, drawing blood, while the star was being distracted by a passing beauty. This led to Anderson's reputation among Hollywood insiders as "the man who stabbed Errol Flynn".

  • William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was also a skilled stage fencer and taught his actors to make things look as real as possible.

  • Early Fencing Writing

    The earliest known surviving treatise on fencing, stored at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, England, dates from around 1300 AD and is from Germany. Written in medieval Latin and German, it describes a system of using the sword and buckler (small shield) and is illustrated by over 100 ink and watercolour drawings.

  • Leon Paul - "London Lights"

    For the London 2012 Olympics, Leon Paul created the "London Lights" - over 640 meters of LED color changing light rope with 38,400 individual LED’s and more than 5km of cable were used to make this spectacular visual effect.

  • Fencing in the Olympics

    When the Olympics Games were revived from antiquity in 1896, fencing was on the program. It is one of just four sports to have been part of every Summer Games since then. Men's foil and sabre were part of the first Games; epee was added in 1900. Women competed in Olympic fencing for the first time in 1924.

Looks like rain
Looks like rain