Post #1396101 · Elektrine

2026-04-11 12:12 UTC

That's an Italian grip foil. That's one method of holding it. I had one when I fenced and was taught a different grip for it. There is also a French grip that only has one way to hold it. I had one of those as well. Most people used what we called the orthopedic grip but probably has a different name now.

Replies (2)

@Zagorath@quokk.au 2026-04-11 16:39

That's a sidesword or early rapier. Hundreds of years earlier than the smallsword, the weapon for which the foil was developed as a practice weapon. I'm not familiar with the term orthopedic grip, but a quick search suggests that this is what I knew, when I was doing sport fencing, as the "pistol grip". These days I do HEMA rather than modern sport fencing. In fact, a fellow instructor at my school is responsible for the English translation of Lovino, the source from which the above image derives. Here's the whole image: ![Image of a man in blue standing with his sword in his sword in his right hand but his left foot forward. His sword is crossed over that of a man in yellow with sword in right hand and right foot forward. Both swords are early rapiers with a crossguard and finger rings, but no knuckle bow or complex hilt.](https://wiktenauer.com/images/thumb/8/83/MS_Italien_959_07r.png/1024px-MS_Italien_959_07r.png)

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@Wbear@lemmy.zip 2026-04-11 15:12

Would that be the pistol grip?

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