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Fencing

Fencing

:This article is about the sport. For the structures for dividing property, and the process of erecting them, see fence; or, for other meanings, see fence (disambiguation). fence (disambiguation) In the broadest possible sense, fencing is the practice of armed combat involving cutting, stabbing or bludgeoning weapons directly manipulated by hand, rather than shot or thrown (in other words, swords, knives, pikes, bayonets, batons, clubs, and so on). In contemporary common usage, fencing tends to refer specifically to European schools of swordsmanship and to the modern Olympic sport which has evolved out of them. Also, stage fencing - the practice of representing sword-fights on stage or screen; academic fencing - a form of ritualised combat practiced by some German student fraternities. For definitions of the fencing terminology used in this article, see the glossary.

The emergence of modern fencing

:See also Historical European Martial Arts Fencing can be traced at least as far back as Ancient Egypt. The earliest known depiction of a fencing bout, complete with practice weapons, safety kit, judges and a score-card, is a relief in a temple near Luxor built by Rameses III around 1190 BC. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812969669/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/103-9320701-9920669?v=glance&s=books] The Greeks and Romans had systems of martial arts and military training that included swordsmanship, and fencing-schools and professional champions were known throughout medieval Europe, the earliest surviving record of Western techniques of fencing is the manuscript known as MS I.33, which was created in southern Germany c. 1300 and today resides at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Throughout the Middle Ages, masters continued to teach systems for using the sword (together with other weapons and grappling) to noble and non-noble alike. The wearing of the sword with civilian dress (a custom that had begun in late fifteenth century Spain) gradually gave rise to a new system of civilian swordsmanship based more on the thrust than on the cut, with the aim being to keep the adversary at a distance with the point, and slay him there. This gave rise to systems of using the sixteenth and seventeenth century rapier and the seventeenth and eighteenth century smallsword. Though swords ceased to be an article of everyday dress after the French Revolution, they continued to be used in warfare and to resolve disputes of honour in formal duels through the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. Though antagonistic competition in fencing is as old as the art itself, the modern sport of fencing originated in the first Olympic games in 1896. The first few years of fencing as a sport were chaotic, with important rule disagreements among schools of fencing from different countries, notably the French and Italian schools. This state of affairs ended in 1913, with the foundation of the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) in Paris. The stated purpose of the FIE is to codify and regulate the practice of the sport of fencing, particularly for the purpose of international competition. The foundation of the FIE is a convenient breaking point between the classical and the modern traditions of fencing.

Fencing philosophies

There are many different autonomous directions in contemporary fencing:

Sport Fencing

Sports fencing is also known as Olympic fencing. This is the sort of fencing you will see in most competitions (including the Olympic Games). It is conducted according to the rules laid down by the FIE (the international governing body), which are roughly based on the conventions of "practice" fencing developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (then a means of preparing for a duel). Due to technical developments and ideological disagreements, these rules are subject to frequent revisions and amendments.

Classical Fencing

Classical fencing. This type of fencing generally attracts people who feel that contemporary sports fencing has strayed too far from its martial arts origins. Some practitioners try to reconstruct old European systems of armed combat. Others only advocate a return to an earlier set of conventions in sports fencing.

Historical Fencing

Historical fencing is a type of fencing is based on the work of historical texts and traditions. Historical fencing can include longsword, single-handed cutting swords, pole arms, rapier and many other forms.

Stage Fencing

Stage fencing (l'escrime artistique) is a type of fencing that seeks to achieve the maximum theatrical impact. Fights are, generally, choreographed, and fencing actions are somewhat exaggerated. It is not an exclusive preserve of actors and stuntmen - some people do it as a hobby.

Academic Fencing

Academic fencing is a German student tradition. In many ways, it is similar to sports fencing: the combat takes place in accordance with a strictly delineated set of conventions, it involves specially designed weapons and protective gear, and the ultimate goal is the development of personal character strength and team spirit. The difference is that the weapons have a sharp edge, and the loser is the first one to bleed.

SCA Fencing

SCA fencing is the fencing conducted by members of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), generally in a pre-1600s fashion while still using modern fencing safety gear, usually disguised to pass as period clothing.

The weapons

In both its modern and its classical guise, fencing consists of three different weapons: foil, épée and sabre. These three weapons had become standard by the late nineteenth century and all are represented at Olympic-level competition. Additionally, in classical academies, one will often find historical fencing weapons, such as grande canne, main gauche or rapier and dagger, being taught. Foil used to be the first weapon taught to beginners, because the techniques of foil teach, in abstract form, the fundamentals of fencing. Additionally, in the past, women were only allowed to fence foil, and the lightness of the weapon made it easier to handle for children. Today, while it is often advised to gain at least a fundamental grasp of foil, fencers often begin with any of the three weapons.

Anatomy of the weapons

While the weapons fencers use differ in size and purpose some basic parts of the weapon remain constant throughout the disciplines. The pommel, a weighted piece of metal at the end of the handle, known as a grip, that holds the blade and handle together while providing a counter-balance to the weight of the blade (in actual combat situations, the pommel could be used as a sort of bludgeon). The grip can be one of several types: French, Italian, pistol grip, and deritives thereof.

French Grip

dagger The French grip is contoured to the curve of the hand and resembles in use the handles of most swords.

Italian Grip

The Italian grip is similar to the French with the addition of a metal bar through which the fingers slide; this grip has become antiquated due to the amount of torque it places on the wrist.

Pistol Grip

Italian grip The pistol grip (otherwise known as the anatomical or orthopedic grip), originally developed for a nineteenth-century Belgian master who had lost fingers in a tram accident, contours entirely to one's hand and is held much like a pistol, hence the name. This grip became popular after World War II when it was used by returned soldiers missing fingers. The guard separates the grip from the blade and provides protection for the hand. There are several types of pistol grips, such as the basic Visconti (which is what most people refer to as a pistol grip), the American, Belgian, and Russian.

Other Grips

World War II There are many offshoots of the French and pistol grips, some of which include the Spanish-offset which is much like a French grip with two orthopedic aids coming from the top and bottom.

Foil

The modern foil is descended from the training weapon for the small-sword, the common sidearm of the eighteenth-century gentleman. However, it has long since been altered to be similar in length to the épée (averaging 35" or 890 mm). (Rapier and even longsword foils are also known to have been used but they were very different in terms of weight and use.) It is a light weapon, with a tapered, flexible, quadrangular blade, that scores only with the point. (In modern sport fencing, which makes use of electrical scoring apparatus, one must hit the opponent with the tip of the blade, with a force of at least 4.90 newtons (500 grams-force).) grams-force The valid target area at foil is limited, due to its origins in a time when fencing was practised with limited safety equipment. Hits to the face were dangerous, so the head was removed from valid target. The target was then further reduced to only the trunk of the body, where the vitals are located. A touch which lands on a invalid target stops the bout, but no point is scored. During the nineteen-eighties,partly due of the introduction of the pistol grip, a technique was developed known as "flicking," a move with which the fencer whipped his/her blade in such a manner that it bent almost to a square angle in midair, the point hitting the opponent only afterwards. If executed properly, this move had the ability to bypass most classical parries, and to hit in unusual or difficult places (such as the back). This technique not only made the traditional "right-of-way" rules dependent on very subjective interpretations, but also made foil play lose all the resemblance of small-sword training that gave it historical substance. To circumvent this, in 2005 the FIE changed the "depression timing" of the tip. This caused most "flick touches" to be no longer detected by the scoring machines, thus favouring more classical, straight thrusts.

Épée

grams-force The modern épée is the closest weapon to an actual classical duelling weapon that is used in modern fencing, either descended from or inspired by the small sword as it had developed by the 18th Century. The épée is a long, straight and relatively heavy sword as compared to the foil, with a triangular, less flexible blade and a large, round, bell-shaped guard. Like the foil, the épée is a point weapon. The reason for the large guard is that the hand is a valid target, as is the rest of the body. Since double-touches are a possibility — and, since there is no right-of-way (see below) — épée fencing tends to be more conservative in style than the other weapons. In electric fencing, in order for a point to register, one must hit the opponent with the point, registering at least 7.35 newtons (750 grams-force) of force. Classical fencers sometimes use a point d'arret, a three-pronged attachment that will actually catch the opponent's jacket.

Sabre

18th Century The modern sabre is descended from the classical northern Italian duelling sabre, a far lighter weapon than the cavalry sabre. The method and practice of sabre fencing is somewhat different from the other weapons, in that the sabre is an edged weapon. In modern electric scoring, a touch with the sabre, point, flat or edge, to any part of the opponent's valid target (head, torso, or arm) will register a hit. Unlike foil and épée, in modern sport sabre, the cross-advance is not allowed. This rule change was made so that referees would not have to try and determine right of way when both fencers simply fleched, or ran at each other. However, recently some sabre fencers have been using a technique know as the "flying lunge", or "flunge" for short. This attack starts like a fleche, but the fencer pushes off from the ground, and flys forward. The legs almost cross at the high point of the jump, but then the front leg is brought forward to catch the fencer. Many referees, however, do not recognise the flunge as a valid attack. The target area originates from duelling sabre training. To attack the opponent's leg would allow him to "slip" that leg back and attack one's exposed arm or head given that the higher line attack will outreach the low line (there is a classic example of the leg slip in Angelo's Hungarian and Highland Broadsword of 1790). The target area is from the waist up excluding the hands. Right-of-way applies, much as it does to foil. A common misconception concerning the origin of sabre's target area is that the legs are removed as targets due to sabre's origin as a cavalry weapon. Essentially, the legs of a horseman were not a valid target in war, since cutting the leg of a man riding a horse would not stop that man from continuing his charge. This myth has largely been refuted and several older texts demonstrate low sabre parries to protect the mount's flanks and the fencer's legs. For more information on this topic consult Christoph Amberger's book "A Secret History of the Sword".

Right of way

The "right of way" principle in foil and sabre is that the first person to properly execute an attack has priority. Simply put, if one is attacked, one must defend oneself before counterattacking -- rather than attempting to hit one's opponent even at the risk of being hit oneself. Attacks can be made to fail either by bad luck, misjudgement or by action on the part of the defender. A properly executed parry (deflecting the incoming attack with one's own blade) causes priority to change and the defender has the opportunity to attack (riposte). The original attacker must counterparry the defender's riposte before attacking again, but if the parry is ineffectual (malparry), if the riposte misses, or the defender hesitates before riposting, the attacker can continue his attack (this can be called a remise, a reprise or a redoublement) without himself parrying. None of these actions (remise reprise or redoublment) has the right of way so if the defending fencer hesitates that will be called a counterattack and will receive the touch. For instance, if one fencer attacks, and the other immediately counter-attacks into the attack, and each hits the other, the first fencer's attack is considered successful, while the second is considered to have misjudged. If, however, the second fencer parried the first attack and then responded with an attack of his own (or if he had counter-attacked and managed to avoid being touched), they would have taken the right of way away from the first fencer. It would then be incumbent on the first fencer to defend him - or her - self. When electrical scoring equipment is used in the modern sports of foil and sabre,(there is electrical epee scoring as well) both fencers will register a hit if they contact within a certain time of each other. Then the referee must decide who had right of way at the time of the hits, and therefore who gets a point. If the referee cannot tell, then he will declare the touches null, and restart the bout from where it stopped. Double hits are possible in épée as well, but only if both fencers contact within a very short timeframe (40 milliseconds, or 1/25th of a second). In this case, both fencers will receive a point.

Protective clothing

The clothing which is worn in modern fencing is made of tough cotton or nylon. Kevlar was previously used but found insufficiently durable. The complete fencing kit includes the following items of clothing:
- Form-fitting jacket, covering groin and with strap (croissard) which goes between the legs
- Half jacket (plastron) which goes underneath the jacket and provides double protection on the sword arm side and upper arm. It is required not to have a seam in the armpit, which would line up with the jacket seam and provide a weak spot.
- Glove, which prevents swords going up the sleeve and causing injury, as well as protecting the hand and providing a good grip
- Breeches (knickers), to below the knee
- Knee-length socks
- Mask, including bib which protects the neck
- Chest protector, typically worn by female fencers to protect the breasts. Versions for male fencers are also available. Traditionally, the uniform is white in colour, to assist the judges in seeing touches scored (black being the traditional colour for masters). However, recently the FIE rules have been relaxed to allow coloured uniforms. The colour white might also be traced back to times before electronic scoring equipment, when the blades were sometimes covered in soot or coloured chalk to make a mark on the opponent's clothing.

The practice of fencing

Fencing takes place on a strip, or piste, with two fencers facing one another. In modern fencing, the piste is between 1.5 and 2 meters wide, and 14 meters long. There are designated points on the fencing strip; there is the en-garde line (this is where the fencers start), the center line, the two meter warning lines and the end of the strip. Prior to starting a bout it is required for fencers to salute each other as well as the director. Fencers technically must also salute the audience, but this is often not enforced. Some fencers choose to salute various other things (e.g. God). The fencer's salute has traditonally consisted of the blade going vertically before the fencer saluting with the bell guard at face level and back to en garde position, however, in recent fencing, a great deal of variance has emerged, with some fencers merely raising the blade toward their salutee, while others have incorporated elaborate motions, such as flourishes or crossing motions. Opponents start in the middle of the piste, 4 metres apart, in the en garde position. A referee (formerly called president of jury, or director) presides over the contest, called a "bout." The referee's duties include keeping score, keeping time (sabre is usually fenced untimed because it moves very quickly), awarding points and maintaining the order of the bout. Often, another person will keep score or time. He or she stands on one side of the piste, watching the bout. There are many types of modern fencing bouts, but in the two most common formats, the first fencer to score either 5 or 15 touches is declared the winner. Modern fencing also includes the addition of cards/flags (or penalties). In foil and sabre, yellow cards are awarded for bodily contact between opponents - the penalty going to the aggressor. Two yellow cards equals one red card, and a touch for the opponent. Black cards can mean disqualification and are given out for overtly aggressive actions such as beating one's opponent with the pommel of the sword as well as breaches of protocol such as failure to salute. It is also possible to fence "in the round," meaning that the bout takes place in a circular or square area instead of on a strip, and fencers can circle in addition to moving forward or backward. This style of fencing is mostly practised today by the SCA and does not exist in FIE tournaments.

Footwork

The most commonly used footwork is the advance and retreat. Other types of footwork include the cross-advance and cross-retreat. Generally, feet are placed a shoulder-width apart at right-angles to each other. The front foot, the right, faces the opponent and the back foot faces to the left. The fencer's knees should be slightly bent to allow for more mobility. The feet are reversed if one is left-handed. This allows for fairly easy advances and retreats, while allowing the side of the torso to face the opponent. This makes one's target area less open to attack by the opponent. This is called the en garde, or on-guard, position. To execute an advance, the front foot is moved forward, landing with the heel and rolling forward. Then the back foot is raised and moved forward so that the fencer returns to the en garde position. The process is reversed for a retreat. During this process, the back foot does not move forward of the front. However, in a cross-advance (also known as a cross-step advance or crossover advance), the back foot moves forward of the front, and then the front foot is moved forward so that the fencer returns to the en garde position. The reverse is called a cross-retreat. These steps allow the fencer to gain or close distance more quickly, but it is not as stable or as versatile as a standard advance or retreat. Variations and portions of the above movements can also be used by themselves. For example, a check-step forward is performed by moving the back foot as in a retreat, then performing an entire advance. This maneuver can trick your opponent into thinking you are retreating, when in reality you want to close distance. Other footwork actions include the appel (French for "call"), which is a stomp of the front foot; and the jump (also know as a balestra), which is a small jump forward used in conjunction with a variety of attacks. Good footwork is essential to the performance of a fencer. Although fencing is the sport of bladework, it is very much a game of distance, and having superior footwork can easily determine the outcome of a bout. Even expert fencers almost always include a session of footwork drills in their practice sessions, some more so than bladework exercises.

Electronic scoring equipment

Electronic scoring is used in all major national and international, and most local, sport competitions. (Classical fencing does not use such devices, as classical fencers feel that such devices hurt the practice of the art.) The electrical scoring system requires additional clothing for foil and sabre: Foil fencers wear a conducting vest, called a lamé, which covers the torso and groin. Sabre fencers wear a conducting jacket (also called a lamé), mask, and a special sabre glove or manchette that goes over a regular glove, which is conducting up to but not exceeding the wrist. Fencers used to wear a gauntlet (wrist/forearm cuff) before the weapon hand became off-target. In both weapons, the fencers' weapons are also wired. When a fencer scores a touch on an opponent, this completes an electric circuit which turns on a light and an audible alarm to notify the referee that a touch has been scored. The referee observes the fencers and the scoring machine to determine which fencer has the right-of-way. In épée and foil, the fencers carry special weapons with compressible tips. When a touch is scored, the tip of the weapon compresses, completing a circuit and signalling a touch. In foil fencing, the competitors wear special conductive vests covering the target area, called lamés, that allow a "valid" circuit to be completed, and a coloured light (usually red or green) turns on. If the touch lands off of the valid target area, an "off target" circuit is completed, and a white light turns on. In épée fencing, since target area is the entire body, the fencers do not wear special conductive clothing. In both, the strip itself must be grounded, to prevent a touch from scoring when the tip of a weapon hits the strip (as opposed to striking the opponent's toe, for example). In epee it is illegal to strike the floor next to the strip to make the light go on since the floor is not grounded out. This action would receive a yellow card. Fencers connect their weapons to the scoring apparatus via a bodywire, which is threaded from a socket in the guard of the weapon, up the sleeve of the jacket and down to the waist. A spring-loaded spool of cable, placed at the end of the piste, then connects to this bodywire. The springs in the spool ensure that the wiring extends taut from the fencer's waist to the rear of the piste, and doesn't interfere with the fencer's movements. The same effect is sometimes produced by a series of overhead wires connected by elastic instead of a spool on the ground. The electronic scoring system caused an unexpected side effect in foil: touches can be scored by using the blade like a whip and depressing the tip on the back and other obscured target areas on an opponent. The FIE recently adopted rules intended to remove this anomaly by changing how long you must hold the tip on valid target. The rule changes have been controversial, primarily on two accounts: some argue that "flicks" or "whip-hits" are a valid method of scoring a touch, and others contend that the changes cause scoring anomalies where touches which have obviously landed do not register. If their intention was to remove the flick, they have been only partly successful, as they are still possible, albeit more difficult. However, there has also been recent speculation that the change in depression timing was a direct result of the ambiguity of Right of Way. Changing the times and removing the flick makes it easier for referees to have less ambiguity in their decisions. Recently, reel-less gear has been adopted for sabre at top competitions, including the Athens Olympics. In this system, which dispenses with the spool, the lights to indicate touches are mounted on the fencers' mask. FIE regulations prohibit the use of transmitters in official scoring equipment to prevent cheating; however, extension lights may be wirelessly connected to the fencers so long as the wired lights (on the fencers themselves) remain the official indicators. Plans for reel-less épée and foil have not yet been adopted. Whenever possible, organizers use a metal mesh or panels to electrically ground the piste, although this is not always possible for small competitions. Each competitor's coquille (hand guard) is always grounded, as it is often hit when trying to strike at an opponent's hand. This allows the scoring apparatus to ignore touches on both items. Electronic scoring was introduced to épée in 1936, to foil in 1957, and to sabre in 1988.

Non-electronic scoring

Prior to the introduction of electronic scoring equipment, the president of jury was assisted by four judges. Two judges were positioned behind each fencer, one on each side of the strip. The judges watched the fencer opposite to see if he was hit. When a judge thought he saw a hit, he raised his hand. The president (referee or director) then stopped the bout and reviewed the relevant phases of the action, polling the judges at each stage to determine whether there was a touch, and (in foil and sabre) whether the touch was valid or invalid. Each judge had one vote, and the president had one and a half votes. Thus, two judges could overrule the president; but if the judges disagreed, or if one judge abstained, the president's opinion ruled. Épée fencing was later conducted with red dye on the tip, easily seen on the white uniform. As a bout went on, if a touch was seen, a red mark would appear. Between the halts of the director, judges would inspect each fencer for any red marks. Once one was found, it was circled in a dark pencil to show that it had been already counted. The red dye was not easily removed, preventing any cheating. The only way to remove it was through certain acids such as vinegar. Thus, épée fencers became renowned for their reek of vinegar until the invention of electronic equipment.

National Governing Bodies

New Zealand In New Zealand, the sport of fencing is governed by Fencing New Zealand (FeNZ) Mexico In Mexico, the sport of fencing is governed by the Federacion Mexicana de Esgrima (FME). Clubs affiliate to each state's association, who are affiliated with the FME. United States In the United States, the sport of fencing is governed by the United States Fencing Association (USFA). United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, fencing is governed by the British Fencing Association (BFA). The 'Home Nations' of Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own governing bodies under the auspices of the BFA: [http://www.welshfencing.org Welsh Fencing], [http://www.englandfencing.co.uk England Fencing], the [http://www.nifu.co.uk Northern Ireland Fencing Union] and [http://www.scottish-fencing.com Scottish Fencing] respectively.

Collegiate Fencing

Colligiate fencing has existed for a long time in the US. Some of the earliest programs came from the Ivy League schools, but now there are over a hundred fencing programs nation wide. Both clubs and varsity teams participate in the sport, however only the varsity teams may participate in the NCAA championship tournament. Due to the lack of schools in fencing, the teams actually fence inter-divison (teams from DIII fence teams from DI), and all divisions participate in the NCAA Championships. In 2005 Notre Dame edged out Ohio State to win the championship.
- List of NCAA Fencing Schools
- List of club-level US collegiate fencing programs

Notable modern fencers and fencing masters

- Christian d'Oriola, 4 times world champion, 2 olympic titles plus many team titles
- Aladar Gerevich - Hungarian sabreur who is the only athlete to win the same Olympic event six times.
- Sergei Golubitsky, World foil champion three consecutive times
- Pavel Kolobkov, Russian World Champion and Olympic Champion
- Viktor Krovopouskov - a Soviet sabreur, four-time Olympic Gold medalist
- Edoardo Mangiarotti of Italy has won more Olympic titles and World championships than any other fencer in the history of the sport.
- Aldo Nadi, gold and silver medallist in the 1920 Summer Olympic Games, well-known fencing master, and author of the classic texts, On Fencing and "The Living Sword".
- Nedo Nadi, Aldo's brother and winner of 6 Olympic Gold medals
- Vladimir Nazlymov - Soviet sabre fencer/coach, 10-time world champion, three-time Olympic Team Gold medallist (1968, 1976, 1980). Twice named the world's best sabre fencer by the International Fencing Federation. Currently, head fencing coach of The Ohio State University fencing team.
- Boris Onishchenko, Russian modern pentathlete, individual silver medallist and team gold medallist in 1972, disqualified in 1976 for using a rigged weapon.
- Mark Rakita - a Soviet sabreur, Olympic Gold medalist, David Tyshler's pupil and a highly successful coach in his own right (pupils include Victor Krovopouskov and Victor Sidjak)
- Alexander Romankov
- Italo Santelli, the fencing master who revolutionized sabre fencing with the "Hungarian" style in the 1920s.
- Giorgio Santelli, Italo's son, founder of the Santelli salle in New York City, coach to 5 U.S. Olympic teams, legendary fencing teacher, Olympic gold medallist.
- Viktor Sidjak - a Soviet sabreur, four-time Olympic Gold medalist
- László Szabó, the Hungarian master who defined a system for developing coaches and wrote the defining Fencing and the Master, the only direct student of the legendary Italo Santelli to write of what he learned. Teacher of Olympic and World champions.
- David Tyshler - a member of the first generation of internationally successful Soviet fencers, best known for his achievements as a coach, one of the great theorists of the Soviet school of fencing
- Imre Vass, who authored the definitive guide to épée fencing
- Bela Valter, Hungarian master and Olympic coach
- Francis Zold (1904-2003), Hungarian fencing master and a legendary promoter and teacher of fencing in the post-war US; a student of Italo Santelli, he served as captain of the Hungarian fencing team at the London Olympics in 1948. He emigrated to the United States following the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 and worked as a fencing coach at a number of colleges and universities, including the University of Southern California and Pomona College in Claremont, CA. He died in 2003 at the age of 99.

Notable United States fencers and fencing masters

- Peter Westbrook, bronze medallist in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, 13-time US National Men's Sabre Champion, author of Harnessing Anger, founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation, teaching and helping youth through sport.
- Michael Marx
- Sharon Monplasir
- Ed Korfanty, U.S. National women's sabre team coach, formerly Polish national coach, coach to 7 x Jr. World Sabre Champion Mariel Zagunis, 2004 Cadet Sabre champion, Caitlan Thomas, U.S. World Champion sabre team of Chris Becker, Mariel Zagunis, Sada Jacobson, Nicole Mustilli. Coach to 2004 Olympic Gold medallist Mariel Zagunis. 2003 World Veterans Champion in Men's sabre.
- Keeth Smart, first American to be ranked #1 in the World, member of 2004 gold medal US Men's Sabre team at World Cup
- Mariel Zagunis, gold medallist in the first ever Women's Sabre event at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Sabre; first American woman to win gold; first American to win gold since 1904
- Sada Jacobson, bronze medallist in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Sabre; first American female to be ranked #1 in the world, and only the second American ever to be ranked #1
- Albert Axelrod, bronze medallist in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Foil
- Janice Romary, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 Olympian U.S. Foil Fencer
- Michael D'Asaro Sr.
- Csaba Elthes, legendary coach to 6 U.S. Olympic teams, immigrated from Hungary
- Daniel Bukantz, Olympian U.S. Foil Fencer
- Gay Jacobsen D'Asaro, 1976, 1980 Olympian U.S. Women's Foil Fencer (now Gay MacLellan)
- Helene Mayer

Notable classical or historical fencers and fencing masters

- Camillo Agrippa
- David Achilleus
- Keith Beattie
- Alberto Bomprezzi
- Adam A. Crown
- René Descartes
- Nick Evangelista
- William Gaugler
- Neville Gawley
- Sean Hayes
- Tom Leoni
- Paul MacDonald
- Ramon Martinez
- Andrea Lupo Sinclair
- Chris Umbs

External links

; Governing bodies
- [http://www.fie.ch/ Fédération Internationale d'Escrime] The body responsible for all international fencing
- [http://www.usfca.org/usfca/ U.S. Fencing Coaches Association]
- [http://www.usfencing.org U.S. Fencing Association web site]
- [http://www.fencing.ca/ Canadian Fencing Federation]
- [http://www.britishfencing.com/ British Fencing Association]
- [http://www.ausfencing.org/ Australian Fencing Federation]
- [http://www.sportec.com/rfee/ Spanish Fencing Federation]
- [http://www.esgrimamallorca.com/ Balearic Fencing Federation]
- [http://www.knas.nl/ Dutch Fencing Federation KNAS] ; Other sites
- [http://www.fencing.net/ Fencing.Net] comprehensive fencing news site featuring articles on the state of the game, as well as an active forum for fencing discussion
- [http://www.fencingforum.com Fencing Forum] UK based fencing forum for fencing discussion
- [http://www.dmoz.org/Sports/Fencing/ Fencing Directory]
- [http://www.mysabah.com/2005_fencing/ Photos of Asian Fencing Championships in Borneo]
- [http://www.esgrimamex.com Esgrimamex] Mexican fencing website
- [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/rec/rec.sport.fencing.html Fencing FAQ] from rec.sport.fencing
- [http://digital.lib.msu.edu/collections/index.cfm?CollectionID=7 Classic books on fencing]
- [http://www.khsportsphotos.co.uk/fencing/ Fencing photo gallery]
- [http://www.fencingphotos.com FencingPhotos] Official photographer of the International Fencing Federation
- [http://www.anymartialart.org/09_Martial_Arts_Info/index.php?MArtID=117 AnyMartialArt.org] Fencing overview
- [http://www.guiafe.com.ar/argentina-pictures/categories.php?cat_id=112 Fencing Pictures]
- [http://www.askfred.net/ FRED: The Fencing Tournament Guru] Site with current results for most tournaments in the U.S.A., as well as info on upcoming tournaments.
- Category:Olympic sports Category:Individual sports Category:Combat sports ja:フェンシング

Fence

:This article is about the structure. For other meanings, see Fence (disambiguation). A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage (though the definitions overlap somewhat). Fences are constructed for several purposes, including:
- Agricultural fencing, to keep livestock in or predators out
- Privacy fencing, to provide privacy
- Security fencing, to prevent trespassing or theft and/or to keep children and pets from wandering away
- Decorative fencing, to enhance the appearance of a property or garden Some of the technologies developed for fencing include:
- Barbed wire fence
- Chain-link fencing
- Electric fencing
- Hedgerows of intertwined, living shrubs (constructed by hedge laying)
- Palisade
- Picket fences, generally a waist-high, painted, partially decorative fence
- Post-and-rail fencing
- Rock wall fencing
- Split-rail fences made of timber, often laid in a zig-zag pattern, particularly in newly-settled parts of the United States
- Stake-and-wire fencing
- Sunken fence or "ha-ha"
- Turf mounds in semiarid grasslands such as the western United States or Russian steppes
- Wood-panel fencing
- Snow fence Alternatives for a fence are a hedge or a ditch (occasionally with water, that is, a moat). A balustrade or railing is a kind of fence to prevent people from falling over the edge, for example, on a balcony, stairway (see railing system), roof, bridge, or elsewhere near a body of water, places where people stand or walk and the terrain goes steeply down, and so on.

Legal issues of dividing fences

Fences can be the source of bitter arguments between neighbours, and there are often special laws to deal with these problems. Common disagreements include what kind of fence is required, what kind of repairs are needed, and how to share the costs.

References

- Encyclopedia Britannica (1982). Vol IV, Fence.
- ja:塀

Knife

:"Knives" is also an episode of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5; see Knives (Babylon 5). Knives (Babylon 5) knife]] A knife is a sharp-edged hand tool used for cutting. A knife usually consists of a blade, commonly less than 12 inches (30cm) in length, attached to a handle. The blade of a knife is usually pointed and may have one or two cutting edges. Knives have been used as tools and weapons since the Stone Age. The first knives were flint or other rock, chipped or ground to an edge, sometimes with a handle. Later on with advances in smelting and metallurgy the blades were made of bronze, iron, then steel. While the materials have changed over time, the basic design remains the same. Together with the fork and spoon, the knife has been a common eating utensil in the West since the Middle Ages. In the West, multi-purpose pocket knives are probably the most common knives carried today, and the importance of the knife as a weapon is declining.

Anatomy of a knife

A knife consists of a blade, a tang and a handle. The tang is an extension of the blade into the handle. Some knives have a handguard, so that fingers cannot slip onto the edge and be cut. A fuller, sometimes called a blood gutter or blood groove, is a groove on the side, along a blade. According to a popular myth, it lets bleeding occur from an artery without removing the knife. In reality, its only function is to make knives and swords lighter while sacrificing little strength; on most knives it has more decorative worth. Additionally, a groove on the blade can reduce surface tension between the blade and the item being cut, thereby allowing easier movement or removal of the blade. [http://www.agrussell.com/knife_information/knife_encyclopedia/articles/blood_groove.html See 1] Some knives also have a shoulder in which the blade thickens as it meets the handle. In piercing, this helps keep the knife from jamming, for example in bone. In kitchen knives, it keeps chopped items from moving back toward the hand. The handle of a knife should be made of a non-slip material. For a large knife, it is desirable that the handle is thick enough that one's fingers just meet one's palm when the knife is gripped tightly. A hole in the end of the handles allows the knife to be hung or placed on a lanyard.

Blades

Materials

Knife blades are usually made of steel; although there are a few knives using materials like high tech ceramic and titanium, these are very uncommon. Stainless steels have gained popularity in the latter half of the twentieth century because they are highly resistant to corrosion (though they can rust under extreme conditions). Tests done by Razor Edge Systems, and described in their book "The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening" indicate that stainless steel knives hold an edge better than regular steels. Stainless and semi-stainless steels include D2, S30V, 154CM, ATS-34, and 440C. Chromium is the major alloying element in stainless steels, giving them the 'stainless' quality. Steels having high carbon but low chromium content are prone to rust and pitting if not kept dry. A variety of exotic steels and other materials can be used to form blades. Knife manufacturers such as Spyderco and Benchmade typically use 154CM, VG-10, S30V, and CPM440V (also known as S60V), as well as high-speed high-hardness tool steels like D2 and M2. Other manufacturers sometimes use titanium, cobalt, and cobalt containing alloys. All three are more ductile than typical stainless steels, but have quite a vocal support group despite concerns about health effects of cobalt content. The craft of Damascus steel may be lost, but marketers today misuse its name to apply to pattern welding, which creates layered and admired patterns. The cost of the process restricts it to high-end knives. There is typically more demand for exotic alloys in the utility, outdoor, and tactical or combat knife categories than there is in the kitchen knife category. Forschner/Victorinox make decent, inexpensive kitchen knives; high-end manufacturers include Wüsthof, Global, Henckels and Böker (Tree Brand). Some manufacturers, particularly of kitchen knives, make ceramic blades; these are harder and stay sharp longer, but because of their brittleness, chip and break more readily. All knife steel is tempered martensite, which means that a fine-grained crystal structure with lattice irregularities, that make it hard, is formed as it is quenched, changing it from the austenitic structure that it has at high temperature to a hard, but brittle martensitic structure. The blade is then tempered by heating to an intermediate temperature for a period to make it less brittle. Knife steel has fairly low nickel content, because nickel tends to keep steel in the austenitic structure, even when cold. Stainless knife steels are high in carbon, but "carbon steel" means there is not also a lot of chromium. Stainless steel is steel with very high (12–18%) chromium content. It is corrosion resistant (though knife steel is less so than higher nickel stainless steel) because, except in acid, one of the metals or one of the oxides is always stable. Stainless steel usually has particles of chromium (or other alloy metal) carbides. These explain its reputation for long wear (the carbides are harder than the metal) and for being harder to sharpen and not taking as good an edge as rustable, low alloy ("carbon") steel (the ceramic particles themselves cannot be sharpened easily.) The bulk hardness and toughness of stainless steel tend to be lower than those of low alloy steel. Vanadium and molybdenum are important alloy metals because they make the gain size smaller, which improves hardness and toughness. Vanadium, and perhaps molybdenum, also increase corrosion resistance.

Shapes

There are a variety of knife blade shapes; some of the most common are listed below. tempered (1) A normal blade has a curving edge, and flat back. A dull back lets the wielder use fingers to concentrate force; it also makes the knife heavier and stronger for its size. The curve concentrates force on a small point, making cutting easier. Therefore, the knife can chop as well as pick and slice. (2) A curved, trailing-point knife has a back edge that curves upward. This lets a lightweight knife have a larger curve on its edge. Such a knife is better for slicing than a normal knife. (3) A double edged or spey blade has two edges. The idea is to make a blade that cuts in either direction, with a strong sharp point. This shape is primarily used for fighting knives (daggers, bayonets) because it can cut in both directions and point in line with the handle. tempered (4) A clip point blade is like a normal blade with the tip "clipped" to make the tip thinner and sharper. The back edge of the clip can have a false edge that can be sharpened to make a second edge. The sharp tip makes the blade exceptional as a pick, or for cutting in tight places. If the false edge is sharpened it increases the knife's effectiveness in piercing. The Bowie has a clipped blade. (5) A sheepsfoot knife has a straight edge, and a curved dull back. It gives the most control, because the dull back edge is made to be held by fingers. Sheepsfoot knives are good for whittling, including sheep's hooves. (6) An Americanized tanto style knife is thick towards the point. It is superficially similar to the points on most Japanese long and short swords (katana and wakizashi). The traditional Japanese tanto knife uses the blade geometry of (1). The edge is straight. The point is actually a second edge on the end of the blade, with a total edge angle of 60-80 degrees. An ulu knife is a sharpened half-circle. This sort of blade is all edge, with no point, and a handle in the middle. It's good for scraping, and sometimes chopping. It is the strongest knife-shape. An example is a head knife, used in leatherworking both to scrape down leather (reducing thickness), and to make precise, rolling cuts to form shapes. leatherworking A drop-point blade is very similar to a clip point, but it features the back convexed down, rather than having a clip taken out of it. It handles much like the clip-point.

Types of knives

Knives can be categorized based on either form or function.

Form

Knives exist in several styles: ; Fixed blade knives : A fixed blade is a knife in which the blade does not fold and extends most of the way into the handle. This type of knife is typically stronger and larger than a folding knife. Activities that require a strong blade, such as hunting or fighting, typically rely on a fixed blade. Some famous fixed blade designs include the Ka-bar and Bowie knives. ; Folding knives : A folding knife is one that has a pivot between handle and blade, allowing the blade to fold into the handle. Most folding knives are small working blades, and pocket knives are usually folding knives. : Some folding knives have a locking mechanism: :
- The most traditional and commonplace lock is the slip-joint. This is not really a lock at all, and is found most commonly on traditional pocket knives. It consists of a backspring that wedges itself into a notch on the tang on the back of the blade. :
- The lockback is the simplest true locking knife. It is found on most traditional locking knives. It is like a slip-joint, but the lock consists of a latch rather than a backspring. To disengage, one presses the latch on the spine of the knife down, releasing the tang. :
- The linerlock is the most common today on knives, especially so-called "tactical" folders. Its main advantage is that it allows one to disengage the lock with one hand. It consists of a liner bent so that when the blade opens, the liner presses against the rear of the tang, preventing it from swinging back. To disengage, you press the liner to the side of the knife from where it is attached to the inside of the scales. :
- The framelock is a variant of the linerlock, however, instead of using the liner, the frame functions as an actual spring. It is usually much more secure than a liner lock. :
- There are many other modern locks with various degrees of effectiveness. Most of these are particular to single brands, most notably Benchmade's AXIS™ lock and SpyderCo's Compression™ lock. : Many folding knives (particularly locking models) have a small knob, or thumb-screw that allows the user to open the knife quickly with one hand. ; Dorsal vs. Ansall: In the middle ages, a dorsal meant a knife with a 'back', or a one-sided knife. An ansall was a two-sided knife, with a blade on both sides. These terms have since fallen out of use.

Function

ansall In general, knives are either working knives (everyday-use blades), or fighting knives. Some knives, such as the Scottish dirk and Japanese Tanto function in both roles. Many knives are specific to a particular activity or occupation: :
- A bread knife is a special knife with a longer, serrated blade especially designed for easily cutting all types of bread. The blade is straight with a blunt end. The serrations (teeth) allow it to cut bread using less vertical force, so keeping the bread from being compressed. They also leave fewer crumbs than most other knives. :
- A hunting knife is normally used to dress large game. It is often a normal, mild curve or a curved and clipped blade. :
- A scalpel is a medical knife, used to perform surgery. It is one of the sharpest knives available. :
- A stockman's knife is a very versatile folding knife with three blades: a clip, a spey and a normal. It is one of the most popular folding knives ever made. :
- A dive knife or diver's knife is adapted for underwater use. [http://www.divedacor.com Dacor] dive knives have tough thermal plastic handles, durable sheaths, and a convenient push-button release, for example. :
- Utility, or multi-tool knives may contain several blades, as well as other tools such as pliers. Examples include Leatherman, SOG, Gerber, Wenger and Victorinox (The "Swiss Army knife") tools. :
- An electrician's knife is specially insulated to decrease the chance of shock. :
- A kukri is a Nepalese fighting and utility knife with a deep forward curve. kukri :
- A machete is a long wide blade, used to chop through brush. This tool (larger than most knives, smaller than a sword) depends more on weight than a razor edge for its cutting power. :
- A parang, bolo or golok is a knife very similar to a machete but heavier and with a blade designed to move the center of gravity further from the hand for increased chopping power in woodier vegetation. :
- A survival knife is a sturdy knife, sometimes with a hollow handle filled with equipment. In the best hollow-handled knives, both blade and handle are cut from a single piece of steel. The end usually has an O-ring seal to keep water out of the handle. Often a small compass is set in the inside, protected part of the pommel/cap. The pommel may be adapted to pounding or chipping. Recommended equipment for the handle: a compass (usually in the pommel). Monofilament line (for snares, fishing), 12 feet of black nylon thread and two needles, a couple of plastic ties, two barbed and one unbarbed fishhook (unbarbed doubles as a suture needle), butterfly bandages, halizone tablets, waterproof matches. :
- Special purpose blades may not be made of metal. Plastic, wood and ceramic knives exist. In most applications, these relatively fragile knives are used to avoid easy detection. :
- Custom-made knives called microtomes are used to cut specimens for microscopy. The sharpest knives ever constructed are probably the ultramicrotomes with diamond edges used to slice samples for electron microscopes. :
- A boning knife is used for deboning meat, poultry, and fish. :
- A palette knife is used by artists for tasks such as mixing and applying paint, and in cooking for spreading icing (in the U.S. this knife is refered to as a frosting spatula). Some palette knives have a serrated edge on one side. For whittling (artistic wood carving) a blade as short as 25mm (1 inch) is common. Serrations on a blade "saw" through the item being cut and stay sharp for a long time. The points protect the slicing areas from nicks. A good serration pattern will stay sharp several times as long as a straight edge. The edge is sharpened at different angles for different purposes. 15 to 25 degrees is a good all-around angle. Slicing knives should have sharper angles, down to ten degrees. Chopping knives need blunter angles, out to thirty degrees.

Using knives

"Always cut away from yourself" is the basic adage to keep in mind while using a knife. By extension, assume that the knife is going to slip, and look where the blade would go. In Boy Scout parlance, an area within the radius of the arm and blade length combined is called the "blood circle". When checking the blood circle it is best to hold the knife by the blade, otherwise you defeat the purpose. Knives offered to another person should always be offered handle first. A sharp knife is often claimed to be a safer knife. Dull knives lead to excessive use of force to cut materials, increasing the chance that the blade may slip and the force will be transferred to an unintended destination such as the user or another person or object. Also, a dull or damaged knife will inflict a worse wound than a relatively 'clean' cut from a sharp knife. Conversely it can be argued that what is dangerous is not knowing how sharp a knife is and thus how much force to use. A knife should be kept clean, dry and sharp. Steel blades rust easily, but oiling will prevent pitting due to oxidation and tarnish. Most knives are not intended as pry bars or screwdrivers. Either use is likely to break off the tip of the blade, or to bend or break the knife beyond repair. Most high-quality knives are also tempered very hard, so that they will retain an edge longer. However, this may also make them brittle.

Sharpening

Knives are sharpened by grinding against a hard surface, typically stone. The smaller the angle between the blade and stone, the sharper the knife will be, but the faster it will dull. A guide is very helpful. Very sharp knives sharpen at 12-15 degrees. Typical knives sharpen at 22 degrees. Knives that chop may sharpen at 25 degrees. In general, the harder the material to be cut the higher the angle of the edge. The composition of the stone affects the sharpness of the blade (finer grain produces sharper blades), as does the composition of the blade (some metals take/keep an edge better than others). Examples of sharpening tools are the clamp-style systems, which use a clamp with several holes with pre-defined angles. The stone is mounted on a rod and is pulled through these holes, so that the angle remains consistent. Another variant is the crock stick setup, where two sticks are put into a plastic or wooden base to form a V shape. When you pull a knife up the V, the angle is held for you, as long as you hold the blade perpendicular to the base. Remove a wire edge (burr) if one forms during sharpening. Use a slighly steeper angle with very light pressure to do so. If not removed, it will break off in use, and the knife will instantly become dull. An alternate method of removing a wire edge is stroking from side to side on a very fine stone, using light strokes. This will flip the burr back and forth as it is ground off. To feel for a wire edge, move your thumb lightly across the edge. It should come off with no resistance. If you feel a little bit of pull at the edge or the nail is sightly abraded, you may have a wire burr. Honing stones (also called whetstones) come with coarse and fine grits and can be hard or soft describing whether the grit comes free. Arkansas is a traditional source for honing stones, which are traditionally (though a poor practice) used with water or honing oil. India is another traditional source for stones. Ceramic hones are also common, especially for fine grit size. Water stones (both artificial and natural) come in very fine grits. They are stored in water, and develop a layer of slurry which dulls the edge if you hone the blade as if honing into the stone. Generally, these are more costly than oilstones. Oil is not to be used on these. Oil is sometimes used to lift the metal dust, called swarf, off the stone. This is generally bad to do during polishing. There are better ways than oil to clean a hone. Coated hones, which have an abrasive, sometimes diamonds, on a base of plastic or metal are another kind of hone. Rather expensive, are sharpening blocks made with corundum. Stropping a knife is sometimes a finishing step. This is traditionally done with a leather strap impregnated with abrasive compounds, but can be done on paper, cardstock, or even cloth in a pinch. It will not cut the edge significantly, but produces a very sharp edge with very little metal loss. It is useful when a knife is still sharp, but has lost that 'scary sharp' edge from use. Other times the final step is done with a steel. This fine process can effect alignment of the edge. Realigning the edge goes a long way in keeping the knife sharp, as often times, a rolled edge will make an otherwise sharp knife dull.

Mechanical consideration of rolled edges

corundum If a knife is used as a scraper or encounters hard particles in softer materials or is used asymmetrically, there may be a sideways load near the tip. In this case the knife should resist bending or breaking. Making some simplifying assumptions about the forces and the knife edge's ability to resist them may shed some light on ideal sharpening. Assume the knife is thin and the force is applied at the very edge. Sheets of material are bent by stretching the outside or compressing the inside. Both the area taking the force and the lever arm converting force to torque are proportional to thickness, so the bending resistance is proportional to the square of the thickness. (That explains the strength per weight of aluminum, compared to steel.) If the force is applied at the edge, the bending torque is proportional to the distance from the edge. So, in this case, the ideal cross section is proportional to the square root of the distance from the edge. This is a (microscopic) parabola. This contrasts to the usual practice of trying to sharpen knives to a wedge near the edge. Perhaps this sheds light on the function of razor straps and on the practice of using two angle guides to sharpen a knife. On the other hand if the type of use cannot be predicted, it may be better to sharpen it to a wedge and let the first use bend the edge to an appropriate curve. A wedge shape has the property called "scale invariance". It has the same relative shape for any depth of cut. (These thoughts were stimulated by an article posted on rec.woodworking.)

Legal considerations

Carrying knives in public is generally forbidden by law in many countries. Exceptions may be made for hunting knives, and for knives used for work-related purposes (e.g. chef's knives). Automatic knives (switchblades) are almost universally banned from civilian carry if not possession. Balisongs (butterfly knives) are only slightly less stigmatized, and tend to be treated as switchblades by law enforcement agencies. One exception is Austria, where civilian possesion of automatic knives including double-edged automatic OTF ("out The front") daggers is allowed. Most Western European nations are very unfriendly toward all knives other than small pocket knives and similarly small tools, which are nonetheless not allowed on planes or in certain other venues. Even multitools like the SwissTool, Gerber multitools, and Leatherman multitools are often frowned upon, due to their having relatively large blades and/or locking ability. Even small knives are forbidden on all commercial airliners and are among the illegal imports that may be confiscated at airports by customs staff even if packed in luggage. The knife laws of different countries vary, but are generally strict in Western countries.

In the USA

Knife laws vary tremendously. In Texas, for example, individuals may carry knives openly or concealed so long as they are single-edged, and are not daggers, switchblades, or gravity knives (balisong legality is questionable — there have been convictions). In some other States, fixed-blade knives are banned, open carry is banned, and sometimes concealed carry of anything except pocket knives is banned. Cities have ordinances further restricting these laws; in San Antonio, TX, it is a violation to carry a folding knife having a locking blade. In some metro areas such as Washington, D.C., going into office buildings or museums, or simply loitering, carrying even small 3" folding knives can be problematic. Other restricted areas in the U.S. include court buildings and federal property (the latter of which technically has a limit of 2.5 inch blades).

In the UK

Knife possession is only legislated in public places in private almost any kind of knife may be owned with the exception of automatic knives (flick knives, balisongs, switchblades) which are under any circumstances illegal. In general, knives carried in public places are legally considered to be offensive weapons and the carrier can be charged with "possession of an offensive weapon". It is however legal to carry a knife if there is a bona fide reason to do so (e.g. chefs) or if it is part of a national costume (e.g. sgian dubh) or if it is carried for religious reasons (e.g. Sikhs). A special exception exists for pen knives (pocket knives) which are legal without reason for possession, folding knifes with locking blades are not considered pen knives and are currently a legal "grey area".

Knife modifications

Knives can be sometimes be customised to the user and/or application:
- The handle can be altered in shape (for better grip) or material (to prevent electric shock or burns).
- The surface finish of the blade can be darkened or polished.

Knife superstitions

It is traditionally believed that the giving of a knife as a gift to a friend will cut or sever the relationship. To avoid such ill luck, the receiver should give a coin in return so as to "pay" for the gift. It is common to include a penny, often taped to the blade, with a knife given as a gift which the receiver is to return as "payment."

External links

- [http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm Knife Laws of 50 States]
- [http://www.bladeforums.com BladeForums.com: The Leading Edge of Knife Discussion] - The world's largest knife community
- Category:Lithics Category:Archaeological artefact types Category:Blade weapons Category:Survival skills ja:ナイフ simple:Knife

Pike (weapon)

A pike is a pole weapon once used extensively by infantry principally as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Pikes were extremely long weapons, carried by infantry and resembled a spear between 10 and 14 feet (3 and 4 meters) long. These eventually grew in size both in shaft and head length; the longest pikes could exceed 22 feet (6 meters) in length. The steel tip was fairly long compared to the shaft, making the weapon most unwieldy in close combat. This meant that pikemen were often equipped with a sword, for close encounters. In operation on the battlefield, pikes were often used in large square phalanx or "hedgehog" formations. For example, the Scots used highly disciplined units of pikemen called schiltrons to defeat English knights and heavy cavalry at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The Spanish developed the tercio formation where arquebusier formations protected the flanks of the phalanx. Large pike formations, sometimes defending attached musketeers, were in use during the 17th century, but were eventually rendered obsolete by the bayonet and the demise of the cavalry charge in the face of more effective firearms such as the flintlock musket. However, in Ireland, the pike was widely used by insurgents in the rebellion of 1798 and as late as the abortive Young Ireland rebellion of 1848. The landsknechts were pikemen of renown during the 15th to the 17th centuries, mercenaries of the European Renaissance. They were most skillful in their handling of the long pike. The Landsknecht phalanx also contained two-handed swordsmen and halberdiers for close combat against infantry. In the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, the pike phalanx formed the defensive part of the army with its staying power; the cavalry formed its offensive force. Retroactively most very long spears are called pikes, such as the Macedonian sarissa. Pikes as a main battlefield weapon was replaced by the bayoneted firearm as firearms became more reliable starting during the mid 17th century. It was the plug bayonet that became popular during the late 17th century that completed the transition of firearm and polearm into one weapon, and this transition began the end of the pike as a battlefield weapon. Pikes today are used to carry the colours of an infantry regiment. Awl pike (Ahlspiess) is not pike in itself, but a completely different weapon.

References

- Military Heritage discussed pikes as a military weapon that was eventually replaced by the bayoneted firearm (William McPeak, Military Heritage, August 2005, Volume 7, No. 1, p. 10, p. 12, and p. 13). Category:Pole weapons Category:Middle Ages weapons ja:パイク

Baton

Baton refers to:

Dictionary meaning

The term baton refers to any of several types of cylindrical or tapered instruments composed of a wide variety of materials, and of differing functions:
- A baton (billy, billy club, nightstick, riot stick) is a type of striking/parrying weapon, staff or club, typically used by police, military, security personnel or martial artists.
- A baton (symbol) is also used as a symbolic attribute of military or other office.
- Conductors use light-weight batons for directing an orchestra, choir or mixed performers. These are usually very thin, tapered, often with a more substantial handle, and look somewhat like wands.
- Each team of Relay racers carries and passes on (an act that can cost prescious seconds) to each athlete starting his turn a baton, usually cylindrical, holow and made of wood or a lightweight metal.
- A baton is also a light metal rod that is used for keeping time, twirling, and juggling in marching band and parade performances, usually by drum majors or majorettes.
- A baton also refers to the center stick of a set of Devil Sticks, which is twirled and manipulated using one or two control sticks, also called the stick by stick jugglers.

Expandable Baton

Key intermediate weapons for law enforcement and security professionals that use such weapons to gain control over assaultive subjects. The baton is in itself just a cylindrical shaft that contains telescopic-like metal pieces that lock into each other when expanded. When extend and swung, the expendable baton can deal massive damage due to the kinetic energy emmited from its solid metal tip upon striking a surface. Most strikes are done on large muscles areas of the subject in order to avoid permanent injury. Expendable batons come in various sizes, including 16,21,26,and 31 inch when extended. Synonyms: telescope baton,extendable baton

Club (weapon)

with a club]] A club or cudgel is perhaps the simplest of all mêlée weapons. Essentially, a club is simply a large stick to hit things with. Related mêlée weapons such as maces and flails are variations upon the club. Typically, a club is small enough to be wielded in one hand. Bludgeons that require both hands to wield are called quarterstaffs in English.

A simple weapon

The club is perhaps the simplest of all true weapons; a club is typically carved from a single piece of wood; any piece of wood that is narrow enough on one end to be grasped by the hand of its wielder can be made into an improvised club. Baseball bats and axe or pickaxe handles are common instances of clubs. In folklore, fantasy literature, and comics, clubs are associated with barbarians and giants. The hero Heracles was famous for wielding a club. Many, probably most, stereotyped cartoon cavemen carry what is probably usually meant by the slang expression "ugly-club", a rough conic club so large as to probably overwhelm the strength of the best-developed human wrist. In computer and roleplaying games, a distinction is often drawn between a "simple" and "composite" club, where the composite club is formed from two or more materials joined together (as opposed to simply hefting a stick). In the game of Cluedo or Clue, players must specify which weapons a murder was committed with, among choices that include a wrench, a lead pipe, or a candlestick, and as to their purpose—a weapon inflicting trauma—each of these household items serves as a club. The wounds inflicted by a club are generally known as bludgeoning or blunt-force trauma injuries.

Specialized clubs

Various kinds of clubs are used in martial arts, police work, and other specialised fields.

Batons, truncheons, and nightsticks

police A baton or truncheon (nightstick or billy-club in American English) is essentially a stick of less than arms-length, usually made of wood, plastic, or metal, and carried by law enforcement, correctional, riot control, and security personnel for non-lethal self-defense or combat situations. A baton is used to strike, jab and block and to aid armlocks. There are several variations, but most common are the telescopic or expandable straight baton and the side-handle baton. At the end of the 20th century, a popular type of telescopic straight baton or friction lock baton was made of steel tubing which collapsed together for carrying, then slid apart to expand. A small metal knob on the end added weight when the baton was used as a bludgeon. Manufacturers include ASP, Monadnock, Casco and Hiatt. Side-handle batons, typified by the Monadnock PR-24 Prosecutor that was made infamous by the LAPD in the Rodney King beating, come in both rigid and expandable models. The rigid models are typically made of polycarbonate. The expandable models usually have an aluminum chassis from which a polycarbonate section extends. Almost all side-handle batons in use are made by Monadnock. Side handle batons are derived from the tonfa, a Japanese martial arts weapon, and are used with a similar fighting technique. weapon Both types of batons have their advantages and disadvantages. Side-handle batons are more flexible, enabling many more kinds of strike and block, but they require more training to use than straight batons. Side-handle batons are also very bulky. Expandable straight batons are more compact and are easier to carry covertly and when driving. Currently, many policemen and others carry long, metal bodied flashlights which are used both for illumination and as a club. The 5 D-cell Maglite is a popular example, and was also made infamous by another police brutality incident, the Malice Green beating in Detroit. Up until the mid-1990s British police officers carried traditional wooden truncheons of a sort which had changed little from Victorian times, but since the early 1990s all forces have chosen to replace truncheons with more modern side-handle and telescopic batons for all but ceremonial duties. Compare mace and staff of office for the marrying of defense and symbolism. In the British Army the pickaxe handle is used as a standard guard baton when firearms are not carried, and is also used for measuring, so by Army rules must be exactly a yard long. Pickaxe handles are also used as "raft beaters" to help tighten the knots in the traditional pole-and-barrel rafts sometimes used during training.

Blackjacks

A blackjack (known in British English as a cosh) is a small, easily-concealed weapon consisting of a leather-wrapped lead weight attached to the end of a leather-wrapped coil-spring or rigid shaft, with a lanyard or strap on the end opposite the weight. Materials other than lead and leather are sometimes used to construct these weapons. Blackjacks are popular due to their low profile and small size, and their potential to inflict enormous damage on human beings. A blackjack is sometimes referred to as a sap, which is the name for a weapon of similar design (also called a slapper), which has a flat profile as opposed to a cylindrical one. A second variation on the sap is a sandsock or sandclub, which as the name implies, is a weapon of flexible sheath construction filled with a heavy, fragmented weight. The sand of a sandsock may in fact be sand, but is more likely to be lead shot. The covering may be a pouch of leather or heavy cloth, such as denim or canvas. The sandsock is almost universally used as an improvised weapon. Blackjacks can be used to inflict devastating damage on bones and tissues, and are considered in many jurisdictions to be deadly weapons. Blackjacks are also illegal in many jurisdictions. Traditionally used by police officers, they have been replaced to a large extent by telescopic and side-handle batons.

Shillelagh

- See also Irish stickfighting A Shillelagh is a wooden club, typically made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob on the end, that is associated with Ireland in folklore. They are traditionally made from blackthorn (sloe) wood (Prunus spinosa) or oak. It was named after the Shillelagh forest in County Wicklow, a forest of oak which produced some fine examples. The wood would be smeared with butter and placed up a chimney to cure, giving the Shillelagh its typical black, shiny appearance. Shillelaghs may be hollowed at the heavy "hitting" end and filled with molten lead to increase the weight; this sort of Shillelagh is known as a 'loaded stick'. They are commonly the length of a walking stick (distance from the floor to one's wrist with elbow slightly bent). Most also have a heavy knob for a handle which can be used for striking as well as parrying and disarming an opponent. In the folksong "Finnegan's Wake", "shillelagh law" refers to a brawl.

Knobkierie

A Knobkierie, occasionally spelt knopkierie or knobkerry, is a short wooden club with a heavy knob on one end traditionally used by Southern African tribes (e.g. Zulu) as a weapon. The word Knobkerrie derives from the Dutch knop (button), and the Hottentot kirri (stick). The head, or knob, is often ornately carved with faces or shapes that have symbolic meaning. The knobkierie itself serves this function on the coat of Arms of South Africa.

The Jutte/Jitte - Weapon of the feudal Japanese police

One of the more unique weapons of the Samurai police [Keisatsu-Kan] was the Jitte. Basically an iron truncheon, the Jutte was popular because it could parry the slash of a razor-sharp sword and disarm an assailant without serious injury. Essentially a defensive or restraining weapon, the length of the Jutte requires the user to get extremely close to those being apprehended. A single hook or fork, called a Kagi, on the side near the handle allowed the Jutte to be used for trapping or even breaking the blades of edged weapons, as well as for jabbing and striking. The Kagi could also be used to entangle the clothes or fingers of an opponent. Thus, feudal Japanese police used the Jutte to disarm and arrest suspects without serious bloodshed. Eventually, the Jutte also came to be considered a symbol of official status.[http://www.e-budokai.com/hibuki/jutte.htm]

In sports

Clubs or club-like implements figure in a number of sports. The tools used in golf to hit the ball with are called golf clubs, although golf clubs are perhaps less traditionally club-like than baseball or cricket bats, both of which are still made of wood; a baseball bat is a round club traditionally made from ash tree wood; a cricket bat resembles a paddle and is traditionally made from willow wood. Few golf clubs are made of wood in current play. A much smaller wooden truncheon-like bat is used to strike the ball in pelota, a game similar to jai-alai. A shillelagh appears in the logo of the Boston Celtics The Shillelagh Trophy is an annual football game between members of the University of Notre Dame and Purdue University and takes place in Indiana, United States. The Jeweled Shillelagh is awarded to the winner of the annual football game between the University of Notre Dame and the University of Southern California. The club has small medallions representing the winner. A shamrock for the Irish, and a Trojan head for USC. Notre Dame leads the series 42-29-5. In case of a tie, the medallion is a shamrock with trojan head overlay. The first club ran out of room and is stored at Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana, United States.

External references

- [http://www.nationaldefenders.com/tonfa.htm Side Handled Batons]
- [http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/prgpdfs/fprs11.pdf Assessing the Expandable Side Handle Baton – a UK government document comparing various types of baton]
- [http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=12001-13000&file=12020-12040 State of California Penal Code sections 12020 - 12040]
- [http://www.fighttimes.com/magazine/magazine.asp?issue=4&article=121 The Kegel] A club used as a weapon, and in a game
- [http://www.toddgroup.com/tsb45/tactical-baton.htm TSB45 Tactical Baton]A new and innovative baton
- [http://www.fighttimes.com/magazine/magazine.asp?issue=4&article=124 TSB45: The Baton of the Future] An article on the TSB45 Baton Category:Clubs Category:Police weapons

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every four years and comprising summer and winter games. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Frèdy, Baron de Coubertin in the late 19th century. The Games of the Olympiad, better known as the Summer Olympics, have been held every fourth year since 1896, with the exception of the years during the World Wars. A special edition for winter sports, the Olympic Winter Games, was established in 1924. Originally these were held in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but starting with 1994 the Winter Games are in between, two years after the Games of the Olympiad.

Ancient Olympics

1994 to the opening ceremony.]] 1994 The origin of the ancient Olympic Games has been lost, although there are many legends surrounding its origins. One of these legends associates the first Games with the ancient Greek concept of εκεχειρία (ekecheiria) or Olympic Truce. The first recorded celebration of the Games in Olympia was in 776 BC, although this was certainly not the first time they were held. The Games were then mostly a local affair, and only one event was contested, the stadion race. From then on, the Games slowly became more important throughout ancient Greece, reaching their zenith in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, contests alternating with sacrifices and ceremonies honouring both Zeus (whose colossal statue stood at Olympia), and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia famous for his legendary chariot race, in whose honour the games were held. The number of events increased to twenty, and the celebration was spread over several days. Winners of the events were broadly admired and were immortalised in poems and statues. The Games were held every four years, and the period between two celebrations became known as an Olympiad. The Greeks used Olympiads as one of their methods to count years. The most famous Olympic athlete lived in these times: The sixth century BC wrestler Milo of Croton is the only athlete in history to win a victory in six Olympics. The Games gradually lost in importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Olympic Games were seen as a pagan festival threatening Christian influence, and in 393 the emperor Theodosius outlawed the Olympics, ending a thousand year period of Olympic Games. During the ancient times normally only young men competed. Performers were usually naked, not only as the weather was appropriate but also as the festival was meant to be, in part, a celebration of the achievements of the human body. Upon winning the games, the victor would get not only the prestige of being in first place but also a crown of olive leaves. During competition for some of the events, many of the participants would use oils to keep their skin smooth, as well as provide an appealing lustre to anyone who saw them. It is important to note that the ancient olympic games did not include the carrying of a torch, nor was a symbol made up of rings included. These elements were [http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/olympics/games.html invented during the 1936 games hosted by the Nazi regime in Berlin.]

Revival of the Olympic Games

Theodosius The Olympic Games did not die in 393. Already in the 17th century a sports festival, the "Olympick Games" was held in England. Over the next few centuries, similar events were organised in France and Greece, but these were all small-scale and certainly not international. The interest in reviving the Olympics grew when the ruins of ancient Olympia were uncovered by German archaeologists in the mid-19th century. At the same time, the Baron de Coubertin, founder of modern Olympics, searched for a reason for the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). He thought the reason was that the French had not received proper physical education, and sought to improve this. In 1890 he attended the Wenlock Olympian Society. Coubertin also thought of a way to bring nations closer together, to have the youth of the world compete in sports, rather than fight in war. In his eyes, the recovery of the Olympic Games would achieve both of these goals. In a congress at the Sorbonne University, in Paris, held from June 16 to June 23, 1894 he presented his ideas to an international audience. On the last day of the congress, it was decided that the first modern Olympic Games would take place in 1896 in Athens, in the country of their birth. To organize the Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was established, with the Greek Demetrius Vikelas as its first president. The first modern Olympic Games were a success. Although the total number of athletes was less than 250, the games were the largest international sports event ever held. The Greek officials and public were also very enthusiastic, and they even proposed to have the monopoly of organizing the Olympics. The IOC decided differently, however, and the second Olympic Games took place in Paris, France.

Modern Olympics

France After the initial success, the Olympics struggled. The celebrations in Paris (1900) and St. Louis (1904) were overshadowed by the world's fair exhibitions in which they were included. The so-called Intercalated Games (because of their off-year status, as 1906 is not divisible by four) were held in 1906 in Athens, as the first of an alternating series of Athens-held Olympics. Although originally the IOC recognized and supported these games, they are currently not recognized by the IOC as Olympic Games, which has given rise to the explanation that they were intended to mark the 10th anniversary of the Modern Olympics. Most contemporary Olympic historians, however, consider them to be official Olympic Games. Either way, the 1906 Games again attracted a broad international field of participants — in 1904, 80% had been American — and great public interest, thereby marking the beginning of a rise in popularity and size of the Games.

Growth

From the 245 participants from 15 nations in 1896, the Games grew to more than 10,500 competitors from 200 countries at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The number of competitors at the Winter Olympics is much smaller than at the summer edition; 2,400 athletes competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 78 events. With over 16,000 broadcasters and journalists present in Sydney, the Olympics are one of the largest media events. In 2000, an estimated 3.8 billion viewers watched the Olympics on television. The growth of the Olympics is the largest problem the Olympics face today. Although allowing professional athletes and attracting sponsorships from major international companies solved financial problems in the 1980s, the large number of athletes, media and spectators makes it difficult and expensive for host cities to organise the Olympics.

Membership

Over 200 countries currently participate in the Olympics. This is a noticeably higher number than the number of countries recognised by the United Nations, which is only 192. This is because the International Olympic Committee allows nations to compete which do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that many other international organisations demand. As a result, many colonies and dependencies are permitted to host their own Olympic teams and athletes even if such competitors hold the same citizenship as another member nation. Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and Hong Kong, all of which compete as sovereign nations despite the fact that politically they are considered part of another country and their residents do not carry citizenship from that nation. Also, since 1980, Taiwan has competed under the name "Chinese Taipei", and under a flag specially prepared by the IOC as prior to that year the People's Republic of China refused to participate in the Games because Taiwan had been competing under the name "Republic of China".

Political interference

War

Despite what Coubertin had hoped for, the Olympics did not stop wars from happening. In fact, three Olympiads had to pass without Olympics because of war; due to World War I the 1916 Games were cancelled, and because of World War II the games of 1940 and 1944 were also skipped.

Terrorism

In 1972, when the Summer Games were held in Munich, West Germany, eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists. A bungled liberation attempt led to the deaths of all of the abducted athletes and a policeman, with five of the terrorists also being killed. This event is known today as the Munich Massacre. During the Summer Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta, USA, a bomb was set off at the Centennial Olympic Park, killing two and injuring more than 100. The bomb was planted by Eric Robert Rudolph, who is an alleged adherent of the extremist group Christian Identity, a sect that holds that white Christians are God's chosen people, and that others will be condemned to hell.

Politics

Politics also interfered with the Olympics on several other occasions, the most well-known of which was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin; the games were used as propaganda by the German Nazis. The Soviet Union did not participate in the Olympic movement until the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Instead, the Soviets organized an international sports event called Spartakiads, from 1928 onward. Many atheletes from associations organized by Communists or close to them chose or were barred from participating in Olympic games and instead particitipated in Spartakiads. A political incident on a smaller scale occurred at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Two African American track-and-field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, performed the Black Power salute on the victory stand of the 200-meter track and field race. As a result, the IOC told the USOC either to send the two athletes home, or to withdraw the complete track and field team. The USOC opted for the former. In 1963, various newly independent nations set up a challenge to the IOC called Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO), which openly espoused politics in sport. The IOC declared participants in GANEFO "personae non gratae" for the Olympic Games. Between 1996 and 2002, Afghanistan's National Olympic Committee was suspended from the IOC because of the Taliban regime´s ban on any kind of sports. Afghanistan returned to Olympic competition in 2004.

Boycotts

In 1956 the Games were boycotted by the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, because of the withdrawal of the Hungarian Uprising by the Warsaw Pact. Furthermore, the Melbourne Games were boycotted by Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon because of the Suez Crisis. In 1968, 1972, and 1976, a large number of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott, to force them to ban respectively South Africa, Rhodesia, and New Zealand. The IOC conceded in the first 2 cases, but refused in 1976 because the boycott was prompted by a New Zealand rugby union tour to South Africa, and rugby was not an Olympic sport. The countries withdrew their teams after the games had started; some African athletes had already competed. A lot of sympathy was felt for the athletes forced by their governments to leave the Olympic Village; there was little sympathy outside Africa for the governments' attitude. Twenty-two countries (Guyana was the only non-African nation) boycotted the Montreal Olympics, because New Zealand wasn't banned. Also in 1976, Canada told the team from Taiwan that it could not compete at the Montreal Summer Olympics under the name "Republic of China", despite a compromise that would have allowed Taiwan to use the ROC flag and anthem. Taiwan refused and as a result did not participate until 1984, when it returned under the moniker "Chinese Taipei". In 1980 and 1984, the Cold War opponents boycotted each other's games. The United States and 64 other Western nations refused to compete at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, for reason of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but 16 other Western nations did compete at the Moscow Olympics. The Soviet Union and 14 of its Eastern Bloc partners countered by skipping the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, arguing the safety of their athletes could not be guaranteed there. In 1988, North Korea boycotted the Seoul Olympics to protest at not being made co-host with South Korea. Three other nations, Cuba, Ethiopia and Nicaragua (due mostly to economic problems of sending athletes to compete) stayed away in solidarity, though it was not officially announced as a boycott so as to avoid censure by the IOC. Iran's general sporting boycott of Israel is manifest not in explicit refusal to compete (which would attract sanctions) but in withdrawals due to "injuries" and similar reasons. During the 2004 Summer Games at Athens, Greece, judoka Arash Miresmaeili intentionally over-ate, exceeding the weight limit and forfeiting his match against Israeli Ehud Vaks, the first time this had happened at the Olympics.

Olympic Movement

A number of organizations are involved in organizing the Olympic Games. Together they form the Olympic Movement. The rules and guidelines by which these organizations operate are outlined in the Olympic Charter. At the heart of the Olympic Movement is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), currently headed by Jacques Rogge. It can be seen as the government of the Olympics, as it takes care of the daily problems and makes all important decisions, such as choosing the host city of the Games, and the program of the Olympics. Three groups of organizations operate on a more specialized level:
- International Federations (IFs), the governing bodies of a sport (e.g. FIFA, the IF for football (soccer))
- National Olymp

Fencing

The emergence of modern fencing

Fencing philosophies

Sport Fencing

Classical Fencing

Historical Fencing

Stage Fencing

Academic Fencing

SCA Fencing

The weapons

Anatomy of the weapons

French Grip

Italian Grip

Pistol Grip

Other Grips

Foil

Épée

Sabre

Right of way

Protective clothing

The practice of fencing

Footwork

Electronic scoring equipment

Non-electronic scoring

National Governing Bodies

Collegiate Fencing

Notable modern fencers and fencing masters

Notable United States fencers and fencing masters

Notable classical or historical fencers and fencing masters

See also

External links

Fence

Legal issues of dividing fences

See also

References

Knife

Anatomy of a knife

Blades

Materials

Shapes

Types of knives

Form

Function

Using knives

Sharpening

Mechanical consideration of rolled edges

Legal considerations

In the USA

In the UK

Knife modifications

Knife superstitions

Further reading

External links

Pike (weapon)

References

Baton

Dictionary meaning

Expandable Baton

Club (weapon)

A simple weapon

Specialized clubs

Batons, truncheons, and nightsticks

Blackjacks

Shillelagh

Knobkierie

The Jutte/Jitte - Weapon of the feudal Japanese police

In sports

External references

Olympic Games

Ancient Olympics

Revival of the Olympic Games

Modern Olympics

Growth

Membership

Political interference

War

Terrorism

Politics

Boycotts

Olympic Movement