l

I

VOL. 2 No. 4 FEBRUARY 29, 1937

~. C. IF. A. INTiERCOLLEGIATE FENCING ASSOCIATION

CHAMPIONSHIPS AND BALL

Hotel Commodore Main Ball Room

Friday and Saturday March 26th and 27th

FINALS AND BALL

The Evening of March 27th

Dancing to Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra

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fencing salles, A. A. offices or through THE RIPOSTE

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VOL . 2 No. 4 FEBRUARY 25TH 1937 PRICE 10 CENTS

LT. Si'.NJ:::S R.:.'.:Gitl NS '-:PEE TITLE Lt. Thomas J. Src nds won tho Motropo­

li tern Epoe Chc<Jnpion:Jhip by dofkiting Jose do Cn.prilcs 3-1 in ~ fence-off at the SCLllo d 1.,\.rmus Vince in the o,: rly morning hours of Fc brun.ry 12th :lftcr seve n hours of competition. 8flnds, who hc,d suffered two losses through the i;i:celiminctry rounds n.nd on,; in the finc.l rallied to de fcrl.t the previously un­beaten de Co.prilcs 3-2 r.ftcr trailing 2-0 vri. th 2 minutes to go in the r c gulur find pool. He then rcgoincd the ti tlc he hnd hold in 1~34 and 1935 by ugnin scorinp; over his fo~.lov1-0lym:pi.an in the fence-off.

Third plnce ·went to N.Y.U. 1 s inter­colh gio.tc champion, Ted Gold, by virtue of his 3-0 victory over his French rivnl Pierre Netter. John R. Huffmo.n, who Geared ovor Sunds in the fi nn.l, wns fourth :lnd J or..n V. Grom bt'..ch tied i,yi th Netter for the f'i fth -pl'.'..cc.

Thirty-four contestn.nts wore on h:cnd ctt tho beginning of the tournccmcnt, r.nd o.s only t o strips could be run s~~ul­tc.neously, the scmi-fi:rul l round was not stn.rtcd until n.ftor 11:30 .P.L. The ____ _(_t;:_g_ntJn_',!g.1.__oll. Ptcf,.'L .~l ___ ·- ·-·---- ·

MI SS LLOYD Irn:t~ PS Gm~:co Tl~OPHY

Hiss M:ci·ion LJ.oyd, of the Sc.llo d 1 -

n.rmos Vince, · on the Groco trophy c.ftc r n. fonco-off with Miss Ottilie Foy, Greco Fencing 1\co.dcmy. The cup, pi'csc:ntod in 1933, hQS now boon retired by Miss Lloyd by virtue of her victories in 1933, 1936 o.nd 1037. Mrs. Dolly Funke, :els o of the Greco F'-mcing /,c:\.d' my, crnne third r\.ftor losing to r.iiss i}"c1 ton ::-~nd

Hrs. Foy. Mrs. F<by, o.lthough one of the old.or

fenccrsJ h~s not been n.ctivc in recent mcc·ts, so her :-:.ppc::u·c.nce in tho finr.ls vrc.s something of "· :.iurprisc, sp,Jcin.lly since. she quc.li ficd from the scmi-f:i.nc.l by de fr·ating Miss hV.r·ici. Cerra. who ·w::i.s fn.vorod to plc:.cc ~"'..mong tho top-notch ors.

ARMI T1•GE 'YINS NB'i'ROPOLI T.:\.;J S1.BRB CROVm iform~1n Anni tr.go, nr,tion<:i.l chnmpion,

rop.;r..incd the Metropoli fo.n Srtbrc Ti tlc :::1.t the Sctllo d8Armos Vince on Fcbru'.\.ry 18th, with •1 w'1ns nnd 1 loss in the fin::.l pool. His conqueror, John R. IIuff'mn.n, who won 5-0, too~ second plo.ce, n.nd Jose R. rlc Cr--.prilcs dcfen.ted 1~rvin S •. Leal for tho third plr\.co in ct fence-off ::"tftcr they hc.d ended th0 fino.1 in o. perfect tic in bouts ftnd touches rocei -red and given. Miguel 1~. de Cn.prilcs r:1.nd. ·;H1ckoln.s Mun.,y ~- o re the othc r fino lists.

TYm ;nombcrs of tho Olsmpic toa.m were climinn.tod on touches in the somi-finn.1. On the first strip, Huff~nrm and ,J. dl' Cn.prilcs gw·.lified of'.sily, but a. triple tic for tho third plr100 between Lccl, Brudor nnd "Jimmy" Ca.stollo was resolved in fr:.vor of Lcul by the mo.rgin of 3 touches Tho for.turc of this :pool wn.s Jirmny c~'..Stcllo

n.nd his fencing. He dofcntcd Bruder ::i.nd ,'\.c .::l ~ '.nd cD.i-rhd Huffman to n. 5~4 decision. Hovrcvcr, n. loss to Jim Hutchinson 5-4 in the i:~st bout deprived Crtstollo of n. plc.cc in the finn.l. In the s e cond pool, M. de C'.cr;irilus n.nd ,'\.rrnitr.gc 1..f\.ch won 4 bouts, ,.,nd r~ tripl~r tic in victories botvrecn

--~(~C_ontinucd on pri.r;o 2) HISS Di,LTOH ';INS JUlJIOR CHi:JVIPIONSHIP

Miss Mr.de line fr, lton, former I nt ... ,r­collogi:".tc Chccmpion, ·won the lfational Jr. Foil Chr"'..mpionship on Fcbrun.ry Hith n.t the Fencers Club by scoring 8 wins in 9 bouts in the finn.l rounrl-robin. Hor only con­quL ror wrcs Miss B['..rbc..rn. Cochr'.~nc v1ho finiBhcd fourth with 6 victories.

Miss H:'.. rin. Cc rrri. won the silver mcdnl ov-cr Miss Mildrc·d Stcwrcrt, vrhcn both finished with 7 wins, but Miss Corrn. hf.1.d rucoivod only 23 tc·uchus to her riv'll's 26.

Hiss C:"..rol ~.lossn.ndroni, r•·.nking highest r.mon~ junior women fencers, r,nd rln over­whelming fr .. vori tc to 1·:in, fenced well bclrw her best fonn and finished fifth 1;•ith five win~. Hrs. Dolly Funke '.":nd. Miss Dorothy Gr:i.rmnclmr.n followed ni th 4 and 3 winn rcsp1.lctivoly.

Vol. 2, No. 4 THE. RIPOSTE

THE IUPOSTE 136' l'fo.vcrly Pln.co,,.pt.3-,'.'..,N.Y .c.

Jose R. de Cnprilos ••••• Editor in Chief Vfillin.m A. Forry II I •••• Mr-.nn.r;ing;t Edi tor Miguel A. do Cn.prilos.Tochnicul Adviser George H. Brocd ••• Foroign Corrospondcnn B[lrbctro.. L. Cochrrc.ne .Circulo.tion l.18.n '.lgor

Subscription ~l.00 for 12 issues $1.50 outside of u.s.A

----Sii.NDS ' 'iINS J:JiET:i\OPOLIT ilN EPEE

(Continued) pre;limirn\ry round situ tho climincttion of

: tho defending chn.mpion, Hugh V • .i'clcssc.n­droni, ·when ho lost to Notter r.nd Gold by 3-2 scores. The o.bsence of M. de c~prilcs Trrwy J n.ocko 1 r-.nd J. Bo.rmc..ck dutrc>. ctod somowha.t from the qun.li ty of the tournn.­ment nhich dcv,1loped into cm intorminccblc mf'.rc..thon. Tho outstf'.nding pcrform n. nccos, nsido from thn.t of Sa.nds, Hero J'osc de ---------1

PHIL:.DELFRL· FENCERS CLUB'S 40th ;,.NNIVERS.:,RY.

Tho 40th ;~nni versn.ry of tho Philc,­delphin. Fencers Club, second oldest in :".moric:c, wr.s celebrn.ted n.t the So..lle d 1 llrn1cs of Hn.jor Willio.m J, Horme\nn on Fcbruo.ry 20th with Q series of tumbling n.nd fencing exhibitions. Colonel ;.nthony J. Drexel Biddle, President of' the Club, rmd Mrtjor Hormo..pn [lctod f'.S officiols in chQrgo of tho interesting progro.m.

Tho fencing cxhibi tions bcgo.n v.Ji th a. foil lesson by tho f:::.mous George Sc.ntclli to Josu do Cnprilcs, rnd rco..chcd r'.. climf\x v.ri th the so.bro lesson n.nd bout between Professor Scmtelli o.nd John R. Ruffinn.n, which brought the di stinguishcd n.udionco of ci vilir.ns, QrIDY, na.vy, r-.nd mctrino officers to their feet in thunaorous 8.pplo..uso. 1\mong tho purticipD.nts in tho vrtriod cxhi bi tions W'Cro :Miguel du C~:priles, who fenced cpeo wj th his brother cmd v.Ji th Llbcrt Keiser, of Philn.dclphin.; n.nd sa.brc y.Jith Chtcrlos F. Kolb; J. Brooks B Po..rkcr, who cngrtgod in· o.. fine sn.bro bout Yli th Huffmf'.n o..nd o.. loss on with Sc.11tolliJ Professor Rico.rdo i·rost, of tho home club, who engngod in n. foil bout with ' 'lilli::'..m J. Hcnnn.nn Jr. a.ftor tho lr.ttor hn.d gi vcn ~. mf'.storful porformC\.nce in tumbling; Frmik Good-fc J.low, tho vctorr.n chC'.mpion, 1ho fenced Jose de C8.prilcs in opoo; Jo..y Stocl<:h::1.rdt, of 1fost Point, rmd HC\.ywood Mr.loy, of Lof\guo Islf\rni Nf'.vy Y[trd, who exhi bi tcd \·ri th the foils.

~~~--~~--~~~~~

HEN'S GJmco TROPHY The ::mnunl foil tournnmcnt for tho Greco trophy will be hold ut tho new Greco ,_c::i.dcmy on Hr.rch 11th n.t 7: 30.

CQprilcs 1 string of 12 consecutive wins, n.nd Jerc.n Grombl\ch' s 7 victories ~-. nd 2 tics in his first 10 bouts, n.lthough the ln.tter tired town.rd the end c:. nd suffered successive defoQts in his ln.st 4 bouts. Gold f'..nd Notto!" fenced sten.dily through tho competition. Von Munchhlluson hC\.d [l ~inc record of victories until his ln.st 4 bouts of tho s emi-finf'.1, vrhen lc-.ck of pr\tionce lost t, im a. chrmce to rec.ch tho fino.1. Princeton's tno roprescnto.tives, SQrnoff a.nd PC\.rmenticr, sho·wod good form through the preliminC\.rics rmd semi-finn.l, a.s did Kevin Knpner of the U.F.C. o.nd HonnQl Lov.Jis of N.Y .u. George ThompsQn C\.~ter n. fino first round porformo.nce, tired in tho somi-finr>.l winning 2 o.nd losing 3 bouts o.11 by n single touch.

lcRIUTllGE WINS SilBRi:: TITLE (Continued)

Murrty, Stcwn.rt c.nd Bruce "1nllis, v10..s

resolved in fnvor of Murny by tho mnrgin of one touch. Stovmrt hnd tho distinction of bof'.ting Anni tr-,gc 5-2~ but :--. '5-1 loss to Murc.y ·w8.s fc.tnJ. to his cha.nccs.

Throughout the compcti ti on, the l:'.ck pf export officin.ls wns keenly fol t, f'.s sovorrll times fl bout '\'fO.S lost by n. contcst­rcnt who hn.d not boon touched o.t o.11 in tho dccisi vo excho.ngc. J.t one time or C\.nothcr HuffinC',n, M. do Cnprilos cmd Muro.y wore' the victims, rtnd tho si tuc,tion vms not condu­si vo to tho best fencing on tho pC\.rt of the contosto.nts. Until defoC'..tcd by ..'~col on 8.

phrmtom decision, Huf:frn:cn ho.d swept thro~G) 8 bouts without ::'. loss.

Thero is little doubt tho..t tho length o ~ tho lfotropoli tc,n compoti tions in C\.ll wor po· opporc..tod to discourngc tho r.ttondn.ncc of officials. It is to bo hoped thQt stops will be truccn next yco..r to runcliorn.tc tho si tun.ti on.

Vol. 2 No. 4 THE TIIPOSTE Pn.gc 3

GRECO S.\LLE H:,s FOilILL OPENING. Tho formC\l opening of th1; now Greco

Sc..llc on Fcbrun.ry 21st wns fofltured by c.. series of exhibitions preceding o..n inform::cl dn.ncc. Professor. ;Lr.thony Grcco pcrsonfllly displn.ycd his vcrsn.­tilc talents, giving r, lesson to his vroll•lmown pupil, l'·lrs. Dolly Funke, nnd l~tcr ongc..ging in n. short bout y;i th hod fencing upcc with Loo Nun(.S in '.c bo~t.utiful displn.y of tho b e: st Itn.l:i.8.n school in that wcr'.pon, c-.nd o.s o. closing; event of the progn..m, fencing; ~~ long '.'..nd brillfr .. nt bout with his profc ssi onn.l friend n.nd collo0..guc, George s~ntulli, in tho snbre, How­ever, the event tlj<lt most intere sted th< rmdioncc, which included thu best kno1·m fir;urcs in Amoriccm fencing, wo..s Professor Groco 1 s sc..bro l es son to scvcn-yoct.r old Leon Schechter, vrhich brought frequent rounds of f'cIJplr.use c..s the youn1:; snordsm.':.n uno rri nr;ly followed the m:·.ster 1 s instructions even in the most complic.'l.tod phrr.sus.

.i~rnong tho othu1· pn.rticip<,nts in the exhibition 'Ncre Jose de. Cr,pril c s n,nd Pierre Notter in cpcc; John Huf­fm.0.n, in sc\.bro; :·.nd 1"\i:rn J·h,rion Llnyd f\.nd Miss B'.crbn. rn c~)chrfll!,C in foil. !.lobe rt M:'.rcy et.nnounccd tho events, 1.rhich were directed by H~·lrold Vn.n Buskirk, pro si dent of the i.;11:.tcur Fencers Lu:;.guc :;f ,Jl\crico..

COLill.'iBL. '111'JG y;,LE TFtOPHY The c,nnuf\.l ''Jr~::;hington 1 s Birthdr,_y

sr.brc tournc.mc nt held c1.t Y[\.lc on thu s rnno pl~m c-.s the \"Jc.sh ington Sq u'.'..ro Cup wCls 1von by Coltu:i.bL'\' s ter.rn of Bruce l'.fo..llis, Robert Dr8.kc, r:.nd Leo iriso, with 22 points. Y :~ lc nosed out the defending ch('\n1pions, W.Y.U., on touch­es ::1.ftcr en.ch hrtd won 21 points. The Jfartford Fencers Club wn.s fourth i:vi:th 20. The Yr.le JV, tuo Y::clo frcshm:n1 tecuns, the Hew He.van C~Jmmorci rtl Hii;h, n.nd Hopkins Grc' .. mmn.r School completed the field of ten ter'.:!ns,

Bruce 1·rn llis w-r\.s the high scorer, with c. clcr:.n s>Ycop of 9 bout::;. Viseidi of Ye.le, I~irschncr of N.Y .u., r1.nd Roudf' .. ko ff of HrTtford, orwh vrnn 8,

---·-·-- · ·-·- --· I u. F .c. TIET;JNS EPEE CUP

I The Vfc:.sh ington Squet.rc Cup, for opoc

tc::'..ms, 1vns won for the second successive

I ycr,r by the Uni vcr i ty Fe ncers Club. 'l'his tournc.mcnt, conducted on tr.1e pool system which hn.s been n.ooptcd for tho Intorcollcgintc Chnrnpionships, o.ttr8.ctcd c_ record field of 15 terms, but the quo.lity of the compcti ti on • :;_s below strmdo.rd 1 ;:F; hn.lf n. dozen r[~ n1dng cpcciGts frd.lcd to n.ppc: .r.

The u.F.C. tcmn ctcci..unul;t.tcd 34 points out of 42 bouts, Higuel :cnrl. Jose de C:-· pri-

l lus on.ch vrinning 13 and ~\evis. :::npncr 8. The y ~)tmg Sc .. ltus Club tno of :;llson,

j Gordon, ~md von Munchhn.uscn performed I brillic .. ntly to win second plc.cc from

o..nothcr young turvn, the 1•'cncccs Club, of Driscoll1 Skrobisch, c~nd '. .'illir:.ms. The Nev-< Yo rk 1>.thlotic Club tcr.rn of Grombn.ch, Notter, nnd Tho:mpsonJ fo.vorcd :~ s the lc..n.dinG chn.lln.ngers, m:-cn::'..ged tc) tio·1tho -c.:<',C. mid'.:".\.y through tho 8-hour session, but :•. ft c r thnt only Thomps ·'n w:ts Gblc to keep up vri. th the blistering; pc.cc of tl10 v.rinnors •

I,mcm;; the hit;h spots '' f tho mee t nero the p c r-fonnn.ncc s of the de Cci.pi·i l e. s brothers; the. on.rly record of von Munch­h[' uscn; the close fight b cti:rccn Gold rnd Rnndn.11, intcrcollcgin.to cpcc rivuls on the first pool; the well-bo..18.nccd ten.ms from Srtltus ~ · nd Fencers Club; .n.nd the rcmc~rk::-,bl c showing of the only rnc1:1bor of th•-' 11 50-plus" club, E.-dBorumon, in the scc~md pool.

Th(' records of rtll the tc['Jns s~oring betto r bettor th~n hn.lf of tho possible p:iints f·JJ.lows: (1) (2) (3) Totn.l 1. U.F.C. 13 8 13 34

J. l 2. Sf'.l t\.1s C 1 ub 10 10 %- 2% f 't 3. Fencers Club 10 10 82 28-::;-

4. Neu York ~.c. 8 8 11~ 27I .5. li.Y.U. ",;_ " 9 6)"' 11 "" 26~~ 6 ~ 1 1

{" t 11. 8-,1""- 71.,,- 8 °4" • L;r.t J.C ~; r...n C --1. _, (.,,, '• l l

7. Colunbin. 8 7 72 22~

8. lJcn Hn.von ";_" 7 9~ 6 22f 9. Yn.lc "1 .. " 9 8 4~ 21-t

Columbic .. received 47 hits n.s o.grin0t 54 f ::i r Nev;- Ho.v•.m. Other tor:un r e cords we re CCNY ";:.",lg:} ; Y le "B 11

1 18~-; N.Y.U. 11 l3n ,

l~; Comp osite 10; Ncvv Hf.lvc n 11 B11 8; Groco Fencing Lcn.demy 7.

Vol~ 2, No. 4 THE filPOSTE Ptcgo 4 ~~~~~~~~~--~~~~~

THIS _.J'JD THAT FROl\·, HEEE ;.ND THERE VL»SHIHGTON

Tho Fencers' BQll, [L high spot in n'.'..shin[;ton soci<.t.l lifo:, took plr~co [Lt tho Uni vcrsi ty Club on tho night of Goorgo l.'[."shington ·, s Birthdc .. y. Tho gety event~ :' .. ttcndc d by prominent mem­bers of tho diplomntic cops, notnblo str~tcsr.1on, nnd mD.ny cho.nninG l ~tdios

r:ccompr-.nicd by i;ontlornon in ci 1·il cmd militn.ry r1

.. ttirc, spo.rl:ling Tiith ,jcYrcl c d sn.bres n.nd glisteninr; steel blctdos, ·w[Ls one of tho grcntost of its kind over stn.ged in \·r~',shington.

Messieurs Clovis Dcln.dricr nnd Jo::;oph Ficms, rnc .. itrc d'n.l."!nos of tho Nn.vr:cl .·.cr_cioiny, presented the Grccnd S;clutc in colorful costumes o f tho Sixteenth Century. This YrC\S f <) lloncd by demonstrn.tions of tho "Str'.)ko of Jn.rnn.c 11 [.end tho "secret svrord tric!c" of tho Duke of Nevers.

~.n cln.borf' .. to progrrun followed, in­tcr~pcrsod by dnncint,;. Outstf'..nding on tho progrrun wD..s the ~ons of the Sword of S:p'.:'..in sung by Ilr. CC1.rl Don:tldson. DrDJ!\n. ,,-ms pre sent in r. short skit from Cyrnno do Borgorn.c onnn.ctod by Mr. Gc :n·go Rrtyos o.nd Mr. : :r..ltor E. Blount Jr. The sl.:ill of the lndcics rns domonstrr-.tfud by Hrs. E. Emers ·-::n, n.nd Mrs. Lt. G. N. John.nson, Miss Ilonriot­tu Crosley, nnd Miss ~idn Principe.

The Nrwy tri umphod ~)Ver :cn11y vrhcn Commcmdor ~. "r. Bro~vlbont, 11.s.11., dofentod Cn.ptnin S. L. Connor, U.S.~. in o. closely c,mtcst1.1 d foil bout :5-4. ;,n intorc sting b'lut of tho evening Tfi'.S

c.. sword n.nd d:tggcr duel between Don /, lfrodo No.zo.rino '.\nd Dom Jir.;uos Hchz.

Tho cvo:1t th:-tt provoked Nost of tho c_ppl ~HJ. SC '\'l"L'..s the n.g.ilc f'..nd spcctaculc..r St\murn.i swordplo.y darnonstrr\tod by Suyonoshin ICmYrttCl nnd So.rato Yarrmshi to. of the Tokyo Dojo of Kodoko.n.

Tho climo..x occurred when Mnjor E.L. Dyer c.nd R:-'!ui:;h Rider Ed.·win Emerson, o.stride high ch ri.irr:i, wi 'th flo.ying sn.bres, tried to remove one nnothor's c'.Jlorful plUDes mounted high on the mn.sks. The Rough Rider 1 -.ist his pl umc, but it is understood tlwt ,.,, rcri.l bout n.strido horses vvill tn.kc pl-r.co in R'.'lck Creek PLcrk s:)mo time this we ck.

ENGL.'.ND Miss K::i.thlocn Hughcs-Rc·. llott, well

known fencer from Dc tr~)i t ctnd mcrr1bor of the Cccno..dirm Olympic Fencing TcClm, hfls b .. :c n sto.yinr; in Englund. Hiss Hughes Hallett recently won tho Ccrclo d'Escrimo

I H~mdic~lJ? ccm1pcti ti on hold in London, ':'.no wns presented with f.\. silver spoon !:leering

1tlio Club Bo.dgc on the ho.ndlo. Hiss 1~ 8 llct is mr1kinr~ the most of her opnortuni ty n.nd hc.s b<'On prr,cticing under the expert guido.nco of the fo.mous Professor G::i.uthic.

ILLINOIS The Illinois Division is now vroll under

I wo.y ;:rnd no will soon be nblo to report scver~l of its more importnnt moots. ~

snccio..l meet wr,s run recently for high s~hool funcers. Senn High 0 chool contri-

1 buted the lo.rc;cst nu.rnbcr of entries, send­ing 11 rn.cn to the moot, r.nd Kenneth Peterson curried its colors to victory. Second plnco wont to EC\.rl Sim[l.nok, of 18.no, Clnd third to ... lbort Liliontho.l of L'1ke View. Tho fencing as o. vrholo Tms quite good :end it is hoped tho.t cm. o.nnur\l r.J.cot of this sort 1·.rill do much to onhetnco fencing in Chico.go.

Tho Big Te n Conference ia vroll under wn.y, rnd Chiccq;o c.nd Illin1.:. is Univcr ~' i ty o.rc lcC\.ding Clt prosomt. Tho Individunl Champi::mships will bu hold on Mo.rch 13th. o.t lhrthvmstorn University.

s;~N FR.:1.NCI S CO Thn University of CC\.Ufornic took homo

the Junior Foil Teo.m trophy Yvi th 23 v1rins rcnd 13 losses. The Olympic Club wns run­ner up with 22 victories, ri.nd the S::rn Frn.ncisco Y .M .C..1(. phtccd third with 16.

The Junior Sn.bro Tern".'! Ti tlc mm vron by tho Funke Fencing l\.co.dony Yri th the rcBctrk­f',1Jlo score of 26 wins o..nd 1 loss. 3cc Jnd h c1nors went to the J.rmy Clnd N::wy Y.M.C.i .• with 14 wins, while the Olympic Club wa.s right behind with 13.

Ho.rry Mortiner defcn.tcd Yrillinm 0 1 Brieil 5-4 in the fence-off for the Junior Foil I ndi viduo.l title. Hortirnor comes from thv Ol~pic Club rmd 0 1 Brien re pre sontcd the Funke Fencing 1,ca.domy. Third Pin.cc v1ent to Fletcher Dutton of tho Olympic Club.

Vol. 1, No. 4 THE RIPOSTE

XIV. DIRECTING The night of 1"fay ( 4)

In my last artiule~ I indicated that the director can help develop lcmerican fencing to the European level by a strict observance of the International Rules of the Right of - 1ay, especially a.s far as the stDp-thrust, remise, and redoublement of attllcl'.: are concerned. There isanother paragraph in the F.I.E. rules 'Shieh should be considered. It reads:

"One of the most difficult cases to judge occurs when there is a stop-thrust which has a doubtful time advantage against the final thrust of the composi­te attt:i.ck. In general, in such a case, tho double touch is the result of the simultaneous fault of both fencers, whic}: justifies the director in placing; them hack on guard 1 :ithout a dec"i.sion. The fa.ult of the attacker is indec:i.sion, slowness, or the lnck of e '.'fic'-1.cious feints; the fault of the de fender is delay or sluwness in exeouting the sto')­thrust. it

In short, the touch must be annulled when both fencers are wrong -- and the gist of their fault is slowness or delay. This paragraph does not appear in the A:erican ahridvnent of the rules,nt the present time, ·with the result that an American director is often confronted with foul ty attncks (delayed direct ~ttacks, wide composite uttucks, ull of which are necessarily slow and indeci­sive rnovePlents), and with fnulty stop­thrusts, remises, and redouhlmctents of atte.ck. His only bo.sis for throvd.np; out both hi ts is tlrnt he hns no cleai· view of the right of way -- nr"d this basis is unsatisfoctory because it rtssumes th~lt

thc.o di rector is somc1.Ylrnt ot fa.ult in not being o.ble to re cons ~.ruct tho phro.se d 1 armes clearly enough to make a deci­sion one v-my or the other. A.ctuo..lly, of course, the fault is wjth tl1e fencers, and the par::i.grnph I }"10.ve quot8d sho,·ld be included in our rules.

Consider thc;•n the effect of the uppli­cn.tion of this parngrnph anrl of the other I h.:;.ve mentioned. Dela.y in tbe attack opens tho way folr o. v::..l id stop-th; ust; de~o.y in the riposte [~i ves tho right to tho nttucker to ~e~ise or redouble.

Consequently:i the conventionel sequence of plo.y; in the phrase d 1 o.rmcs, must be rn.pidly c..nd dec5 si vcly cxcc11ted in order to retain the r..dvo.ntage of tbe richt of 1:0.y• Likewise, even c~gninst Q fc:~ulty attack• the stop-thrust, tho rcmise, or tha redoublement, must be clearly D.nd decisively executed; or else the vrorst thnt the first offender r,c,n g;et is o. double touch.

The im1)ortance of d, cisivc c.cti ons in the bout co.nn()t be too strongly empha.sizcd. All the members of the J..mori cnn vlympic Too.m o.grcc tho.t out team wo.s pr::i.cticcclly tho equal of the best Europenn tcums in tcchnic'\l dov0lop-1YJont; tho mo.in difficulty our tcrun encountered 1-ms tho fcistor o.nd more decisive temp~ of their principal oppo­nents. In foil, for oxo.mplc, cmly Joe tovis fenced 1v-ith the speed o.nd deci­siveness of tho Europco.ns, o.nd ho was by f :w our most o ffocti vo indi vidua.l star.

This brings up e.nother question c..bout directing which ho.s ::i. clear infib.uencc upon the mo.nncr in ·. hich n. bout proceeds, Tho European directors, in ncidition to their r~dhoronco to tho points previously di scusscd, practic<clly compel the fence ;·s to fence 1i1.ri th speed r,nd. decision by their mn.nnor of e:i ving tho commnnds: On Guo.rd, r•J n.dy , phcy 1 -- AND by cc,J 1 ing 1Yffi.U:T ! 11 to the ·~ctT"Dri whenever it lost its decisive ch~rncter.

Perhaps tho most colorful director in tho world is tho fn.mous I ta.lium, Anselmi, whoso "sno.ppy" n.nd cxci ting method of conductin~ tho bout dous much to improve the qu11.lity of tho fencing 0.nd tho enjoyment of tho spcctutors. Consequent­ly, when I ho..d t}1c honor to officiQto c.t the Olympic finctl in sabre, n.nd he · ns in the '' udicncc, I vms very much inter­ested in his criticisms. The only unfe' ­voro.ble one wc..s to tho o ffcct tho. t I did not hnlt the ?hr'.lSc d'armcs quickly enough -- and ~1is despite tho fact that I hnd been co.lling "hf!.lt" much soonE:r than is tho ~ustom here. For this rc~s.J

I wish to take tl:is point more in dct"i~ in my next o.rticle. It seems to be tr·c chi e f point of divorgonco between the Curopco..n ftnd _cmcrica.n customs of diro0t··

ing. M.A.deC.

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