Benjamin Arms

Life as a West Point - The U.S. Military Academy cadet in 1909. A description on the reverse reads: "Fencing, supplemented by single stick exercise and sabre du...elling, constitutes one of the principal branches of gymnasium work at the Academy. It is especially desirable for a military officer, who, despite the waning use of the sword in all modern armies, may at any time be called upon to defend himself with an edged weapon." I could use some help with the handwriting. Here's what I've got so far: "Tout le journée, dimanche, je pairied [sic] et le soir je recois a th??et. Comprenez-vous? Au revoir, mon chere Mademouselle [sic]. Te verrai vous samedi. Te suis, monsieur, ????. Help us document more fencing history and support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/fencingexhibit See the complete catalog listing here: https://www.fencingexhibit.com/items/show/101

At-Home Drill Series: Compound Attacks Around the Ball Position yourself at lunge distance to the wall target and set the ball in a low position swinging side to side. As the ball reaches its apex on each side, feint with full extensions to the opposite lateral or diagonal lines. Lunge after one, two, or three consecutive feints. More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website:... https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/ See more

At-Home Drill Series: Attacking Around the Ball Position yourself at lunge distance to the wall target and set the ball swinging side to side. As the ball reaches it’s apex on one side, and starting from any hand position, fully extend and lunge to one of the two quadrants protected by the ball. Set the ball high to protect high-line quadrants and low for low-line quadrants. More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website:... https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/ See more

At-Home Drill Series: Stop Thrust Set yourself on guard at extension distance to the ball and set it swinging lightly front to back. Hit the ball as it swings back towards you with a stop thrust. Advanced Variation: The same as above but with a lunge-back in a variety of hand positions.... More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website: https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/

At-Home Drill Series: Deception The swinging ball can represent your opponent’s attempt to take your blade. Position yourself on guard at a close enough distance so that the point of your weapon is one inch past the ball. Set the ball swinging side to side and practice deceiving around the ball into finished hand positions. More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website:... https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/ See more

At-Home Drill Series: Hitting a Moving Target Take your extension distance to the ball and practice hitting the ball in motion. Don’t wait for the ball to be completely stationary to attack again. Practice in all hand positions and be mindful to return to a complete guard before the next attack. Advanced Variation: Expand the distance to demi-lunge, lunge, or advance-lunge distance.... More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website: https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/

Fencing Arms & Artifacts is a free online museum recently started by Benjamin with the mission to document and display the weapons, equipment and memorabilia from the golden age of fencing. Please consider supporting the museum's Patreon and help document more of these treasures from fencing's past.

Most fencers have seen or heard of target practice with a hanging ball. It's one of the easiest practice targets to set up at-home, likely with things you already have around the house. The hanging ball does not resist your strike like a wall target does, therefore removing the expectation of resistance upon a hit and encouraging your attacks to be exact and controlled. Practicing with a hanging ball trains accuracy against a moving target and can also represent an adversary’s weapon in motion. Check out our blog for a list of hanging ball drills: https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/

At-Home Drill Series: Reposts Measure extension distance to the target and set yourself on guard in any hand position. Repost at this close range to the direct line corresponding to your hand position. The difference of this drill to the Quadrants drill is being in extension distance rather than lunge distance, therefore simulating a repost after a parry. More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website:... https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/ See more

Muscles getting stiff? Try these exercises from Hugo & James Castello's "Fencing" published in 1962.

At-Home Drill Series: Compound Attacks While in full extension practice compound attacks by feinting at various diagonal rails. Practice any and all compound attacks you’ve learned in class. More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website:... https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/ See more

At-Home Drill Series: Quadrants Extend and lunge at each diagonal rail with the corresponding hand position (French school’s 6, 4, 7, 8, for example). These quadrants represent the four lines of attack. Advanced: Practice less common hand positions, such as the French school’s 1, 2, and 3 positions.... More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website: https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/

At-Home Drill Series: Accuracy Measure your lunge distance to the target and practice hitting the exact center. Carefully practice fully extending your arm before lunging, the position of your hands, shoulders, knees, and recovering to a proper guard. More gifs and at-home practice drills on our website:... https://www.benjaminarms.com/fencing-target-practice-at-ho/ See more

Lovely Parisian fencing salle d'armes from 1889.