Introduction to Fencing by Edward Breck
written in 1902

Fencing is the knightliest of sports. In no other pastime is the interest so close, so intense, or so concentrated as in fencing, and in no other is the expenditure of muscular exertion and headwork so nicely proportioned. "You are here in actual touch with your opponent; the delicate rod of steel in your grasp is lightening conductor that instantaneously flashes through your brain the knowledge of what attack your adversary is meditating. Every faculty of your brain, every muscle of your body, every nerve of eye and hand, all are on the alert; and you live more intensely, more vividly in an assault of a quarter of an hour, than most people do in a week.

Fencing is pre-eminently the gentleman's sport, but, unlike many other pastimes which have also received this name, such as polo, yachting, etc., it is within the reach of the poor man. Just as the noble, but impecunious D'Artagnan won his way to fame by his rapier alone, so the champion fencer of to-day is made with very moderate outlay. Folks, masks, gloves, jackets, and a good master or failing him, a first-class manual of the art, are all that is required.

What are the advantages of fencing? Let us first see in what it is superior to all other sports. In training the judgment, the eye, and the nervous instinct; in giving to the body suppleness, ease, and grace of movement; and in inculcating habits of courtesy. As a training for the muscles, too, fencing yields to no light gymnastics, not even to boxing, in spite of the popular view; as it accomplishes the same result in a much more systematic and less violent manner. A herculean young friend of mine, an enthusiastic boxer, and given to despising the gentler sister act, was lately persuaded to take fencing lessons. Entering the hall one day as he was finishing his bout, I heard him exclaim breathlessly, and with the sweat pouring off him,"Well, I never knew fencing took hold of a man so!"

The Foil ; The outfit by Edward Breck

When you buy your outfit, go to a first-class dealer and buy no cheap stuff. It is pretty generally bad,and often dangerous. In selecting foils, choose one that seems to be of the right weight for your strength( better too light that too heavy),and which balances when the blade is laid across the finger an inch from the hilt. The handle should in every case should be curved, and bound with twine. Do not be seduced into buying a pair of those gaudy, velvet-and-gold handled affairs, with which some dealers strive to dazzle the ignorant. In the matter of masks get one with a fine mesh only. The common, cheap, wide mesh masks generally sold, even by reputable dealers, are a constant menance to life, and should really be prohibited by law. It was when wearing one of these, wide-mesh masks that a prominent Fall River physician was lately killed by his fencing master,whose foil passed through the mask and into the victim's eye and brain-truely a terrible warning against the cheap and worthless. 

The regulation French fencing shoes, with broad leather soles, are the best, but many prefer a shoe with a rubber sole. The principle requirement is that it shall not slip.

The glove should be loose but well fitting, and should be cut in gauntlet fashion. 

The jacket should be made of leather or some other stout material, backed with padding.

One rule should be made strictly adhered to by all fencers, whether beginners or not: never fence without a mask. To disregard this rule stamps a man at once as ignorant, and exposes him to the ridicule of all well-taught fencers.

  As in fencing form and style count for more than in other sports, great care must be taken to master the first principles, such as holding of the foil, the guard, the recover, the different parries,etc.