Benjamin Arms

17/07/2020

27/05/2020

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 duelling, 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, ????.

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See the complete catalog listing here:
https://www.fencingexhibit.com/items/show/101

25/04/2020

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-home/

23/04/2020

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-home/

21/04/2020

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-home/

19/04/2020

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-home/

17/04/2020

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-home/

16/04/2020

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.

Official Post from Fencing Arms and Artifacts: Big thank you to our Patrons! The first three items purchased with their support are on their way from three different sellers in Italy and France.The first is a lovely, unique postcard with a lady holding a mixed school fencing sword and a dueling scen...

15/04/2020

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-home/