Hey-that thing's not legal!

Ah, the joys of using an Italian grip in electrical competition. Back in the day, they were not uncommon and advocated by many. Maestro Aldo Nadi says about the foil:

"In my opinion, the Italian weapon is by far the better from all points of view. Its outstanding advantage lies in its superior power. The handle is bound to the wrist by a leather strap about one inch wide which insures a strength and firmness of grip that simply cannot exist in the French foil. More important, it lightens the burden of the fingers, thus permitting most of their effort to be employed in directing the point. Furthermore, the strap increases the effectiveness

of the parry."

But that was 1943. As I was reminded by Maestro Calvert (about five times over the course of an hour) "It's just not practical for the modern game..." And he's probably right. But then again, the referee did have to halt my bout so that Calvert could cross the strip.

I do have my reasons for using an Italian. And I will agree that they can not be easily used for flicks to the back, ridiculous contortions, nor flying through the air. But they do have the added strength of a pistol grip while still retaining both point control and sentiment-du-fer, elements that often seem forgotten in modern fencing.

The real problem, however, is not in the practicality of the Italian grip. Partially due to its lack of presence in most fencing clubs and partially due to pure ignorance, many fencing officials do not believe that the grip is legal. There is, of course, nothing wrong or illegal with using the traditional weapon. Simply by looking at the rules, there is nothing against it. For further proof, simply visit the Fencing Officials Commission.

Go to their FAQ page and scroll down to "Is my grip legal?"; immediately following is the "Can I use a wrist strap?". As clearly stated in these paragraphs, particularly the latter, there is nothing wrong with an Italian grip, nor the accompanying wrist strap. If this, Dear Reader, seems blatantly obvious to you, let me give you an exam

ple of the people who do not see things the way we do.

You step onto the strip for your second event of the day at a medium-sized local tournament. It's the beginning of the pool, only the second bout, and you have never fenced any of the people in it before. As you are hooked up before your opponent, the referee comes over to you first. The very first thing he says to you (after joking around at initial check-in) is:

"You're using an Italian."

"I am using an Italian."

"Those aren't legal." (Nice he gets right to the punch, huh?)

"Um, yeah they are."

Pause. "No..."

"Sorry, but what's not legal about it?"

Pause. "Hold on, let me go ask [name has been removed]." He returns with the other man (let's call him Ref A).

Ref A: "Yeah, that is not legal." (Please keep in mind that Ref A directed your entire previous pool, while you were using the very same weapon."

"I'm sorry, but could you please tell me what is not legal about it?"

No response.

"The grip is entirely behind the guard, which is not more than the specified 120 mm. It is not

longer than 20 cm, as stated by the rules."You say. You know this because you read the rules the night before.

"Yes, but theoretically you could hold it in more than one way."

"Theoretically, you could use an orthopaedic grip in more than one way, too."

"Would you like us to take this to the bout committee?"

"Yes, please."

You will now wait for 10 minutes. Maestro Calvert will approach you twice. Your coach has gone along with the procession and directed the group to the FOC website. They return:

"Well, I guess the grip is okay, but the strap's not."

"Why? It's a wrist strap..."

The event armorer has returned with them.

"The way that they show it at armorer's college is a small strap at the grip (attached to the foil) that you put your wrist through. Not that big one." Huh? What is she talking about? Finally, your coach realizes.

"Oh, do you mean a martingale?"

"Huh? No, a wrist strap." You are a classical fencer; you know what you're talking about!

"No, no. A martingale is used on standard, French foils. This is a wrist strap. They're for Italians and are perfectly legal."

"I don't think so."

"Okay..." They leave to figure out what the difference between a martingale and a wrist strap is. 10 minutes later, they have that figured out. Now they're not sure if a wrist strap is legal. The armorer comes back to look at it. Then leaves again. Maestro Calvert comes over a couple more times, telling you the same thing again. About 10 minutes later, the referee returns to ask if you have it figured out yet. You assumed that he had been coming to tell you the verdict. You respond (in a joking manner) that if he's just going to ask you, you will say that it's fine. At some point, you are told that the armorer has gone into the conference room and is on the phone. You are told that she thinks it is dangerous. At this point, the ref picks up your mask and starts un-velcroing the back strap. 10 minutes later, the armor comes back:

"As tournament armorer, I am ruling against this because it is dangerous."

"Is there a rule against it?"

"No, but it is dangerous. A point could get caught in it." That could happen with your shoelaces, too.

"But there's no rule against it?"

"Uh, no. But as tournament-"Yeah, yeah. That's nice.

"Okay..."

"So you can still use the foil, just not the strap." You can't use an Italian without a wrist strap.

You use a French, which you are fine with, but still, not your weapon of choice.

Fun day, huh? Later, one of the head coaches at the club (who we were already on friendly terms with) came over and took a picture of the weapon and wrist strap and sent it to Dan DeCheine who said that everything looked fine.

This lovely view of the USFA does not make me super excited to be a member of it. Regardless, it was a learning experience. Italians are not practical for more than one reason. But I like them, and they are not illegal. So here we go...