O'Connell ( GBR ) v. Szilagy ( HUN ), FIE Saber Fencing

So pleased to see Alex competing in Beijing. Gareth Stafford-Bull would have been so proud, I just know he's up there looking down on him with a smile

Brentwood knobjockey

I thought it was funny when at the Oxford/Cambridge Varsity, O'Connell faced a guy who was clearly bricking it, but ended up walking into the most basic extended arm I've ever seen! God he was angry!

great bout. i kept thinking O'Connell would come back until i saw the red play length bar getting shorter. :D he is a great sabreur.

Alex O'Connell? Is he related to Matthew O'Connell? He was from Brentwood, and I remember fencing him several times in the Public Schools.

yeh Alex is his younger brother, they're my cousins...Both very good but Alex kept fencing when he went to Cambridge, Matt didn't

I guess in real duels, the duelists had to stop after touching each other. Does it seems real? NO. "In real life" you would hit over and over again. That's why i hate when people say "this is real fencing, not that thing they do today". There were rules in real fencing. It's a way to make things work.

though the rules in sabre have been distorted so that the matches are not 'real duels', epee matches are basically the same as they ever were, even when real swords were used, due to the no priority rules and the one pound of pressure rule. if you got stabbed with a rapier, then even a non-fatal wound in an arm or leg left you in no position to continue duelling. the sabre, however, was based on the cavalry sword, so the idea was that moving at 30MPH on horseback, even a touch was deadly

It think it would be more accurate to say "this is real SPORT fencing".

It think it would be more accurate to say "this is real SPORT fencing".