Aldo vs. Nedo Nadi #fencing video and some comments





This video is posted online purporting to be the legendary Aldo Nadi fencing against his brother Nedo at Cannes in 1935. The film is probably identified correctly, but even if it is not it suffices to make my point here, for it is old footage of high level fencing, whoever is involved.

Those who object to present-day fencing's long periods of absence of blade and sudden leap-in attacks are objecting to something that has been going on for a long time. That fact doesn't match up with what some fencers would like to think of as "classical" or "pre-electric" fencing. But their view of what fencing used to be, back in the good old days, is contradicted by the above video. The fencing they love, long elegant phrases, remaining in distance with continuous joining of blades, is good academic fencing. But as for tournament work, watchfulness from a distance and jumping in to engage is actually old hat. What is really new in today's game is bouncing up in down in place, which is a fad.

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