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Comment by charles_f | Hacker News Reader

I cracked a rib twice foiling, and sliced the interior of my elbow open through the vest with an épée. The fabric didn't fail but the blade still pressured hard enough to get the skin open. Still have the scar.

All three incidents against beginners who were far too enthusiastic, and coming way too hard and way too close.

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Beginners are the most dangerous to fence against in my experience. They don't move like you expect, they flail and flourish and smack you in weird spots with the flat of the blade. All the worst bruises I have gotten have been fencing newbies. It isn't their fault, they are still learning. But owww.

Cracked ribs? That's gotta be the other person running into you, right?

You're putting the mass of an entire human, with the force of a lunge, on an area smaller than a dime. There is a lot of force getting transferred during impact. Yes, the blade will flex to absorb some of that, but only some.

One was this very classic beginner move - you break both their time and their distance, suddenly they're wa too close, you fend yourself off time, and rather than trying any escaping maneuver as someone trained would, they just counter attack ; with short distance and your full weight already committed to the fente, not great. Teachable moment for everyone. An easy point to make, but risky on the safety angle.

The other I don't remember precisely, just that it was a tall brute who was just coming at me. Avoided him with cause every time after

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