Hi,
I am having some trouble with the french grip.
Everybody has trouble with the French grip, that's why no one except beginners uses it. The only advantages to the French are that it is cheap and one-size-fits-all -- making it perfect for club owned gear.
Look for any of the "pistol" grips for better control with a looser hand. I personally prefer the Belgian, though many others like the Visconti and all grips have their supporters. Until you've had a chance to actually try them out, you can not buy grips online or by mail order and have them "fit" since too much depends on hand length, width, and configuration. If at all possible, buy a glove and then go somewhere where you can try the grips out. Or get people at the club to let you at least handle their foils and epees, preferably letting you fence with them a while. A third choice (that I used years ago but is a bit nasty to the suppliers) is to order a few different grips on-line or by mail and when they arrive mount them one at a time. Then try them out, keep the one you like and return the rest for a refund. I did that with the American Fencing Supply Co. in San Francisco years ago. I sorta made up for that by buying all my gear over the years from them (probably a few thousand bucks all told).
Should my palm be facing mostly up, sideways, or some diagonal in-between?
Depends on how traditional you want to be and what tradition you want to follow. Italian school would have you hold your hand palm up with the crossbar (yes, the Italian school uses an old fashioned grip with crossbar and ricasso) parallel to the ground. That is full "supination". Since the blade is held almost at chin level with the arm only slightly bent at the wrist, this is not too awkward a position. Traditional French school with the elbow about a fist from the hip would make full supination uncomfortable. So the hand is rotated *slightly* away from supination, just enough to remove the tension from the forearm.
Both those traditional forms went away in the first half of the twentieth century, giving way to "modern" fencing. This is a blend of Italian and French with more effort concentrated on results than style. In the early 20th century, if you wanted to be a certified fencing instructor, you had to pass a style test that had nothing to do with ability -- one word champion (who's name I cannot remember) was denied the right to teach because he didn't look good enough while winning!
Some of the result of this more modern style are that the knees are not bent as much allowing more vertical movement, the body isn't quite as much in profile allowing "cross leg" movements such as the fleche, and the hand is held in a more "natural" position (about half way between horizontal and vertical) allowing parries of fourth and sixth to be equally powerful.
However, fencing is not learned with the eyes. It must develop through the muscles. And starting at a club with no formal instruction is a great way to learn and practice mistakes. If at all possible, take a class, join a club with a good master, or at least get a committed mentor to teach you. You'll appreciate it in the long run.
--Pete
I am having some trouble with the french grip.
Everybody has trouble with the French grip, that's why no one except beginners uses it. The only advantages to the French are that it is cheap and one-size-fits-all -- making it perfect for club owned gear.
Look for any of the "pistol" grips for better control with a looser hand. I personally prefer the Belgian, though many others like the Visconti and all grips have their supporters. Until you've had a chance to actually try them out, you can not buy grips online or by mail order and have them "fit" since too much depends on hand length, width, and configuration. If at all possible, buy a glove and then go somewhere where you can try the grips out. Or get people at the club to let you at least handle their foils and epees, preferably letting you fence with them a while. A third choice (that I used years ago but is a bit nasty to the suppliers) is to order a few different grips on-line or by mail and when they arrive mount them one at a time. Then try them out, keep the one you like and return the rest for a refund. I did that with the American Fencing Supply Co. in San Francisco years ago. I sorta made up for that by buying all my gear over the years from them (probably a few thousand bucks all told).
Should my palm be facing mostly up, sideways, or some diagonal in-between?
Depends on how traditional you want to be and what tradition you want to follow. Italian school would have you hold your hand palm up with the crossbar (yes, the Italian school uses an old fashioned grip with crossbar and ricasso) parallel to the ground. That is full "supination". Since the blade is held almost at chin level with the arm only slightly bent at the wrist, this is not too awkward a position. Traditional French school with the elbow about a fist from the hip would make full supination uncomfortable. So the hand is rotated *slightly* away from supination, just enough to remove the tension from the forearm.
Both those traditional forms went away in the first half of the twentieth century, giving way to "modern" fencing. This is a blend of Italian and French with more effort concentrated on results than style. In the early 20th century, if you wanted to be a certified fencing instructor, you had to pass a style test that had nothing to do with ability -- one word champion (who's name I cannot remember) was denied the right to teach because he didn't look good enough while winning!
Some of the result of this more modern style are that the knees are not bent as much allowing more vertical movement, the body isn't quite as much in profile allowing "cross leg" movements such as the fleche, and the hand is held in a more "natural" position (about half way between horizontal and vertical) allowing parries of fourth and sixth to be equally powerful.
However, fencing is not learned with the eyes. It must develop through the muscles. And starting at a club with no formal instruction is a great way to learn and practice mistakes. If at all possible, take a class, join a club with a good master, or at least get a committed mentor to teach you. You'll appreciate it in the long run.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?