Other Hobbies of Climbing Fanatics?

Charlie Swrote:

Thinking about climbing, looking on climbing forums, watching climbing videos, doing weighted pull-ups ;)

if you are totally bored with nothing to do, you can always do weighted pull ups :)

Jonathan Brownwrote:

Can a foil fencer get in on this?  I tried epee for a while, but I my brain kept forgetting that I wasn't holding a foil - which isn't bad until you attempt to flick - resulting in a few bruised shoulders and many scoldings.

Absolutely not. :0)

Epee is to racquetball as foil is to tennis. Some crossover skills, but a very different mindset. I always liked racquetball more than tennis, because you just send that ball to the front wall by any means, including bank shots that don't exist in tennis. (Granted: Tennis requires more control + skill + strategy.) The limitations of valid target area and rules of right-of-way complicate things so much in foil. In epee any touch that would have drawn blood is valid- it would have proven the point visibly in an actual duel. I like that simplicity.  

Gregger Manwrote:

Absolutely not. :0)

Epee is to racquetball as foil is to tennis. Some crossover skills, but a very different mindset. I always liked racquetball more than tennis, because you just send that ball to the front wall by any means, including bank shots that don't exist in tennis. (Granted: Tennis requires more control + skill + strategy.) The limitations of valid target area and rules of right-of-way complicate things so much in foil. In epee any touch that would have drawn blood is valid- it would have proven the point visibly in an actual duel. I like that simplicity.  

Ok - I'll fence epee.  Could be worse - I could be a saber fencer.  Those guys are feral.

Snowbaording, fly fishing, mountain biking.  I'm also getting back into firearms and reloading cartridges due to the lack of ammo availability.

Vintage wines, fine cigars, fast cars and easy women. 

Frank Steinwrote:

Vintage wines, fine cigars, fast cars and easy women. 

Just like the budget version: Easy wines, fast cigars, fine cars and vintage women. 

JonasMRwrote:

Just like the budget version: Easy wines, fast cigars, fine cars and vintage women. 

Eh, one takes what one can get. But, a girl can dream. No?

Gregger Man wrote:

Absolutely not. :0)

Epee is to racquetball as foil is to tennis. Some crossover skills, but a very different mindset. I always liked racquetball more than tennis, because you just send that ball to the front wall by any means, including bank shots that don't exist in tennis. (Granted: Tennis requires more control + skill + strategy.) The limitations of valid target area and rules of right-of-way complicate things so much in foil. In epee any touch that would have drawn blood is valid- it would have proven the point visibly in an actual duel. I like that simplicity.  

You guys need to take up a man's sport, like Rapier and Dagger dueling. 

Buck Riowrote:

You guys need to take up a man's sport, like Rapier and Dagger dueling. 

I prefer pistols. Wheel lock. 

Buck Riowrote:

You guys need to take up a man's sport, like Rapier and Dagger dueling. 

Well, for a different analogy than tennis- dueling with actual lethal weapons is to fencing as free soloing is to roped climbing. Although the legal and moral ramifications are not equal between a free solo fall and stabby-killy. 

Gregger Man wrote:

Well, for a different analogy than tennis- dueling with actual lethal weapons is to fencing as free soloing is to roped climbing. Although the legal and moral ramifications are not equal between a free solo fall and stabby-killy. 

Well, if the historical documents are to be believed, most duels did not end in death, but simply drew blood to restore ones honor. 

I draw blood every time I crack climb LOL...

eMTB   , 4-Lo, fly-fish, scuba, kayak/sup, surf, guns, art, currently getting into ham radio, exploring mines.....damn no wonder I'm broke as a joke

Flint knapping and experimental archaeology.
I replicate actual artifacts (stone tools, atlatl’s, articles of clothing) as accurately as possible using the same methods and tools available at the time. Then actually go out and use them or give to archaeologists to experiment on to help gain a better understanding of our past and how these items were actually used and why they were made the way they were.

Pictured above are my recreations of various point types and a few hafted knives using pitch and sinew.
The points are made of a variety of materials from several varieties of Obsidian, Jasper, Flint, Franciscan Chert, Agate, Quartz, Basalt, Dacite and Historic (pink) glass. Some of the point types are Clovis, Adena, Benton, Big Sandy, Gatecliff, Dovetail, Moyote, Folsom, Tuolumne Notched, and Stockton. Most of these are Atlatl points and not arrowheads. 

Buck Riowrote:

Well, if the historical documents are to be believed, most duels did not end in death, but simply drew blood to restore ones honor. 

I draw blood every time I crack climb LOL...

Good point. Has it restored your honor?

Big Bwrote:

eMTB   , 4-Lo, fly-fish, scuba, kayak/sup, surf, guns, art, currently getting into ham radio, exploring mines.....damn no wonder I'm broke as a joke

Man guns and mountain biking are so freaking expensive ><

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

Good point. Has it restored your honor?

I never had any to restore..pretty liberating actually.

Salamanizer Skiwrote:

Flint knapping and experimental archaeology.
I replicate actual artifacts (stone tools, atlatl’s, articles of clothing) as accurately as possible using the same methods and tools available at the time. Then actually go out and use them or give to archaeologists to experiment on to help gain a better understanding of our past and how these items were actually used and why they were made the way they were.

Pictured above are my recreations of various point types and a few hafted knives using pitch and sinew.
The points are made of a variety of materials from several varieties of Obsidian, Jasper, Flint, Franciscan Chert, Agate, Quartz, Basalt, Dacite and Historic (pink) glass. Some of the point types are Clovis, Adena, Benton, Big Sandy, Gatecliff, Dovetail, Moyote, Folsom, Tuolumne Notched, and Stockton. Most of these are Atlatl points and not arrowheads. 

Dude, that hobby rocks.

Christopher Smithwrote:

Man guns and mountain biking are so freaking expensive ><

so are scuba and fly fishing... and dont even get me started on the 4runner

Saber fencers are definitely a different breed. 

This is a photo of the outcome of a saber duel from the late 1800s which resulted in the decapitation of one participant.

Those of you who lust for blood can click this (nsfw) link to see the uncensored photo.

(source)

Here’s another bloody (nsfw) photo of a teammate of mine from ~10 years ago. Long story short, he fleched into a counterattack, counterattacking weapon snapped in half, and in following through on the fleche, the guy basically high-five punched the broken end of the blade with his off-weapon hand.

Yikes. What a bloody mess.

… which is kind of the main reason epee evolved as a sport.

“I despise this futile bloodshed borne of witless honor.” is a memetic phrase that comes to mind, but I can’t remember from whence it came to me. Closest I can find is the phrase ‘witless honor’ is found on lesson plans regarding the feud between the Grangerfords and Sheperdsons in Huckleberry Finn…

Anyways.

The general trajectory is: 

> Ancient to ~6000 bc : proto-humans bashing each other with sticks over resources

> ~6000 bc - ~3000bc : Tribal units of hunter gatherers doing largely the same bashing

> ~3000 bc - 1000ad : The development of large scale societies and state conflicts invited the development of “combat arts” and the study of weaponry and battle tactics, mostly to benefit the feudal lords and at the expense of the conscripted. Metallurgy advances throughout this time, drastically improving the ability to forge tough metals that could hold (more of) an edge, but these were still largely sharpened clubs

> ~1000ad - 1300ad: With advances in technology ushering in improved armor and defensive systems, and ironworking becoming more sophisticated, sword fighting evolved from bashing with edged weapons towards stabbing and piercing with the pointed tip. This allowed the swordsman to focus all of the power of their attack on the point and pierce vital weak points in the armor (neck, armpit, groin, etc.)

> ~1300 - 1650 : Middle Ages and Courtly Society — “Old world” notions of honor and “might makes right”/“trial by combat” is conceptualized amidst the aristocracy as a way for two parties to directly settle their disputes, rather than upending society with internal warring factions. Somehow this evolves into the perverse notion of engaging in dueling as a means of establishing credibility/respectability as a ‘gentleman’.

It’s during this time that the rapier evolves as the standard light sword for everyday carry and as a standard dueling weapon.

It’s also towards the end of this period that ruling classes started to recognize that all the infighting and noblemen killing each other over little squabbles left the kingdom lacking experienced military leadership when the big squabbles came, which prompted the proliferation of legal restrictions on dueling.

> ~1650 - 1900 :  

Enlightenment thinking, urban planning, and advances in codified “rule of law” and democratic notions of society, as well as advances in firearms and other lethal technology, encourage a steady decline in the popularity of dueling.

Fencing is still considered a high-pursuit of the ruling class. Swords cost a good amount money. The peasantry take to boxing as a form of fencing with fists. Training as a swordsman is still considered a nobleman’s hobby, but the pursuit trends more towards a sport and philosophical pursuit than pragmatic skillset.

It’s likely that it’s these conflicting notions of ‘increasingly prohibited arbitrary danger’ and ‘noble dominance’ (sound familiar, rock climbing friends?) encouraged those who sought out sword duels as means of validation. 

The epee makes it’s introduction as the “sport-ified rapier” and is heavily utilized as the dueling weapon of choice in these contests “to first blood”  — it still has the capacity for lethality and its effectiveness reflects the skill of the wielder, but it is agile and mobile enough to score subtle strikes on the arm instead of “coup de grace” attacks to the torso.

~~~ Anyways ~~~

A good bit of competition to be had at Northern Colorado Fencing these days.

One of the fencers from the 2020 U.S. Junior World team (didn’t get to compete, thanks COVID) is home for the summer from Penn State. He used to fence foil, and he’s shorter than average for an epeeist.
He’s fast as hell. Has a foot touch that comes out of nowhere. It’s completely demoralizing. Fantastic stuff. 

When he first returned, and we had our first serious bout, the coach watching commented: “Well, I’m definitely watching two people who know how to fence. It’s just that one of them is a sports car, and the other is a diesel truck…”

Gonna be a fun summer.

Anyone interested in trying it out, feel free to DM me. NCF is more a breeding ground for maniacally obsessive champions than a venue for casual recreation, but there’s capacity for some intro offerings. There’s also other clubs in the area that cater more towards recreational offerings.

long walks on the beach