The New Furore for Fencing
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The New Furore for Fencing
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Helen Hoffman
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list of contributors
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Dan Smith
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Date
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September 21, 1919
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10
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The New Furore for Fencing
Why the Graceful Art is Likely to Be an Important Feature of the New Season
By Helen Hoffman
The neglected art of fencing, recently exhibiting unmistakable signs of real revival, seems likely to bring about a veritable furore this season. While the play of foils has been almost exclusively confined to men since the romantic days of knighthood, a few women of leisure who are enthusiastic sportswomen have become not only found of this particular exercise, but are known quite widely as expert fencers.
One of these is Miss Florence A. Ballin, who has crossed swords with many of the best known fencers in the country. Miss Ballin is a noted tennis player as well, and for some time held the Old Dominion championship.
Miss Ballin is a perfect type of the class of young American women who have gone in for athletics for the pure sport this diversion provided. Brought up in a fashionable girls’ school, she nevertheless kept up her interest in athletics which she began when she was five years old.
“I have been playing tennis, and I have been fencing since I was a child,” said Miss Ballin. “It is not alone because the stimulating exercise these furnish, but because I find an immense enjoyment in these things. I wish every girl could know the benefits to health which such exercises give. If they did, they would feel that athletics were as necessary to their welfare as food itself.”
Perhaps no better example of young womanhood could be chosen to spread interest in an athletic diversion than this dashing fencer. For some time she has been one of the volunteer workers for the War Camp Community Service in New York, and in this capacity she has entertained thousands of soldiers and sailors who pass through the clubs run by the War Camp Community Service, with fencing bouts in which noted men experts have been her partners.
Since the special need for this work among soldiers and sailors will be over shortly, the War Camp Community Service has made plans to turn their work among young men into peace time entertainment for young people in the community centres [sic] which they are in process of creating.
In the program of entertainment for young women, Miss Ballin has consented to give instruction in fencing to hundreds of young working women in the various clubhouses and social headquarters to be maintained by this peacetime organization.
“I hope the young women of the country will take up fencing ultimately,” said Miss Ballin. “Tennis is a splendid summer out-of-door exercise and form of enjoyment, but I know of nothing aside from dancing that will give so much pleasure during the winter months as intelligent fencing.
“Fencing is not a violent form of exercise, yet it calls for rapid exercise of every muscle. It is stimulating and of the greatest benefit to health. A woman need not be an athlete to fence. She need not even be markedly strong. Tennis, golf and swimming are rather vigorous forms of exercise for a young woman who is not robust.
“But any young woman can fence, and I think she will find, without making any exceptions, that she has grained in health immensely.”
Heretofore, what might be called athletic conveniences for women have been neglected in the cities. There are few places to which one can direct a young working woman who would like to take this recreation. Fencing and indoor tennis and swimming pools have been for the rich only, where in a few exclusive women’s clubs such exercise may be had under most attractive conditions.
But this winter arrangements will be perfected whereby such enjoyment from athletics may be had under ideally happy circumstances. For example, Mr. Marius McGuffey, head of the entertainment and social bureau of the War Camp Community Service in New York, says he hopes that arrangements now being perfected will give a real impetus to fencing and kindred sports on the part of women, and that the work may spread throughout every city, town and hamlet in the country.
Let me quote Miss Ballin again. “One thing that fencing does – it trains the eye.” And she points out that this is a high benefit in itself. In order to fencer well one is compelled to move quickly. A trained eye means an active brain, for one must think quickly as well.
“Another thing that fencing will do for a woman, and which ought to appeal to every young woman, and that is, it will help to make her more graceful. Fencing will do this even more than dancing. If a girl is a good fencer it follows that she will be a graceful dancer.
“Another thing it does for her is give her poise. I recall that at one of the soldier’s entertainments given the past year one of the entertainment directors asked the boys if they could identify the women fencers in a group of musicians and guests. Invariably the boys chose the fencers. They said it was because of their poise and their graceful walk.
“A girl overcomes self-consciousness when she learns to fence. She loses the awkward poise [sic] one notices so often among girls at parties. They don’t know what to do with their hands and their feet very often.
“I think the war has done a great deal for athletics in this country among young people. At the various big army camps, boys who never even ran a foot race at school, learned to love athletic games. This interest in sports has spread to the young women, and it is a duty we owe young women to see that they are provided with the proper facilities and encouragement to continue this interest in all athletic sports.
“It means a wonderful thing for the nation. The health of a nation is one of its greatest assets, and how can a nation be strong if its women aren’t?
“I hope we shall see in time an athletic club for girls in very city and town in the country.”
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depicts
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Photograph : "The salute"
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Photograph : "The parry"
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Photograph : "Miss Florence Ballin, a Prominent National Exponent of the Fencing Art."
