Project Introduction Fencing Mask: Jacky Hu
The object that I have chosen for 3D scanning is my first fencing masks for saber. This mask is about 1.6 kilograms and about the size of a human head, it is made in Germany and made by metal. I have been learning for fencing for about one year. The reason why I started to learn to fencing is because my friend invited me to the fencing program that the school has just established. Practicing and learning fencing enables me to feel relaxed when I finish my work at school. In the time I learn fencing I found out why many fencers did there best and never give up.
Fencing is a sport that takes politeness very seriously. This sport comes from an ancient duel in Rome, Persia, and Greece. Some people think fencing is just a way to pastime their life, but for those fencers, fencing is a way to practice fighting skills and combat skills. In 1896, This sport has been including in the Olympics. Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. These three disciplines in modern fencing are Foil, Epee, and saber. Different types of fencing have different masks, cloths, swords, target areas, and even playing styles. The subject that I have learned was saber, it is unlike others, saber can use the blade to slash for score and the target area is the whole part of the upper body. So a player that learning saber needs to have a faster response capability in the matching most of the time that decided who is the victory or defeat might be less than one second.
The oldest fencing masks that people have found in now is from AD600, it was found at Sutton Hoo ship burial site. It includes a face mask with eye sockets, eyebrows, and a nose that has two small holes cut in it to allow the wearer to breathe freely. At the year 1862, the Under-Master of Westminister School, the Rev Thoma’s mains Weare, felt it necessary to emphasize the need to wear guards to the face and body while fencing: he had sustained a serious accident while neglecting that simple safeguard. Until the 1880s, the mesh was hexagonal in shape and hand-made, some finely crafted masks even being presented as prizes. In 1910 Souzy & de Laam patented a stronger steel sheet mask pierced by 2 mm holes 3 mm apart. Today, manufacturers use automated spot welding techniques to ensure that modern masks meet the highest safety standards.
In 2002, the International Fencing Association start to promote using a transparent mask for fencing, it main design is to maintain the metal mesh surface and change the part of the nose and eyes to a transparent glass. It designs for the audience to make the audience see the facial expression of the contestants. To increase the observability of the event. But this causes many issues, in 2009 the European Junior Fencing Championships event it happens the sword pierce the transparent mask, after this accident the international Fencing cancel using the transparent masks.
In this era, the number of people learning fencing is less than the people in the past. One of the reasons is the equipment is prohibitively expensive for most of the family, the second reason is this sport need to have a fast response capability it means that people who want to get a high score in fencing need to start practicing and learning when they are young. Those issues cause people to learn fencing decreasing. But to those successful fencers spending more time and more money in fencing is the main reason for how they succeed.