FENCING My First 40 Years by Malc Cawton

The 1960's

It all started in September 1967. My friend and I enrolled for fencing at evening class at Arnold and Carlton College. For the previous two years we had attended that College to study surveying which we thought would help us in our chosen careers as Civil Servants in Her Majesty's Land Registry, Nottingham. We had gone as far as we could with surveying so now for something different.

We poured over the College prospectus and it came down to a choice between fencing and the Yachtmaster's Certificate of all things! Anyway, I would like to think that fencing's gain was yachting's loss as we opted for fencing. In my case it was for two reasons. The first was that I liked pirates and the second that my dad had done some fencing in 1934 whilst he trained as a P.T.Instructor as part of his army service. During this training he produced a notebook covering tuition in foil, epee, sabre and bayonet which always fascinated me when I was a boy.

When I started in September 1967 I was 24 years old and married. I was fairly fit and keen to have a go at most sports but my major sporting pastime was water skiing which took up Sundays through 8 months of the year.

Enrolment for evening classes involved filling in a registration form with full name and address. I supplied my full and proper name, Malcolm Patrick,(What was my Mother thinking?) and was therefore called Malc by my coach from night one. Since then I have been known as Malc in fencing circles whereas the rest of the world knows me as Mick!

Our evening class was a feeder for Arnold and Carlton Sword Club which met at the same venue at the same time. The coaches were Ted and Clarice Skinner, Clarice being in the main responsible for the new recruits. Clarice was small and neat and certainly not in the first flush of youth. She had studied ballet in her earlier years so her lessons put much emphasis on footwork which we were expected to to perform with some grace. It must have been amusing to watch an assortment of wannabe musketeers and pirates trying to get to grips with plies, jetes, port de bras and the like. Bladework was practised meticulously and seemingly endlessly so that it was weeks before we were let loose to fight each other. Once I got into it I was hooked. I loved the fighting but also, being a left hander enjoyed the challenge of making the technical stuff work against right handers. In our first year we worked towards the Amateur Fencing Association Bronze Foil Award which we all passed with flying colours.

My friend moved away with the job but I continued and enrolled again the following year. I was of course now one of the seniors with new recruits far less able than me. The seniors were thin on the ground and with a couple of exceptions were not very good so very quickly I was one of the best of (I hasten to add) a pretty poor lot! We continued to work towards our Silver Foil Award which we earned that year.

At that time the Notts and Derby County Fencing Union was strong in that there were lots of Clubs. Most were small but keen and friendly so that Foil Leagues for Men and Ladies were well supported and hotly contested. Apart from ourselves, A&C, there were teams from Newark, Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Matlock, Notts City, Notts Y.M.C.A, Derby Y.M.C.A, West Bridgford, John Port School in Derby, Rolls Royce and Clarendon College. The favourite match was with Ilkeston as they fought in the back room of a pub. The piste was a bit short but it didn't seem to matter when there was a pint waiting after every fight.

Notts City ruled the roost. They were the biggest and best with the best coach, Vic Casappi, and the most experienced fencers. They also had good young fencers like Richard Berry and Gordon Fisher who were trained by Dave Cornhill at Bilborough Grammar School.

I was soon in our team and though we never seriously challenged Notts City we did quite well winning most of our matches. There was a schoolboy at John Port School who was very good for his age. I remember beating him but only after an epic struggle. This was Steve Fox who went on to be one of Great Britain's best foilists but only after an accident had relieved him of his right index finger forcing him to change to fence with his left hand. Interestingly I still see Steve, but now its at Veteran competitions!

My first daughter was born in 1969 and my wife stopped work so spare cash for fencing was hard to come by. However there was plenty of fencing going on without having to leave the East Midlands. Apart from the Foil League already mentioned Notts and Derby C.F.U. ran team and individual championships at all weapons, though ladies at that time were considered not robust enough to fence epee or sabre. In similar fashion the East Midlands also ran championships at all weapons. There was also a team competition called the Cooper Trophy for teams consisting of one each of mens and ladies foil, sabre and epee. The East Midlands Novices was another good competition and it was a qualifier for the National Novices Championship. In addition there was the Leicester Open, one of the biggest and best, and there was the Clara Raynor (Nottm Open). There were also county matches. Notts and Derby regularly fenced Leicestershire at all weapons and had similar matches against Warwickshire and Yorkshire. The East Midlands section was dominated by the Tyson family who ran everything including Leicester YMCA, which was the strongest club in the section by far.

The 1970's

And so my fencing went on for the next 3 or 4 years during which time I was selected for the County B team (Foil) against Leicestershire. I won my fights including one against Henry de Silva who was to become a significant figure in my fencing life. I was a regular at the various county and section championships steadily improving and I also entered the two local Opens.

Most competitions in those days were held using the pool system right through to the bitter end where the final six needed to be fit as well as skilful. The county championships were well attended with over thirty entries so that before you reached the final six there were lots of bouts to be won and the competitions lasted for hours!

In the Open Competitions the epee would be electric from the start but foil would only be electric after the first round. Sabre of course had a long time to wait before it saw any kind of electricity. The foil first round of “steam” gave the beginners who didn't have electric kit the chance of some experience against good opposition. Occasionally though, someone would get through to the next round and there would be a scramble to borrow enough kit to continue. Top class and international fencers could apply for a bye through the first round so that they started at the electric stage when the “rabbits'' had been eliminated.

The Clara Raynor (Nottm Open) was started as a memorial to a local fencer of international standard who was killed in a car crash. Many entered because they knew Clara. One such fencer was Dorothy Knowles who had been a big name in the 1930's. Now she seemed ancient in her trademark hairnet but nevertheless she gave many a young fencer a run for their money.

Gordon Wiles was another larger-than-life character at that time. He was an East Midlands fencer, over six feet tall, built like an ox and sporting a bushy beard. He was a Scottish international and was capable of winning the Clara Raynor at sabre and epee and did so. If you were in the same pool as Gordon, you certainly knew it when he had finished with you.

I think that around this time I won my first medal. Probably a bronze for some County team event. Among my medals I have lots of bronzes with no date or event so its hard to be precise but I do have memories of limited success.

My second daughter was born in 1973 causing an even greater money shortage.

By the time it got to 1974 I was Champion at A& C. at all weapons. I had learned sabre from a crusty old Scot called Dan McFee. The best bit of advice he gave me was to “have a bit of swagger when fencing sabre, laddie”. I had learned the basics of epee (what else is there?) from Ken Clifford and was helping out with the coaching. I had also passed my Gold Proficiency Award after we had employed Geoff Dawson, an exquisite technical coach and tactician to show us how it was done. New fencers may be surprised that it took a special coach to get us through the gold award but things were much different then. The exam covered theory and technical work including the whole range of strokes as well as fighting ability and presiding.

At that time I was coaching foil to a neighbour's daughter in their garage. The girl, Sarah Jackson, showed lots of promise and was very good so we soon outgrew the garage.

Chilwell Olympia was built in the same year and in some way that I can't remember, I found out that they were equipped with twelve sets of fencing kit. I approached the manager and asked if I could run a course for beginners. As I wasn't asking for a fee he jumped at the chance even though I had no formal coaching qualification. So in August 1974 twelve prospective fencers, including Sarah, enrolled and Chilwell Blades was born and I was fencing two nights a week. The enrolment fee was £1 and there was a weekly subscription of 10p for juniors and 20p for seniors!

I discovered The Civil Service Fencing Union and entered the Championships in 1975 along with an A&C colleague who worked for Income Tax. I fenced at all three weapons and came away with a bronze medal in epee of all things, my first individual medal.

Chilwell Blades was going from strength to strength. Experienced fencers from other clubs joined. There was Doug Groom from the by now defunct Long Eaton Fencing Club and Ian Degville who was also a Notts City Fencer. Our juniors were keen and we were able to put out good teams particularly at ladies foil with Sarah showing the way.

In 1977 I won my first county title - sabre - and I was overjoyed. To this day I can remember the last hit of the last pool fight which gave me a 5-4 victory and the title.

I thought it was about time I learned to coach properly. The thought was encouraged by an old but experienced fencer at Chilwell called Frank Garlick who told me that I was “doing it all wrong”. I was stung into action and joined a class run by Vic Cassapi. Doug Groom came too and after weeks of hard work we passed our exams and so in 1978, in Rotherham, I become a Regional Coach. Doug became a County Coach at the same time.

Vic amongst other things was the coach at Nottingham University but was trying to cut down on his workload and looking for someone to take it over. He recommended me. I got the job which was paid, but as the rules concerning amateurs at that time were fairly strict it was put down as expenses. My first night was a baptism of fire. I was following an experienced Professor as coach and I was greeted by a sea of expectant faces all anxious to see what I could do. Bluff it, of course, but it was a trial for one as shy and retiring as me!

As time went by I got better. It was a good training ground for coaching providing all sorts of challenges. Ian Degville came to help for a while and later Richard Collins joined me to became part of a successful double act. More about him later....

The cash earned was very welcome, helping me to fund my other fencing activities. The downside of the job was that it meant severing my ties with A&C. as the nights clashed. 1979 was a good year for two reasons. I was entering the regional and county competitions as was my practice when quite out of the blue and against all expectations I won the East Midlands Epee! I was by this time thinking of myself as a foilist/sabreur but winning a regional championship at epee, I ask you! The second good thing that happened that year was that a certain Richard Collins enrolled in the beginners class at Chilwell. I'll let you decide which event was the most important.

The 1980's

The 80's began well. I was a busy fencer entering open competitions and the county and regional stuff. I was fencing for the county, coaching more and more and getting involved in organising the Age Group Qualifiers for the National Championships and representing Chilwell on the county committee. In 1981 I won the Brenni Trophy, a county based handicap trophy which was very popular and well supported at that time. The following year I won the East Midlands Novices Foil Trophy. You may think that I was a bit long in tooth to be competing in a novices competition? Not so! A novice was any fencer who had not won the regional championship at foil. This included all but one or two elite fencers so it was a tough competition. Winning qualified me for a place in the National Novices Championship where I was third. 1982 saw the rise in popularity of town twinning. The twinning of Broxtowe with Gutersloh in Germany led me to inquire if there were any fencers over there. I received a letter from George Endt who invited the club to go over for a match. They would supply accommodation in the homes of the fencers and their friends and we would organise travel.

We went. George was a fantastic chap and we became friends. The hospitality we received was overwhelming. The fencing was good, the beer was good, the food was good. It was my first taste of fencing abroad. Over the next ten years the two clubs took it in turn to host the weekend which was always a fantastic experience.

I was a busy and successful fencer now. I was a regular ringer in the Notts City team for their annual match in Hunstanton between Hunstanton, Notts City and Leicester. We won medals routinely at all weapons. The Civil Service team called on my services for their matches and I was winning medals in the Civil Service Championships.

Around that time, I'm not quite sure of the year, I won the East Midlands Sabre for the first time, and again a couple of years later. In 1985 I won the County Foil Championship. I had been runner-up, but to win it was special. I also won the county epee that same year. I was a regular at Opens such as Nottm, Leicester, Hereford and Worcester, Grimsby, Shropshire, York, Kirklees and Norfolk. On occasion at such competitions I would see Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame. He was a very good foilist and nice bloke, not at all what you would expect from a heavy metal rock superstar. Although on one occasion when the competition was running late he had to scratch from his DE fight to fly to Germany where his band were performing that night.

Then Ian Degville and I heard about the South Kesteven Festival of Sport. One of the events was an open fencing competition. We entered everything and turned up on the day expecting hoards of fencers. It seems that publicity was a bit scant as apart from ourselves and a few other local fencers the only people there were the members of the Kesteven Fencing Club. It was a good day. We won everything between us and went home feeling a bit guilty.

At this time I was fencing mainly foil but often fenced sabre or epee at the opens depending on which day was the most convenient to attend.

In 1987 I passed my county epee coaches exam. (Well, someone had to!)

Also in 1987 while fencing in the York Open I bumped into Henry de Silva once again. He had just started what is now the National Veterans Fencing Association and was badgering anyone who looked remotely old enough, telling them all about it and getting them to join if 45 or over. He had recruited lots of fencers and had started to run the National Veteran Championships. I was old enough (difficult to believe, I grant you!) so in 1988 I entered the National Championships and came second in the foil. The next year I was second again but I did win the Sabre and the Master at Arms Trophy.

The 1990's

Yippee! I was a National Champion, albeit a very meagre one. Spurred on by this success I won the Civil Service sabre in 1990 and the Nottm Open sabre in 1991 (I call this my purple patch). The Nottm Open sabre was still run in pools right through to the final of six. I remember that Mark England and Rob Penton were the main threats but I was undefeated. Rob was particularly peeved as in the past we had fought many a ding-dong battle with Rob usually having the edge. I was particularly pleased as Rob was a noisy fencer who contested every decision that was given against him so silencing him was sweet.

During this period I was well into the organising of fencing in the region. I was County captain, selecting teams for inter-county competitions. I was Vice chairman of the Section committee and I was always Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer at Chilwell till I was booted upstairs to the position of Life President.

Coaching was taking more and more of my time. As well as coaching at Chilwell and Nottm University I was helping to coach The “County Squad” and I was also running courses for Nottm County Council. These courses were of three months duration leading to a bronze award and then a further three months to gain silver.

There was less time to compete but I was busy fencing regularly in Veterans and in Civil service events. I had also become an international fencer. Henry was working hard for Veterans fencing and among the matches he managed to arrange we had the first Veterans International - England versus Scotland. We travelled to Edinburgh in an ancient mini-bus with all the kit strapped to the roof. All, that is, except for the electric box which was my seat for whole journey! I fenced foil and as I remember we won but I cant' remember who won overall. It was the first of many such trips. Over the next few years I went as part of the Great Britain team to Germany, Denmark, Belgium and back to Scotland. Later the Veterans got a bit more sophisticated and we flew rather than share the mini-buses, but it was the cameraderie engendered by those early trips which helped to make the National Veterans what it is today.

At home we entertained and fought Germany, Luxembourg, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Wales and more, we also fought national teams of Students, Professional fencers, Civil Servants and, of course, the Armed Forces.

During such a match against the Navy in Portsmouth I came across a young fit Marine, full of enthusiasm and energy but lacking in experience. I fenced him and beat him. I never fenced him ever again which is probably a good job as he was James Williams who went on to be one of Britain's best ever sabreurs!

In 1991 and 1992 I was a member of the winning Veterans team at the Wellesbourne Team Trophy. Once with Epee and once with Sabre. I didn't manage to win any other veteran individual Titles but I did win the Master at Arms in 1992 and in 1993 which just goes to show that there is some point in Epee.

Veteran fencing was now European and world wide. The age for qualification as a veteran had been agreed universally as 40 for both men and women.

In 1993 I went to Liege to compete in the European Veterans Championships. The foil was run in pools throughout and lasted for hours. All competitors were exhausted by the time it got to the end but I did manage 8th place. Next day was Sabre. To spare us more torture it was pools first followed by D.E. My memory is hazy but I do remember being up against the No1 seed and previous Champion in the DE. He was Wolf Nettingsmayor who I beat much to his dismay. I went out in the next round being placed 11th.

Meanwhile Nottm University was going well. Richard Collins had become a good and awkward fencer and we fought together regularly in team competitions and the occasional open competition and of course Veteran events.

We were running the University as a double act and getting much satisfaction and success. One of our favourite tricks was to come into the room full of young beginners, put down our bags and then do a couple of handsprings across the room before introducing ourselves. (Poseurs or what?) We taught hundreds of beginners and dozens of experienced fencers during our university days. We had a team which came 2nd in the inter-University Championship and many of the fencers we taught are still seen around the competition circuit today. I am proud to say that I coached the Welsh ladies sabre team for the Commonwealth Games. I sounds pretty grand doesn't it but in reality I only coached the girls as individuals when they passed through the University!

It was at the University that I met and taught the best pupil I have ever had. He was from Thailand, and had a big smile and an unpronounceable name. Although a virtual beginner he could do anything you asked of him. I regularly turned up half an hour early in order to give him a lesson. By the time he left and returned to Thailand I was hard pressed to be able to teach him anything. I never heard anything of him since but if Thailand have a fencing team he should surely be in it.

Up till now my fencing had been virtually injury free except for the usual scratches and bruises but in 1994 I suffered badly from tennis elbow in my left arm which stopped me from competing for about a year. Coaching however was not affected as I had always been in the habit of coaching with both hands. What it did do was to make my right handed fencing much better.

I was selected in 1998 to fence sabre in the European Veterans championships in Vienna. We didn't do brilliantly well as a team and I didn't do too well myself. I remember being given a sound thrashing by the Hungarian, Nebald, who at 40 was only just a veteran and fresh from his International successes in the Hungarian national team.

The 21st Century

Ten years after my first European Championships I tried again. This time, 2002, the venue was Moscow. I entered the foil and the epee. I only entered the epee as I was unable to fence in the sabre as the date clashed with a family wedding. I did quite well in the foil finishing 6th after being removed quite clinically by a man named Kamuti. When I got home I looked him up. In his earlier years he had been runner-up in Olympic and world Championships so it was no disgrace. In the epee I started well but fell in the DE - to my old Civil Service namesake Malcolm Fare and I was placed 12th.

I managed to qualify for the 2004 world Championships by winning the National Veterans over 60s Championship at sabre. The world Championships were held in Limoges, France. I began well not losing a fight in the pools and getting hit only rarely so I went into the DE as number 1 seed. I had a bye into the next round but then lost to a German and was placed 9th.

I thought I could do better so the following year I made sure of qualification by getting good results at the Veterans Championships and age group competitions. The venue was Krems in Austria. This time I started badly in the pools and was lucky to survive the cut but in the DE's I fenced well knocking out the reigning champion on the way to the last four. I was beaten at this stage by Wolf Nettingsmayor (remember him from Liege?) who got his revenge and went on to win it. I was third and felt very proud standing on the rostrum being presented with my Bronze medal.

I continued to win medals in Civil Service Championships though they were always bronze or silver, never gold. I won more championship medals at the Wellesbourne Team Trophy, this time with the Civil Service. We have been reigning Champions since 2003 and I have fenced sabre and epee but last year I was reserve and selector as I had become Secretary of C.S. Fencing.

At this time my long association with Nottm University came to an end. A new regime wanted to change the way classes were run and proposed a new timetable which did not suit Richard and me so we brought that chapter to an end. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Being freed from the constraints of the University made it possible to start a second night for Chilwell Blades. I had always wanted the club to expand its horizons and this seems to be the way. So far it's proving to be a big success particularly with our sabreurs who are strong in numbers and quality.

Last year, 2006, the world Championships were held in Bath. It was the first time that they had come to Britain and a good show was promised by the organising committee. Of course, being in England everyone wanted to be in it so competition for places was particularly fierce. I managed (by the skin of my teeth!) to be given the fourth (of four) place in my weapon age group. When the time came we did have the prestigious event which had been promised but I only managed 9th place.

This year I have competed in the Nottm open and the Veterans championships, again qualifying for the Worlds. Sadly, this will take place in Australia so I will not be attending. (Why? Too far away and an awful lot of my pension!)

I also fenced for England in the (inaugural) 4 Nations Veterans Championships and was selected for the annual match with Germany. This latter invitation I had to decline as I was already committed to CS Fencing for the Duel on the Beach. (For the record, we came 5th out of 9 and had a great time, despite the damp weather).

So there it is! Forty years of fencing as my poor memory recalls it. Of course I have concentrated on the highlights and successes, but there have been just as many low spots and failures. I am still enjoying coaching though I am aware that it's not what it was or should be but I hope that I am technically sound so while ever fencers ask me for coaching I will carry on. The fencers I have coached recently are beginning to make their mark which is very satisfying and I am proud that it was I who started Sam Ward on the road to success. Whether my tactical skills and inspirational qualities are any good I will leave others to decide.

Similarly my competition skills are not what they were but while I can still win the odd bout and enjoy the ones I lose I will continue to do so until some disability or ailment prevents it.

In my time I have been coached, if only briefly, at various courses, by most of the best coaches in the country but the best in my opinion was Brian Pittman.

I have seen huge changes in fencing over the years. Epee of course hasn't changed much (!) but I have witnessed the now regular use of electric foil and seen various styles come and go. The new timings of the box have eliminated the flick hit and given foilists new challenges. Biggest changes of all have happened to the sabre. When I started a hit had to be seen to cut with the cutting edge and not the side and it had to cut and not be laid on. All this had to be spotted by the judges. With the advent of electric sabre the cutting action was still important until it was realised that the system was not reliable! Further changes gave us the present day stiffer blades which only need to touch the target to register the hit. This together with the banning of the fleche or any other crossing-over make it a far cry from its origins.

My youngest daughter, a fine fencer in her teens, has recently re-kindled her interest in the sport and in just 7 years time could join the Veterans. I hope she does so and that I too will still be there competing.

I started as a novice and now after forty years I can call myself an International (well sort of!). I started doing battle with a young Richard Berry. Now I do battle rather badly with his son Michael.

I started fencing in the Nottm Open wondering how Dorothy Knowles kept going at her age. Now its me at that age! I started needing to win every fight but now it's not quite so important.

When I look back over the forty years my record seems quite impressive. As an individual I won all three County championships, I won the East Midland Championship at sabre and epee and was runner-up at foil. I have won national titles through veteran and civil service fencing and won an open competition. I represented the Civil Service, the national Veterans and Great Britain and won a world bronze medal. I have been a member of teams which have won most things in the county and East Midlands and beyond, and I have had a goldfish named after me. Fame indeed.

Of course its not really that impressive. If you hang around long enough and keep entering competitions often enough there is bound to be the day when all the good fencers don't turn up for some reason giving you your chance of glory.

I sometimes wonder how different it all could have been had I not been loyal to A&C and later Chilwell. Should I have moved to Notts City and Leicester Y.M.C.A . where better coaching was available? Should I have stuck just to foil? Should I have had nothing to do with coaching and concentrated on fighting? Would I have been a better class of fencer? Maybe, but it might not have been such fun.

Has it been forty years wasted or well spent? Well spent I think. After all I could have spent it painting model soldiers or collecting beer mats or Morris Dancing or ......................