Tell me about fencing and belly dancing

Cafe Society
1

Sorry if this is the wrong forum - seemed appropriate.

I have decided that 2007 is the year in which I will try all the random silly things I’ve ever wanted to dabble in, and first on the list are belly dancing, and fencing. There is exactly one listing for instruction in each of these in the Reno phonebook, and I just got off the phone with both of them. Belly dancing lady was very informative and is going to call me back with more details; fencing academy, I got their voice mail as they don’t open till 5 and asked them to call me so I could ask some questions.

Aside from the obvious (price of lessons, time of lessons, etc.), what types of questions should I be asking, here? I know there are folks on here who’ve had experiences with both - please lend me your advice, warnings, stories, encouragement, whathave you!

2

Although I have absolutely no sense of rhythm (sometimes walking up steps is a challenge), I wanted to learn how to belly dance, so I signed up and went to classes, which were held in a group. In the group were people a different skill levels. Although I liked learning how to dance, it was very intimidating for me trying to learn something if eveyrone around me (and the class was packed) was “getting it” at a much faster pace than I was.

At the end, I decided I liked watching it better than actually doing it.

3

belly dancing while fencing is against the rules in most amateur competitions.

4

For fencing, try your local community college or university. It’s often included in the Phys-Ed curriculum.

Like most stylized martial arts, forget everything you’ve ever seen on the silver screen about fencing. It’s definitely not Errol Flynn or Inigo Montoya. No making wild dramatic slashes and cutting candles in two. It’s very disciplined, lots of concentration on footwork and precision. You are limited in the area that you’re allowed to aim at, depending on which weapon you choose (sabre, epee or foil). In a match, there are actually complicated right-of-way rules determining who can attack and who is defending.

That said, it’s a lot of fun and very good exercise. Even with the protective gear, you’ll probably collect a few bruises.

5

“En navel”

6

For general bellydance info, I would check out http://www.shira.net/

Are classes ongoing? How many do you have to sign up for? How long have the instructors been dancing? What style of bellydance do they do?

I take Egyptian bellydance. I’ve been doing it on and off for eight years or so. I am not coordinated, and not flexible. The school I attend has ongoing classes, which I really like, because it means that while there’s always someone better in class with you, there’s also someone worse :D. It helps me, anyway.

There are all sorts of styles of bellydance, but most of the basic movements are the same, from Tribal through Classical Egyptian through Lebanese through Folklore…

It takes about a year to internalize dance movements so that they feel totally natural, and you can begin layering, which means doing at least two unrelated movements at once. Middle Eastern dance feels really weird to Westerners for the first while- we’re not used to moving body parts in isolation, and we tend to be tense.

It’s a whole lot of fun, very feminine, and extremely good exercise. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t do movements immediately. Relax and have fun.

7

I’d thought of that…I’m going to see what outrageous amount this academy asks, and then probably start checking out TMCC and UNR. Although, who knows? I thought the belly dancing would be expensive, and it’s $70 for 8 weeks. Not too shabby!

Sounds like exactly what I’m looking for! Been desperately needing some good exercise and a way to work off some energy and stress.

Thank you for your input!

8

I don’t know, but I suspect that you can practice belly dancing anytime (no partner or equipment needed). I would suspect a partner helps in fencing, a lot, and you prolly need some room to swing those foils and such. I could be wrong about this, as I know next to nothign about fencing.

Anyway, if fitness is part of the equation, and the ability to practice easily at home is also important, belly dancing seems a more productive choice.

9

And, on the opposite end of the spectrum, this also sounds like something I’ve been looking for. Have not felt very feminine as of late, been looking for some fun activities outside of work, and have several friends online who take belly dancing and just adore it, which gave me the idea in the first place.

So let me ask you - the woman I spoke with said her beginner’s class is 8 weeks…is that enough time to learn anything at all and progress to the next level, or will I probably want to take it again when it’s over?

Thank you!

10

One involves pointy things. The other, curvy things.

11

You’re probably right about that; although my husband is interested in taking fencing with me, I doubt our itty bitty 1 bedroom apartment would be real accommodating to sparring. :smiley:

That’s kind of why I’m interesting in checking out this academy; it sounds like they not only offer lessons, but give you a place to hang out and practice as well.

12

Seriously? It depends so much on the student and how they divide up the curriculum that it’s hard to tell. I’m guessing in the first course they’d teach basic shimmy, undulation, hip circles, and figure eights. You should be able to learn those (although mastering takes a long time and a lot of practice) by the end of the eight weeks. By the end of the second level class you’ll actually feel like you’re dancing, as opposed to, “Now shift weight foward… keep the hips down… Arrgh!”

Here’s the curriculum breakdown at my school, and their explanation: Arabesque Academy Curriculum

Let me know how it goes. There are several other bellydancers here, who I’m sure can offer help and advice.

13

Bellydancing sometimes has pointy things. And shiny, sparkly things.

Anyone want to give me $600 for a dance outfit? :smiley:

14

You might be surprized at how much practicing of your fencing you can do in one room. I only had a bedroom in college, and managed to do a good bit of practicing. (not much footwork, but lunging is all you need room for).

Fencing is a great sport and a lot of fun. I am guessing you will start out with foil, which is one of the more difficult as far as scoring. But it is a great way to start.
Fencing is probably the best way to improve your reflexes. You will really notice an improvement.

A couple tips:

  • if you wear glasses, they will become a pain under the mask. The best you can do is get a no-fog cloth used for ski goggles, but they will still fog up something fierce. (you will get a good workout in fencing).
  • for your own gear, pawn shops are a GREAT source for fencing gear (and being that you’re in Reno, I know there are plenty of pawn shops). I tried swap meets/flea markets, but it is real hit or miss. Pawn shops seem to have loads of gear (foils, sabres, masks), though.

Enjoy !

15

Fencing provides a very good leg workout. It involves a very specialized form of movement that can take some folk a while to get used to, and that IMO is quite different than most other sports - including most other MAs.

There are two distinct elements - moving your body forward and back, and manipulating your weapon. It can take quite a while to develop competence at both. And even after a couple of years you may not be able to watch skilled fencers and figure out what they are doing.

It can take a while to get good enough at it to even really figure out if you like it or are any good at it.

Coming from other martial arts, one thing I didn’t care for was the “one touch stops the action.” No matter what you are doing right and the other guy is doing wrong, if your opponent manages to touch you in the correct place and depress his tip an eighth of an inch, he gets the point. Just an aspect I didn’t persoanlly care for.

There is a big difference between fencing recreationally vs for competition. Make sure your school/instructor supports whichever you prefer. It can suck if you want to just fence recreationally, and the main focus of the school is on electric competition.

The three styles are quite different - in terms of skills and equipment. I preferred foil, but my club was emphasizing epee. So I found that a bit frustrating. So you’ll have to ask what the club offers when.

You sweat a lot! As a result, loaner equipment - jacket, mask, glove - can get really stinky. You will want to decide on whether the club keeps their loaner gear clean enough for your standards. If you want to buy a jacket and mask, it will cost maybe $100. And there isn’t a huge market to resell them it if you quit.

Fencing does require some amount of equipment. There is a learning curve to learning what style of grip you prefer, and which of the vendors your prefer. Blades break, and electronic equipment must be maintained. Find out what equipment you need to buy off the bat. To compete you may need a jacket, knickers, socks, glove, electronic vest (for foil), at least 2 complete electronic weapons, and a body cord. Will cost a minimum of a couple hundred. Electronic components are resaleable.

Make sure the club enforces safety. For example, no one should be permitted to fence without at least a mask and jacket.

One final thing - I only fenced for a couple of years, belonging to one club and competing in maybe 10 competitions. But IME there was a pretty high percentage of assholes in the fencers I met. There’s something about the attitude I encountered. Don’t know if the snootiness reflected the “aristocratic” history of the sport. But there were a lot of guys with attitudes. Moreso than I personally encountered in the many other martial arts I did for several years.

And a lot of fencers get into things like grunting and screaming during matches that I kind of considered silly posturing. I mean, I was coming from full contact fighting where the guys would keep quiet and just try to kick the shit out of each other. Thought it was silly to have guys screaming over tapping each other. Like I said, just my opinion based on my limited experience.

16

Wow, good to know. Mr. Bunny does, indeed, wear glasses and is completely blind without them. He also refuses, due to a bad past experience, to ever wear contacts. Hmm.

Also good to hear about finding gear in pawn shops - you’re right, they are quite plentiful in these parts.

Thanks for the advice!

17

Go to a couple of classes before you buy something from a pawn shop. For example, I remember one guy showing up with a real antique leather wrapped Italian grip. Useable, but perhaps not the best for a beginner. And no matter how cheap you get it, you don’t want to be buying stuff you are going to need to replace immediately.

And if you want to enter any competitions your mask will need to meet certain standards.

Just saying - the gear is a lot more complicated than it may appear at first glance.

If you go electric, doing some repair/maintenance work on your own will save quite a bit of $.

18

Oh I wasn’t planning on making that trip to ye olde pawn shoppe quite yet, just good information to have for future reference. :smiley:

19

I’ve done both.

People hit you in fencing. I didn’t like that part. (That was the problem with martial arts, too. I don’t like getting hit.) Very good exercise - burned through my quads, but … there’s still the hitting thing.

I need to get back into belly dance this year. I stumbled into tribal & tribal fusion (because the class times were convenient), which I really liked. Since then, I’ve taken some egyptian, but I prefer the tribal style. Like Lissla Lissar said, much of the basic movement is the same no matter what you do. If you can find something in your area, go watch performances some time, and feel free to ask anyone who dances the way you think you want to dance where they learned.

One piece of advice - never spend more in a year for costuming than you did for lessons. (The clothes are fun. I’m not a clothes person, but with dance clothes - belly dance clothes, especially … I want to buy everything)

20

Re: Fencing
Find out if the school does much national competition. The one I went to was excellent, the Russian fella that was the primary instructor upheld the glory of the Soviets back in his day, great guy and very professional. And he spent all his time with the kids that were going to competition and little with us dabblers. Also, the school was closed seems like every other week during season.

Some schools around here will loan you equipment for your first month, but after that they expect you to shell out for your own. They also have at least one free lesson, which is much like the guy on 7th giving out free smack.

Ask about sabre. I like sabre 'cause you can hit people on the head AND stab 'em in the heart!