New Student Information

"Honor Above All"

What part does honor and responsibility play in being a fencer? Our game is played by each person calling their own hits. This requires skill and honesty on the part of the fencer. A cheat never goes unseen so in the end only damages themselves.

The important thing to remember is this: fencers acquire the habit of being honest, gracious and, above all, self-responsible.

If you are starting new we recommend you purchase your equipment in this order:

1. Gloves

2. Foil Epee or Saber ( any full size Olympic blade will work)

2. 3 Weapon Mask -

3. Personal Protection (Men Sports cup Ladies Breast Protection)

4. Gorget

For more information and pictures see the equipment page:

At this point you will have the basics.

Clothing - The clothing requirements in the classroom are simple. All skin must be covered when bouting. At larger competitions with other historical fencing schools or with other fencing organizations there are stricter requirements, but as a general rule the clothing must be close to what was worn during the time period of the renaissance. "Period" garb is particular in that it comes from a certain time period, what was worn during the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I from the late 1500's to the early to mid 1600's. Garb is not medieval King Arthur wear, not fantasy clothes, no elves, vampires, dungeon masters or wizards, no neon, no zippers. The closer your garb is to the proper time period the better the show. We will not “check” for personal protection. This is a sport of honor. You are expected to know the armor requirements and don them whenever you are participating. Without some covering the skin is susceptible to metal splinters, stop thrusts and other potential injury that may otherwise be prevented by proper covering if you do not ware any piece of your required armor while using fencing weapons injury can occur and you are choosing to take that risk.

Next after the rank of Novice a student will begin use of the Sword and Dagger. We do not recommend purchasing the more expensive blades until the student reaches this stage to ensure they will stick with it. Be sure to explore Debbie’s amazing work at compiling great information on the sword and fencing

5. Sword

6. Dagger

Competitions in class - Parents and friends are encouraged to come and enjoy the courteous and friendly atmosphere during class competitions (tournaments). Students are very proud of the level of skill they have achieved through practice and dedication and their instructors are proud of them as well. There will be a class announcement the week prior to a class tournament, while bigger competitions at Renaissance faires are planned months in advance and can be found on the Diamond Rose website.

Links to Class information

Join the Yahoo Group for Doctrine and all else:

Links to costumes

Traveling - Competitions are held in cities near and not so near to Auburn. Each event has a coordinator for putting students on lists that are submitted to other groups that are hosting renaissance faires or revels. A "gate list" is how you sign up to attend a faire. Competitions are held on a few select weekends during the year.
Renaissance faires and revels - Renaissance faires and revels are groups of people gathering together to entertain the public by recreating a small piece of Renaissance history. We and other groups of fencers sometimes play host at renaissance faires, which means that a group is given a small area at the faire with which to decorate in renaissance fashion and all students and volunteers who come to the faire for fencing competition must dress in the fashion of the time period also.
Volunteering and commitment - Volunteers are needed for these events and there are many ways to help out before the event, during the event and after the event. We only ask that you help out where and when and however you can, as any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Even if a few hours is all you can assist. Before the event volunteers are needed for preparation work in setting up and decorating the day before. During the event, hospitality is the word of the day as we make sure that our fencers stay hydrated and we need to make sure that only fencers and their guests are in the area marked for us. Post event help definitely needed for taking down the pavilions and cleaning the area after the event. What we want avoid is having a few dedicated volunteers doing all of the work.