Anne,
Yes, if you are ‘handed’ it can be more wear on that particular side. I am ambidextrous to some extent (right handed, left footed) so I fence both right and left. Actually, I prefer to fence my opponents in a mirror, fencing the opposite hand my opponent uses which means I end up using my left more than my right.
William
Perhaps you fencers can answer a question. When my wife and I visited a castle in Wales, we were told that the one clockwise spiral stair (the rest were counter-clockwise) was defended by a left handed swordsman. My Missouri skepticism figured it was more likely built by a left handed mason. Ever heard any confirmation or debunking of the left handed fencer story?
Could it hve been constructed by someone who was from “down under” (southern hemisphere)?
My knowledge of the topic agrees with that statement that the right handed defender could fight heading down stairs where as the right handed attacker would be at a disadvantage, but realistically if the attacker is that far in the castle or keep your pretty well screwed.
I bet it has as much to do the “right” as good and left as bad, right hand of God etc. Remember coats of arms combining two families are often split with a Bend or “Bar” Dexter (upper right to lower left from the view of the person bearing the shield) vs. bar sinister upper left to lower right. This was interpreted as a legitimate birth vs. an illegitimate birth BUT still of a person of note.
Why do I have this piece of knowledge? because my dad taught theater and we had to paint shields for productions of Shakespeare’s histories.
More likely that if it was constructed by a lefty, they were sent “down under” since left-handedness is “sinister” and Australia was a penal colony (much like the state of Georgia). Evidently, since Savannah has a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the Irish were sent there. Perhaps the Welsh were sent down under?
this is getting out of hand? right?
That’s a cutting remark, Ken, but you do have a point.
Touche!
Come on guys, you don’t need a fencer to tell you about this, you need someone with a background in history, specifically historical castles and castle defenses.
Stepping forward, since medieval architecture is a hobby of mine.
Its not a myth, its a fact.
There are almost no ‘left handed ascending stairs’ (stairs that spiral upward counter clockwise) in any castle or construction that was considered for defensive purposes. Reason, its much harder in the era of edged weapons to attack up a stair turning clockwise than counter clockwise.
Why? Because most of us are right handed. We would hold our edged weapon (axe, sword, whatever) in our right hand.
Now, stand in the narrow spiral stair with your blade in your right hand looking up. See how the inside of the spiral makes you step out and expose your body to the defender above you because your hand is too close to the inner spiral. It also prevents you from getting any effective cutting angle on the defender above you, swords don’t bend around curves.
Now, do the same thing at the top of the stair looking down. Now your weapon ins along the outside wall. See how much more angle of effective area of attack (or defense) you can get by just exposing your arm and weapon and how the curve of the inner side protects your body?
With very few swords truly left handed, it means that the attacker is at as much disadvantage as possible. He may use his left hand, but not be as good. Or he may have to use his right hand and be at a real disadvantage.
But left handed defenders were just as hard to find, so its likely that the left ascending spiral was a stair not meant to be defended, or perhaps built at a later time when active military defense was not as much a concern.
The biggest builders of castle construction in the British Isles were the Normans. Its how they pacified an area. I toured many across Ireland. Almost all were living residences as well as administrative centers for the local Norman lord. Even in the residential areas, this stair construction holds true. In addition, even in the residential areas the stairs had random riser heights - that is the stairs were uneven. Also, they edges of the stone on the stair treads was left intentionally sharp. You had to pay attention and not screw up or you easily fell. Something else that causes an attacker to have to slow down.
There you go!
William
I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
I haven’t been on in a few days and found this topic most enjoyable! I’ve opted to post as “anonymous” for reasons you’ll soon discover.
My workouts take place just as soon as I get home from work. (I’m an architect who does nothing but spec writing in our firm.) Regardless of my work load, I leave at 4:00 most every afternoon, go home, work out, and then do more work if and when I need to.
As far as what I do? Well, I do have one of those Total Gyms that Chuck Norris and Christy Brinkley hawk. Surprisingly enough, they work pretty well. I just can’t decide if I look more like Chuck or Christy! ANYWAY, I try and do that every other day.
Now then, for the other days, and in order to get my aerobic exercise in (and THIS is why I’m posting anonymously…so they won’t take my man card away!), I do Tae Bo. A surprisingly exhausting routine!
My goal is to do those two things 5 days a week, which means I usually get it done at least 3.
And there ya have it.
Hey, what’s wrong with Tae Bo !
I used to have a ‘total gym’ some time ago, thought it was good, but wanted a bit more and had room to do it so I got one of the Bowflex, the one that is the vertical tree, I think they call the extreme or something. That thing is heavy, so you can actually do pullups from it or attach bands to its column and it just does not move. Frankly, I put it together by myself and lifting the top part of the assembly onto the base post was a major effort! But its a great machine. Their new product that uses bands and coils looks interesting, lower profile, saves more on space, but I really like the overhead tree.
William
Nothing’s wrong with Tae Bo - and it is exhausting, especially once you get beyond the basic workout. (Although, even the 8 minute workout is tiring). The most difficult part, though, is finding the tapes or CDs anymore. Thank goodness for second-hand bookstores.
Why is it that none of the exercisers shown in the video tape actually look like most of us?
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTCc_17kNMk]
David: Your response had me rolling on the floor. Does that count as exercise?
OK…I admit it…I’m Mr. Anonymous!
Lynn…if you’re OK with paying full retail, here’s plenty of Tae Bo dvds.
I usually get a couple of new ones a year just to keep from getting bored.
Full retail? What’s that?
Ron - that only counts as exercise if you do it for full 30 minutes and get your heart rate up to the required count. And if you do, I want to see the Youtube!
Lynn…in THAT case, well, as of 5 minutes ago, there’s 525 Tae Bo items on Ebay!
I’m good right now, but I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!
Another all-age activity that I recommend is yoga. I took it up last summer and was surprised at the level of effort required - I was dripping sweat after 60 minutes. But at the end, I was totally relaxed. Being AARP-eligible, I’m not nearly as flexible as these 20-something dancers, but it’s fun to try. Sorry, Lynn - no videos allowed!
Oh, rats! Well, one can always hope for a rogue with a cell phone, right?
And, I think, after reading all the above, one of the things we all do for exercise is laugh!