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Sample article from:
Fencers Quarterly Magazine - Winter 2000/2001.
Vol. 5, No. 2, 32 pages

"My Friend Bob"
By John Gonzalez

Fencer John Gonzalez discovered a book recently that has had a fascinating influence on the way he
trains. He shared that experience last fall with his colleagues in St. Louis.

"It's my friend, Bob," he explains to a visitor.

The original "Bob" was illustrated in Dr. Rudy Volkman's work, The Big Book of Fencing ($25 plus $2.50
shipping and handling from www.fencing.net). Gonzalez found Dr. Volkman's book to be a quality,
straightforward guide to the basics of the sword -- and he especially like the sections which explained
common mistakes. But, it was Bob who made sense of the techniques; Bob who gave him a surprising
workout; Bob who taught him how quickly an apparently static opponent can riposte.

"Bob" is a homemade fencing dummy -- who turned out to be pretty smart!

"I made him from two-by-fours, some leftover pieces of
fabric, a handful of hardware, and a retired foil and mask,"
Gonzalez says. "The full instructions are in Dr. Volkman's
book -- I just followed the directions."

Bob stands a little over five-and-a-half feet fall. He's study
and well-padded in the 'chest' area to take direct hits. His
'feet' consist of a balanced structure that resists tipping. He
appears to be right-handed.

His foil is firmly clamped into a spring mechanism that
allows the weapon to pivot. Bob does lateral parries
spontaneously when his weapon is tapped, flexes to allow
the bind and the croise, and provides a quick response that
mimics a human fencer.

"Bob" en garde.

"Dr. Volkman says you must wear your mask
when working with Bob," Gonzalez observes. A
visitor quickly finds out that Bob is no
push-over: when a beat-lunge against 'him'
rewards her with a sharp thrust to the chest!
The spring mechanism bounced Bob's foil back
into line, and caught the visitor unprepared.

Bob's fencing "hand's" spring mechanism.

Bob's 'arm' can also be adjusted with pliers or hex
wrench, to allow different heights and positions to be
selected.

Bob's arrival at the fencing school was an opportunity for
everyone to try their hand at the silent duelist. More than
one opponent felt the sting of Bob's blade and quickly
learned to watch out for the merciless return beat!

"I think I'd like to add some extra padding to Bob's upper
arm, Gonzalez said. "With the small gap there, it's a spot
where blades seem to stick."

Bob and John Gonzalez relax
between workouts.

Gonzalez received so many compliments about Bob
that he wondered if fencing dummies were routinely
available. Acquaintances suggested that there might be a
market for further homemade "Bobs". So Gonzalez
went ahead and contacted Dr. Volkman.

"He told me that I made his day with my show of
integrity and decency. And that I could go ahead and do
what I like with the plans. He says that he charges
about $200 per dummy himself. I don't think that I can
charge that much, especially since I can't supply the
masks or foils for any copies I make."
Bob can be found on occasion, in person, at St. Louis
University's Classical Fencing Society's Salle d'Armes
and Gonzalez would be pleased to discuss supplying
"Bobs" to other fencers.

He can be contacted at: jgonzalez6@avaya.com.