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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!
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.
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.
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."
between workouts.
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.
Fencers Quarterly Magazine, 848 South Kimbrough, Springfield, MO 65806
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