h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This article in and of itself, is quite good.
However as a classically trained fencer (saber for the past decade) I find the concept and execution in a bout to be less than sportsman.
In the confines of training the flick is essential, since so many inexperienced fencers are using it. But in a tournament, the offender using this method should have their knickers hiked up to their shoulders. My justification for this is quite simple, if you boil down foil fencing to one word it is "precision", and this maneuver isn't precise.
Well that's my 3 cents worth!

I've fenced epee for five years, and I watch a lot of foil. I think once you just accept that modern sport fencing is an arbitrary game with sticks, it becomes much more enjoyable. Bad, ugly flicking in foil just looks stupid. But nice flicks just add even more depth to the game. And nor is flicking limited to foil - proper flicks and whip-overs are used to access hand and arm target in epee, as well as help in infighting. I say, its here to stay, and adds to the game. Once you understand the mechanics of flick, its just another attack, with its own vulnerabilities. Flick too much and you'll start eating attacks-on-prep and counterattacks, and some straight up hard parry-ripostes anyway ...

I have fenced for about 2.5 years now, I am a lefty, (so i can't really tell you how good I am, well that and I haven't ever competed in a large tournament) and I prefer the epee and the sabre. I don't often fence with foil, but I never intentionally use the flick. I have used it in a few bouts against my instructor, (really the only one I will fence with a foil, he's also a lefty) but can see it coming and usually can stop it (he was surprised the first time I used it against him as he hadn't taught it to me). My personal view on the flick is that it should never be used intentionally. It isn't precise or graceful, two aspects that are forever coupled with the foil.