The Fencing Club meets every Tuesday and Thursday in the Kelsey Kerridge Leisure Centre on top of the Indoor Swimming Pool and beside the Multi Storey Car Park in Gonville Place.

Even though it wasn't his club to run, nor had he been attending the longest, it was impossible to ignore the impact Percival Galois had on this meeting of like minds. Before the official start time, he had once again set up a folding table to hold all manner of information that he felt curious minds might be interested to learn, if they were fans of fencing. In neat stacks he had placed some of the most influential fighting manuals of the ages, in cheap, mass-produced books. There was The Flower of Battle by Fiore de'i Liberi, A Thorough Description of the Art of Fencing by Joachim Meyer, the three masterful manuscripts of Hans Talhoffer, The Art and Practice of Fencing by Ridolfo Capoferro, and oddly enough several paperbacks of Tao of Jeet Kune Do by the late, great Bruce Lee.

If the piles of ancient and modern wisdom weren't enough for the budding fencer, Percival had provided more tangible examples of his enthusiasm for the art and sport. Lined up against the wall were five full sets of protective fencing outfits of various sizes, just in case a curious soul wandered in off the street, but could not participate for lack of not having the expensive equipment. Similarly, in a small fold-out rack he had placed about a dozen foils, epees, and sabers. What good was protective gear without a weapon to wield, after all? There were benefits to coming from money, and Percival had decided to use his to share one of his passions with as many people as he could. His was a pure love of the art itself, and he was dismayed at how archaic and mockable knowing how to use weapons of old had become in this modern day.

But here he was of like minds. And so he stood on the main floor, mask tucked under one arm and polishing his fencing saber with a well-oiled cloth. The man hummed to himself, as if he hadn't a care in the world, as he buffed out the non-existent smudges on his blade.

"What a lovely day..." he said to himself, a grin spreading over his handsome features.

Elissa wondered into the club. Her eyes showed a little suprise as she saw something that as actually about real fighting in the middle of books about a game. Interested she picked up the Tao and flicked through it, enjoying the familarity ... like wearing an old jacket that just fit. "Nice collection" she said to the dude who looked to be in charge, putting the book back "Hi. I'm Elissa. New student. You'll have to tell me the rules"

On her back she had a gym bag. A cricket bat handle protruded as did a wooden box. She hung it up on one of the hooks and took off her leather jacket, hanging it up on the same peg

Elissa looked through the swords carefully, skipping the toys...the foils... and picked the ones that you could actually use to kill someone with... even if that person didn't want to be killed. A sabre. The weapon that could thrust, had a real chop and if it was sharp enough draw cut. She carefully tested the edge before relaxing. It wasn't a real weapon she wouldn't be killing anyone here.

"Don't mind me. Just going to warm up. See what the blades like" she started to move through a slow series of movements that looked more like a dance. Every move evercising her body. It was just a warm up, she didn't need to engage her brain for this "Nice sword. Heavy. Trains the wrists. Safe" there was a spinning lunge move at this point in the kata and she didn't do it slow. It was fast and concealed by her body until it would have been too late to block, and then she was slow again "ish."

"How does this work then? I mean I've seen it on TV. Lots of straight moves. No circles. No triangle steps. No draw cut. Anything else I need to know?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kka6igctAI

Percival glanced up from his sword polishing, a phrase that never failed to elicit a snigger from those that heard it, and his eyebrows went up at the unfamiliar voice, and the flurry of questions. He turned, a beaming grin on his face. He was always happy to teach those new and curious to this ancient and beautiful art form. For just half a heartbeat, his eyebrow cocked as he took in this young woman's colorful hair and counter-culture fashion. But any judgement that he may or may not have made was quickly buried in the enthusiasm he had to share one of his passions, and to get to know a new person. He was very fond of people, and making friends was never a bad thing.

"Good morning. It is my good fortune to make your acquaintance young miss. My name is Percival Galois, and while I may only be a fellow student, may I be the first to welcome you to the University of Cambridge Fencing Club," Percival said brightly, snapping his heels together and saluting Elissa with the blade as though he were welcoming her to court.

"There are many rules young miss. And the rules vary between the different disciplines. There is a world of difference between, say, the Sport Fencing you see at the Olympics, Academic Fencing, and the Historical Fencing of the post-Renaissance era. However, if time is of the essence and you wish to learn the absolute fundamentals with all due haste, might I suggest picking up the yellow pamphlet on the table? The one labeled 'The pointy end goes into the other person.' I wrote it myself, if you will allow me a bit of self praise," he continued, a merry twinkle in his eye.

The young man then wisely kept his mouth shut as the colorful young woman went through her kata with a confidence born of familiarity. He raised his glasses higher on his nose, and studied her movements with a practiced eye. When she finished her routine, he slid his saber into his armpit and gave a polite clap. And it was clear from his expression that he was being totally sincere, and not sarcastic in the least.

"Very well done, I must say. Although, if you will forgive a mild criticism, I should think the basket hilt and curved blade make for the backstrokes to be rather difficult. Now let me see...Tai Chi Quan clearly but...Northern Chinese...ah, in the tradition of Chen Wangting, if I am not mistaken. Chen-style Taijiquan, is the proper term, if my memory isn't failing me. Forgive me, but my expertise is in European fighting systems, and I feel I am a mere novice in the Eastern traditions. Tell me, who was your Shīfù?" the young man asked, intrigued.

"Ah. Television. In my humble opinion, those interested in producing cinema for the large or small screen are more concerned with the safety of their principle actors and dazzling the audience with entertaining spectacle, rather than depicting realistic swordplay. I would pay such things little heed. Much more authentic and practical wisdom is to be found in the pages of those books, and the skill of those that enjoy membership in this club," the bespectacled man said, a small grimace forming on his face, speaking of a rather large distaste for popular depictions of fencing.

Following not all that far behind was another young woman; pretty, some flavor of Asian probably, and definitely not a frequent sight about these parts. She is dressed in a white blouse sparsely stamped with tiny blue flowers, a calf-length navy blue skirt with deep pleats through its entire length and an embroidered floral design at the hem, a leather belt with numerous attached pockets of various sizes, black combat-style boots with just enough of a heel to satisfy the femininity quota, and a very run-down leather jacket that looks to be more patch than original material. Actually, all of her clothes look to be a little past their life expectancy. Over her shoulder she wears a sturdy-looking blue duffel, its side and strap adorned with an absolutely ludicrous number of cheap pin badges.

Weird enough; but what really made her stand out was her behavior.

The woman sort of floated through the room. Her gaze was all about but not really seeming to see anything, sliding over the racks of weapons and books like the most mundane things in the world. The only indication that she might be on the same planet as anyone else would be when she casually dodges one of Elissa's warmup moves after thoughtlessly wandering into her space.

Elissa finds herself being stared at by a big pair of soft almond eyes. "Are you... here?" the eyes' owner asks. They widen. "Am I here? Where even is... here?"

At first Elissa was mostly ignoring the snob. She'd made a little polite conversation but she expected some glowing talk about the awesomeness of what she thought was a crap sport that trashed any possiblity of being good in a real fight. She'd only really come to get sweaty and see if there was anyone good around. And maybe find some hot men, or hot girlz. Any dance place, or fighting place was a good place to look

At first she thought she was right and she'd focused on her form more letting the boring words drone over her. 'Academic fencing... blah blah ... Olympic fencing... right she'd seen that ... and laughed... But then it got more interesting.

She stopped and moved the sword into 'safe position' blade inverted and running along the outside edge of her arm. The guy actually sounded like he knew his stuff "Dad" she admitted a little grudgingly. "And his mates. There's only about a few martial arts left in China that work in the real today. Because we have guns, the martial arts don't actually get tested. So they decay. Chen and Old Yang still have the golden stuff. Body posture, Ligament energy. Five joint unity. Concealment through movement. Inner power through relaxation and direction change. Kind of crazy how everything good there is exactly wrong in African styles. Tells you God has a f-ing " she said fing and the f word because she was trying to be polite. "sense of humour"

And then her eyes opened a little wider "Testify brother" she said in a mock gospel voice and tried to give him a high five "You can call me El. Any one that quotes the gospel according to the great Bruc..." her voice trailed off as Inoue walked in.

Great. Just what she needed. She'd found the first decent guy to talk to in this backwater dump and an f-ing junky walks in, looking just like a flower power hippie. For a moment she wanted to say something rude. And then she caught herself. It wasn't the junkies fault. And she'd been there herself. And probably would be again...if she was lucky

"You OK there girl?" she asked and help up three fingers "How many fingers"

"Oh, an American high-five! How exciting!" the young man said with a laugh, awkwardly raising his hand and trying to gently slap Elissa's hand.

"Well, allow me to extend my compliments to your father and his friends then, young miss. It takes years of dedicated study to not only learn the movements, but the meaning and reason behind them. To your father and you, well done," he replied with a polite bow.

"I hope you will not be offended if I disagree with you somewhat. There are what I would call more obviously, immediately effective martial arts and weapon system. But I have found very little in the way of martial arts that are completely ineffective, especially if they trace their lineage back to centuries of actual warfare. For example, most people would consider the Brazilian system, known as Capoeira, to be little more than a means of acrobatics and exercise. However, I have met more than one Capoeirista that could tear through a squad of Royal Marines with little difficulty. In my humble opinion, the effectiveness of the style has more to do with the practitioner than the style. For another instance, I've seen street brawlers with not a single organized fighting lesson under their belt bring down an American boxing champion in seconds. And so, to each I repeat what the late Mr. Lee had to say on the subject: 'Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own.' Most wise," Percival said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

He would have gone on, but a young Asian woman had entered the room. Her attire was most eye catching, and Percival thought perhaps there was another member of the student body interested in joining the Fencing Club. But then he noticed her liquid, unfocused movements, and a frown formed on his open face. When she began speaking nonsense, his lip thinned into a line of calm concern. Placing his mask and helmet upon the floor, he approached her slowly and held out his hands nonthreatening.

"Hello young miss. My name is Percival Galois. You appear to be unwell. Have you recently ingested anything containing psilocybin or lysergic acid diethylamide? If so, may I escort you to a local medical facility?" the would-be fencer offered, hoping to catch Inoue's gaze so that he might check to see if her pupil's were dilated.

The woman smiles a smile of everything being all right in the world. "Three," she declares to Elissa with but a moment's hesitation. She half-turns and curtsies to the pair speaking... well as she can, at least, with the large duffel occupying most of one hip. As she rises, Percival's speculations firm themselves; the woman's pupils are wide as saucers. "I am well, thank you very much for your concerns; though I fear I know not all of those words." With the benefit of a properly formatted sentence, it is clear she has only the slightest remnant of a Japanese accent in her English.

She cranes her head to see around the others, seemingly noticing the room for the first time. "Did you say, University of Cambridge?" Her smile broadens and then she does an excited jump in place, pumping both arms while in flight and emitting a delighted and delightful squeak. She'd make a mighty cheerleader. "I made it! Yatta!"

With an embarrassed throat-clearing she gestures widely around at the clubroom. She flows over to the weapon racks, humming to herself. "Fencing club... I know not of any home and garden carpentry that makes use of such fine blades. Is this some manner of... dojo?" She gently caresses the pommel of one sword then turns back to Percival, the apparent sensei of this place. "Are you taking students?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:11, Sun 02 Jan 2022.

The junky was still babbling. But at least she'd answered the question. And her eyes didn't look wierd.  Still while Inuoe was obviously high, she didn't look to be a danger to her help or someone else at the moment, and since she was now wandering off, Elissa put the sword back on the shelf

"Thanks Perc" she replied to Percival "It's about 'the real'. If you have to use a martial art to say alive or kill other people then you gotta be good. Dad had to be good. If you just use them in a game... then well who gives a toss? Because it's a game and you have to be good at the game, not at fighting. Guess that's why you think the style don't matter... because the games don't matter. Some games are good mind:  Capoeria and boxing are the most fun you can have with your clothes on" Even if she couldn't box anymore. Sometimes life really really sucked. She gestured at the fencing manuals "See this crap. No getting out of the way... No transfer of power because you don't use power. No real striking for the thumb. In sword fighting you want to cut the thumb. In these books 'it's about getting a point, not staying alive'.  Don't know about the old stuff... that's probably good. If it was written before modern guns"

"See it's like ballet or dance. You need to put the f-ing hours in. Need to do the boring stuff. Get the basics down And when you put the hours in... it's about how good the hours are... that's where the style comes in. Spend your hours fencing or Karate... well you're right. The style doesn't make a difference. You'd be better off picking a fight ever saturday night. Corse you can always do both" God she missed being able to do that. Just go out for a friendly rumble. Get some bruises. Give some bruises. Dodge the coppers... But now the best she could do was a mosh pit or a capoeira Roda. Even Judo was risky

"The bible according to Lee says that. But it also gives a path. Nutrition. Exercise. The body is your engine. Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity.. you know... put the f-ing hours in...  It's a good path. And look what he actually did. He went from style to style, master to master, to find golden stuff. And then he put it into practice, having to stay alive. He had a lot in common with Master Wang... Yi Quan.."Maybe Percival would recognise the story. He recognised Chen style after all " real gunfighter mentality...'come on if you think you are hard enough' 'till he was murdered."

She kept a cautious eye on the Junky. Inuoe looked harmless... mostly harmless. The trip she was on looked to be a good one. And Inuoe'd asked a question, it wouldn't hurt to answer it
"Yeah. to the 'was this the the University of Cambridge "Dojo is for that Japanese crap. This is a ... Oh Fuck!" Inuoe had just reached for a sword! A shudder of horror went through Elissa"Careful...careful girl" She moved to put her hand on the pommel too. Stopping Inuoue drawing it. The idea of a Junky with a sword gave Elissa the heebie jeebies. She had to get the girl out of here! "Why don't you come over here. I'll get you a nice drink. I bet you're thirsty. Maybe we can split a splif or something. Say what's your name"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:27, Sun 02 Jan 2022.

It seemed like an informal ladies night... as yet another female wandered into the club.  Whatever Percy thought of the trend, Alice was unbothered.

Good, the place isn't empty.  I'll just have a wee look-around first and then meet the 'practitioners'.   She mused.

Dressed in a grey ladies suit with her hair tied back at the nape... Alice cut a businesswoman type vibe.  While she walked close to the line of 'severe looking', Alice wore an easy smile and a twinkle in her eyes... enough to remain in the middle ground.  She looked for a sign-in book (filling it out, if required) and then began to browse the reading material on offer.  A half interested 'hmmm' formed after her light browsing... although she did not touch the Tao works at all.  Alice carried no weapons herself or any training gear.  This was merely surveillance and some optional mingling.  As for the other occupants, Alice tilted her head in greeting... but only if they initiated any of their own.  The two women present seemed an odd bunch... a sensible 'punk' and a spontaneous Asian.  The man however... HE seemed to be the one that Alice should talk to, once he was done with the Asian woman.

Sadly Alice had missed Elissa's dance, but maybe she'd see another one later.

Perc...? the young man thought, cocking and eyebrow.

That was new. When people wanted to show familiarity with him they usually called him Percy. He would have to file that one away for later. Right now they had more important things to deal with.

"Perhaps we should place our conversation about the merits and flaws of specific fighting systems on hold until we no longer have a possible medical emergency on our hands, shall we?" he asked mildly.

Seeing the colorful-haired woman jump into action, and guide the inebriated young woman to a chair, he decided to let her take the lead. He had found that women were more comfortable with other women putting hands on them if they were strangers, instead of men. Which, honestly, made sense.

"Yes...sitting and hydration would both be excellent courses of action. I was asking if you have eaten...what do they call it...'magic shrooms,' or a tab of 'acid.' They are two of the more common psychedelic drugs easily acquired at institutions of higher learning. And in this instance, 'fencing' does not refer to a a barrier, railing, or other upright structure, typically of wood or wire, enclosing an area of ground to mark a boundary, control access, or prevent escape. In this context it is the sport of fighting with swords, especially foils, épées, or sabers, according to a set of rules, in order to score points against an opponent. Dōjōs are normally used when learning traditional Japanese martial arts. Western traditional are less formal on where one learns. This is Kelsey Kerridge Leisure Centre. But to answer your question, yes. The Cambridge Fencing Club is always happy to teach those who wish to learn. Though most members of the club study Sport Fencing, but various classical Historical Fencing are also available to learn," Percival said soothingly, trying to get Inoue to follow Elissa.

It was then that the bespectacled student noticed that there was yet another unknown women entering the club space. Standing straight, he went over to her quickly.

"Good morning. I apologize in advance for the potential oddity of the situation. The University of Cambridge Fencing Club is normally much more...educational in its medical events. My name is Percival Galois, and it is my good fortune to make your acquaintance young miss," the ever-proper gentleman said warmly to Alice.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:23, Sun 02 Jan 2022.

The woman blinked and offered Elissa a coy smile as their fingers touched. Was this flirting? "My name is Inoue," says the perplexed Japanese woman. She looked between the two people speaking to her and seemingly doting on her. She is not used to being the subject of so much attention. "Ah- you are very pretty, but I- oh." Ohhhh. She grimaces for just a blink's worth as she abruptly realizes how she must look; how they must see her. How embarrassing!

Inoue slips her fingers out from under Elissa's restraint and folds both hands primly behind her hips, bounces slightly on the balls of her feet and subtly arches her back. "I promise there is nothing emergent about my -cy!"

"I was hoping that would scan as obviously a play on words," she sheepishly says to Percival as he explains fencing. She clearly needs to work on her delivery a little. "But thank you very much for the explanation!"

"I have been training with the bow and blade-staff since I was five years old," Inoue says, hoping to dispel some of the negative energy she feels in the room. Fear. Judgement. Icky, like a fog of oil rolling in. "Never swords; my sensei believed the honored blade was not to be touched by a woman's delicate hands. He was so furious when I 'borrowed' his- ah..." Her growing smile falters as she realizes she is rambling. "What I mean to say is, you need not worry about my doing something reckless, and I am very eager to learn."

"I would still love to get some tea together, if it does not interfere with your duties."