Vet Armor Part 2: Taking it to the Max

In part two of this series, Allison and I share detailed instructions from a former clubmate (who prefers to remain anonymous). It is actually her "extreme armoring" that sent us down this rabbit hole. Below are detailed instructions, and photographs, of anon's modding technique.

"As a female fencer who's chronically vitamin D and K deficient with leaky vessels and trouble clotting, I've had to improve upon the gear. I'd get a synthetic FIE jacket that has a bit of room in it but is a good fit because as long as it stretches, it'll be fine for a sewing project. 

• The easiest jackets to sew onto are the lightest of LP and Allstarr Startex. The harder, thicker ones are Negrini and PBT to get the needle through. I use quilting needles. 
• I make an accurate pattern using the jacket onto sewing pattern paper, cut out neoprene of the desired thickness using the pattern, wrap white athletic mesh around the neoprene, sew the mesh onto the neoprene and sew the mesh onto the jacket. Don't use anything other than athletic mesh because they will break or absorb sweat to increase weight. Cotton or silk do not work well. Get a yard or two of the white mesh online or at a local sewing store. 
• The best way to get neoprene is to buy waist protectors/ lifting belts and sweat belts at sports stores or Amazon. They differ by thickness and McDavid works for me. Look for the ones that don't have material or hardware on them. Cut off the piece that has the rough velcro. 
• I've tried other materials than neoprene, including the expensive shin protector materials that LP sells but nothing is better than neoprene. 
• Of course, you could use a sewing machine for the chest/ shoulder, but the arms require hand stitching. I know because I took it to a fencing mom who's a professional seamstress once and it cost over $375 for all the hand sewing so I sew it myself now and it looks almost professional. 
• A well sewn neoprene piece will last as long as the jacket and I've had mine for 10+ years. You'll just need to reinforce where the mesh attaches to the jacket but nothing has ever ripped before. 
• I'd recommend putting the work into a new quality jacket because it takes me 30+ hours to sew on all the pieces but if you're aiming to sew on just one or two where the guys are battering you, it'll be an afternoon project. 
• For the collarbone and chest above the plastic protector and right bicep where we get hit often, I'd recommend 2 layers of neoprene wrapped into the mesh. For other places I'd recommend only 1 layer to not inhibit your flexibility, especially during infighting. 
• I have pieces around the chest/ collarbone, right bicep, inner left bicep, left hand watch/ wrist/ right shoulder for flicks, right thigh and hip bone. 
• For my knees and shine, I wear very loose compression braces made of neoprene. A 25 year old guy did a horizontal coupe missing my lame entirely, landing on my shin and breaking it two years ago. My coach got hit so hard on the hip bone every night at practice when he was on the national team his bone died and is permanently numb so definitely worth it to protect whatever parts you wanna keep. 
• When you sew, stitch close to the stitch line to minimize thread appearance. Take larger 0.5-1cm stitches on the inside and take tiny, barely visible stitches on the outside. Use safety pins to secure the piece before sewing. After you've sewed a piece onto the jacket or pants where it holds up, try it on in the on guard stance, move a little to make sure the piece covers exactly how much of your body you want to protect. 
• Use a synthetic thread, if you have a synthetic jacket. Do not use cotton thread, even if it's very thick because they don't last. I use Coats & Clark eloflex double threaded. 
• Last month a blade bounced off my chest protector and broke a bone in my left hand so now I wrap it. 
• The guys have given me bone bruises around the ankle that have shown up on x-rays so I put either a piece of neoprene or cut out of a foam shoe insert underneath my socks around the front ankle for their 7 and 8 parries/ searches."

 

We find this project inspiring, if a bit intimidating, and are working on various ways to simplify the approach. That might be the subject of a future post, after some experimentation. Meanwhile, please do weigh in with your own pictures and descriptions of vet armoring!

Vet Armor Part 1

 The other Sunday, at RFA's Vet ladies' practice, we were trading notes on minor injuries. Emergent themes: how to assure the doctor/nurse they don't need to call protective services; how to tell a skin bruise from a bone bruise (ick); and (as a logical segue) various ways to reinforce or supplement one's gear to avoid the prior issues.

Face it, fencing uniforms are designed to avoid grievous bodily harm (Punctures. Death.) They do a pretty shoddy job of protecting skin and bones, particularly older skin and bones, from significant, even debilitating, trauma.

Hence this post, the first in a series exploring various ways Vets are modding their uniforms to preserve their own functionality as long as possible. Part 1 will share a round-up of ideas currently in use by Allison, me or our club mates, as well as some examples I've collected at NACs over the years. Part 2 will be a deep dive into the "extreme armor" created by a former RFA fencer. With your assistance, Part 3 will consist of your examples, contributed via comments on these posts, or on the Vet Women's Fbook group. Please share!

Let's start with gloves: actual fencing gear with extra features or deployed in non-standard ways.

Here's an example of the first: two fencing gloves that offer extra protection on the knuckles. 

These are both by Linea: the Nitro (red) and Octane (green) are available from the Fencing Post. 

While these glove provide some added protection, they are not fool-proof. I was hit between the fingers when wearing an Octane, and the impact split open the skin (requiring 5 stitches.)

Then there is the question of protecting the back hand, particularly if one has a tendency to, shall we say, put it at risk. Here's a picture I took many years back at Baltimore Fencing Club (now defunct). This fencer is "covering her bases" (as it were) by wearing a glove on her back hand, as well as keeping said hand firmly shoved into her breech's pocket. 

On to legs. Before I met Joe Deucher, I did not realize that fencing knickers came in a full-length option. (Not to mention cool colors.) 

Joe's knickers (rated 350N) were manufactured by Triplette. I can see where a layer of competition-grade padding over the sock would help at least a bit.

Next up, my own go-to extra armor: soccer shin guards, which can be inserted into the sleeve jacket to protect against hard hits to the upper arm (*ahem* epeeists fencing foil, you know who you are), or into the sock of the lead leg to protect against low-line parries that turn into shin swipes. They are cheap ($10-$25 range), effective, easy to take in and out, as needed, without completely disrobing. Some models have perforations that provide a bit of ventilation. 

I briefly experimented with a roller-blading knee-guard ton my lead leg. Too bulky to fit under my knickers but certainly valid for practice. It might be competition-legal if you covered it with a sleeve (for example a sock or stocking with the foot cut off). 

What about the torso? Here vet epeeist Lori Radich models an Easton "TorsoTection" boy's baseball chest protector, which features polyester padding sewn into a spandex, pull-on shirt.

Turns out there are a lot of potentially useful padded undergirding manufactured for other sports. See, for example "Nike Contact Support Forearm Shivers"

And, from the realm of motorsports, the "Alpinestars Nucleon Flex Pro Shoulder Protectors" 

After getting popped right on the head of the shoulder joint recently, with two weeks of resulting soreness, this might the extra piece of armor I try next.

Alpinestars also makes hip protectors--I am wondering if I could position one over the front of the hip bone--another massively painful place to get hit--perhaps nested in a pocket sewn into my knickers, or into the compression shorts I wear under my uniform.

That's what we have so far, in the club and in our notes. Stand by for the second installment of this series (a.k.a "how to channel your inner Michelin Man") and please do send us pictures and descriptions of your own additional armor. You can leave comments on this blog, or on the corresponding post on the USFA Women's Veterans Fencing group in Facebook. 

Be well, and stay unbroken.

Badger