青春無敵

Joe:

Did you watch the fencing competition I told you about last night?

(你昨晚有看我跟你說的劍擊比賽嗎？)

Sam:

Yes. But I lost interest after about 5 minutes because I didn’t get what it’s about.

(有，但看了約五分鐘有失去興趣了，因為我看不懂。)

Joe:

Oh. I forgot you’re more into taekwondo.

(喔，我忘了你比較喜歡跆拳道。)

Sam:

Hey! Maybe you can give me a fencing 101. Then I can get a better idea.

(嘿，也許你可以跟我說劍擊大概是啥，這樣我會看得比較懂。)

Joe:

Sure. To start with, you should know there are three forms of fencing, foil, épée and sabre.

(沒問題。首先，你要知道劍擊有分三種：鈍劍、銳劍和軍刀。)

Sam:

Three? I thought there’s only one kind of fencing. How are they different from one another?

(三種？我以為只有一種，那有甚麼不同呢？)

Joe:

Basically, there are different kinds of weapons. Each weapon has its own rules. Here, let me show you the picture.

(基本上，它們是三種不同的武器，每一個武器都有自己的規則，我秀圖片給你看)

Sam:

I see.

(原來如此。)

Joe:

In foil, the target is the trunk of the body, not the arms or legs. In sabre, the target is the entire body above the waist while in épée, it is the entire body.

(比鈍劍時，目標是身軀，不是手臂或腿；比軍刀時，目標是腰部以上；比銳劍時，全身都是目標。)

Sam:

So, as long as I hit the target area with my sword, I can score a point?

(所以只要我的劍有打到目標，就有分數？)

Joe:

Yes and no. For foil and épée, points are scored only with the tip of the sword. But for sabre, the side of the blade also counts.

(算對，也算不對。鈍劍和銳劍的話，必須要劍的尖端才算得分；軍刀的話，刀鋒和尖端都算。)

Sam:

But those fencers move very fast in competitions. How does a judge count their scores?

(但那些劍擊士在比賽動作都很快，裁判要怎麼算他們的分數。)

Joe:

That’s why they all wear electrically conductive jackets over their fencing jackets. Those jackets are wired to detect hits.

(那就是為何他們都會在劍擊上衣外，再套一件導電的上衣，來偵測攻擊。)

Sam:

I see. Is it difficult to get into fencing?

(原來如此，那學劍擊很難嗎？)

Joe:

Well, it certainly takes practice, but it’s very beneficial physically and intellectually.

(嗯，的確是需要練習，但劍擊對身體和頭腦都很有益。)

Sam:

I get the physical benefits, but intellectually?

(對身體有益，我能了解，但對頭腦也有益？)

Joe:

Well, that’s because fencers need to make a quick decision on the spot when they lunge at each other or try to parry an attack.

(那是因為劍擊士需要當場做出立即的決定，像是長刺或撥擋攻擊。)

Sam:

Parry an attack?

(撥擋攻擊？)

Joe:

Parrying an attack means blocking or deflecting an attack in fencing.

(撥擋攻擊指的是在劍擊時，阻擋或轉移攻擊。)

Sam:

Wow. You do know a thing or two about fencing. Now I have a better understanding. Thanks!

(哇，你真的很懂劍擊耶，現在我有比較懂了，謝啦。)

Joe:

Anytime.

(不客氣。)

competition

比賽

target

目標

trunk

身軀、軀幹

score a point

得分

tip

尖端

blade

刀鋒、刀片

electrically conductive

導電的

detect

偵測

lunge

長刺；向前跨出弓步進行的長距離攻擊

parry

撥擋；將對手正在進行的攻擊彈開。西洋劍中最基本的手部防禦動作