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There are places where the sports becomes universal language, and every gesture tells a challenge won.
The wheelchair fencing is one of these: a discipline that combines technique, listening and determination, transforming the movement into freedom.
In this article retrace its history, evolution, in Italy and the experience of Modica, where teachers, athletes and local authorities work together to make the fencing truly accessible to all.
The origins of the paralympic fencing
The wheelchair fencing born in the second post-war period, thanks to the neurosurgeon Guttmann, the founder of the Games in Stoke Mandeville (1948).
Guttmann understood the power rehabilitation sport for people with spinal injuries, adapting the fencing to be practiced by athletes in wheelchair fixed to the ground, without altering the technical principles.
Since the 1960s, with the first Paralympic games in Rome, the wheelchair fencing officially enters the program paralympic, becoming a spectacular sport, and of great educational value.
The wheelchair fencing in Italy
In Italy, the The Italian Fencing Federation (FIS) has promoted courses and competitions dedicated since the ’80s.
In 1990, the discipline was officially recognized, with rules aligned to the IWAS (International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation).
Athletes like Beatrice Vio “Bebe” they have given the prestige of the international wheelchair fencing Italian, but the movement has also grown thanks to the many athletes and teachers active in the territories, which have made possible a the authentic path of inclusion in sport.
Edit: inclusion through the fencing
In Modica, the fencing has become a real laboratory for social inclusion for people with physical disabilities and sensory impairment.
The collaboration between the Fencing Modica, dr Giuseppe Cicero and the technical support of theWorkshop orthopaedic locale has allowed us to ensure yet, custom adaptations and appropriate tools for every athlete.
Thanks to maestro Giancarlo Puglisi, there were two main sections:
2010: fencing for the blind — the first and pioneering experience in Italy;
2015: wheelchair fencing — a path to inclusive dedicated to people with disabilities.
These initiatives have transformed the Fencing Edit in a model of integration, autonomy, and personal growth.
The fencing for the blind
The fencing for the blind it is a discipline that is highly technical and sensory.
Athletes are training and developing listen, orientation, and perception of movement.
During the assaults, the distances are adjusted via the sound, and physical contact with the opponent's weapon (knife or coccia) while the metal strips positioned on the platform to help fencers to keep the direction.
The voice commands of the master become fundamental to guide the movement and promote the autonomy of the athlete.
To Edit, the group of athletes for the blind has been a cultural turn: he showed how the fencing can be experienced through sound, rhythm and mutual trust.
The experience has been recognized as one of the most significant at the national level for innovation and educational value.
Maestro Giancarlo Puglisi
The maestro Giancarlo Puglisi combines technical expertise and human sensitivity, making the fencing a a tool of personal growth and redemption.
Created opportunities for children and adults, promoting concentration, balance, listening and responsiveness.
The fencingin his hands, becomes not only sportsbut the path educational, social, and awareness.
Assault fencing Blind – Anthony and Carmelo as they train in the room
The Maestro Giancarlo Puglisi
My personal experience
I started to practice fencing because I wanted to get in the game, face everyday life with more energy and overcome the limitations that life puts in front of.
To Fencing Modica I found myself and my abilities.
Thanks to my teacher Giancarlo Puglisi, I learned that the fencing is sharing, collaboration and team work.
Matches and training mean compare with other companies in a relationship competitive but friendly, where challenge stimulates to improve and to create links the other athletes.
The fencing teaches respect for the rules, self-control, concentration and enhancement of human relationships — qualities that are reflected in the life of every day.
One sport that looks to the future
The fencing for the blind and in a wheelchair to Edit demonstrates how to engineers, teachers, and local institutions can create new opportunities.
Always more companies in Italy open its doors to athletes with disabilities, consolidating one sport that combines elegance, technique, and inclusion.
Call to Action
Each stored tells a history of strength and participation.
Discover, share and spread the stories of those who transforms disability in energy and fencing in freedom.