August 1, 2020 Paul Becker

Test of the upcoming IN MOTU/UHLMANN fencing jacket and pants for historical fencing.

The Michael Sprenger did it!

Test of the upcoming IN MOTU/UHLMANN fencing jacket and pants for historical fencing.

Michael Sprenger is an experienced fencer and trainer who is well known in the fencing scene and has dug deep into the tournament scene: When we showed a fencer in the picture this week and asked you to guess who was in the fencing jacket, it was that same Michael Sprenger.

This week he took the time to visit me here in beautiful Nordhausen or more precisely in Neustadt at the foot of Hohnstein Castle to intensively test the upcoming fencing jacket and fencing trousers, which I will be wearing with my cooperation partner Uhlmann Fencing ...to the market.

Thanks for your great feedback Michael. It was very nice to see your shining eyes when you were able to test the fencing jacket and trousers for a few hours.

Here is your first feedback on the two current prototype suits in black and white.

"This week I had the opportunity to test the new fencing jacket from In Motu / Uhlmann for historical fencing. A few things were already known to me in advance. I had already seen the fabric and the padding material and knew that the jacket would be correspondingly light. However, I was also sceptical about the protection against cuts and stabs. Furthermore I knew that the forearms were not protected by padding but only by multi-layer stab-proof fabric. Accordingly I was quite critical in this respect.

First I put on my reference. An AP with 350N stab protection from SPES. One of the classics among the HEMA jackets. In order to make halfway comprehensible evaluations, we did a lesson where I was beaten or stung to defined nakedness. The whole thing with increasing intensity until I found it unpleasant. This point is of course very subjective. I myself fence very competitively and would claim not to be sensitive to the hardness of blows or stabs.

Then once out of the old jacket and into the new Jake. That is, not yet, because I first compared both jackets subjectively in terms of their mass. So I took both in my hand and felt the weight. There is no advantage or disadvantage of the new In Motu jacket. It is comparable with a standard AP, whereby the size M of the AP was compared with a slightly larger version of the In Motu jacket. In addition, the In Motu jacket has a higher stitch protection with 800N and the fabric is correspondingly stronger and heavier. Therefore, it has the same mass but better protection.

The new jacket is very comfortable to put on, the zipper is easy to close. It fits very light and you don't have the feeling of wearing a HEMA jacket. A clear plus point for comfort. The only restriction for me was the zipper on the left. As a left-hander this is a bit of a hindrance. Therefore you should make sure to choose the zipper on the other side when buying. Afterwards the same lesson as just now. Slashes and stabs with increasing intensity. Slashes felt much more comfortable, especially in the shoulder area. Of course you have to believe me that I can judge whether someone really hits hard or not. The intensity of the strokes was equivalent. In the Stich it was more unpleasant at first. Paul pointed out to me, however, that the upper material of this jacket had not yet been finished. So I took the jacket off and put on another version that had already been finished. I was fascinated by what is possible with modern materials, because the stitching comfort was much better. Comparable to an AP.

Now the subject of forearms. Paul's argument is that mobility is better. My argument is that the protective effect is modest. It must be said that I myself do not wear forearm protectors over my jacket because they hinder me. Therefore I wear additional padding underneath. However, this would not be sufficient for the In Motu jacket. Paul gave me his forearm/elbow pads from RD to put on as a comparison. I then had to admit that the mobility is better than with my version (AP + padding underneath). Because the forearms are only protected by fabric, they can be moved much more freely. It is as if you would wear the pads directly on your body. Twerhäue with crossed arms also work much easier. Once again a clear plus point for comfort.

Finally I asked Paul to confess to my body and to the poor, and I had regular meetings. This should show again how it looks like against blows and stabs that are led out of the dynamic with full intensity. Again, I could not find any disadvantage compared to my AP.

In summary, I say that the jacket is a real alternative. The mass and the protective effect are comparable to a normal AP, but the wearing comfort and the mobility are much better. I have given some hints about the cut, because the jacket could look a bit more elegant, but after safety, protection, comfort and mobility this is really the last point of view after choosing a fencing jacket.

So now some fencers were already with me to watch the upcoming fencing suit, to try it out and to share their opinions and suggestions.
It was important to me that the jacket is accepted by the fencers. A participation is therefore always important. I have involved some fencers during the process in order to be able to compare different opinions again and again.

Many thanks to the fencers who took their time.