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50-469: Peter Jonathan Westbrook (born April 16, 1952) is an American former sabre fencing national and Pan American Games champion, Olympic bronze medalist, and founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation (PWF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit that uses fencing as a vehicle for developing life and academic skills of young people from under-served communities of New York City. Westbrook's father, Ulysses,

100-500: A Turkic source. In a more recent suggestion, the Hungarian word may ultimately derive from a Tungusic source, via Kipchak Turkic selebe , with later metathesis (of l-b to b-l ) and apocope changed to *seble , which would have changed its vocalisation in Hungarian to the recorded sabla , perhaps under the influence of the Hungarian word szab- "to crop; cut (into shape)". Though single-edged cutting swords already existed in

150-537: A B.S. in Marketing. Westbrook's fencing career started at Essex Catholic High School . He trained under Dr. Samuel D'ambola, a medical doctor and the founder of the Essex Catholic High School fencing program. Westbrook received a full fencing scholarship to New York University and trained under Hugo Castello, the multi-championship-winning fencing coach. In 1972, he began training with Csaba Elthes ,

200-598: A Hungarian sabreur at the New York Fencers Club , but left. In 1973, he won the NCAA sabre championship. Recognizing that his short time with Csaba had been beneficial, Westbrook returned to Csaba. In 1974, as a college senior, Westbrook placed first at the Amateur Fencers League of America 's (now known as USA Fencing ) National Championships, beating fencers like Alex Orban and Paul Apostol . Westbrook won

250-664: A Newark ghetto. Becoming a fencer at an early age gave him the confidence and the discipline to use an ancient martial art to his advantage both in swordplay and when facing the vicissitudes of daily life in the inner city. Harnessing Anger: The Way of an American Fencer (1997) was nominated by the American Library Association for its Book of the Year Award. Westbrook was inducted into the New York University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985. Westbrook

300-404: A drive to succeed at his sport and the inception of the Peter Westbrook Foundation. In Harnessing Anger , Westbrook tells how he came to be the first African American to win a national gold title in sabre fencing along with reaching international levels of success. Westbrook describes how as the son of an African-American father and a Japanese mother, he was aided by his mother alone in poverty in

350-481: A goal like that wasn't even fathomable for me. I just mimicked the teachers I would see fencing and I would practice footwork drills that they gave me in the basement of my house. Before time I was had become one of the strongest in my class. Bratton was invited to join the PWF Elite Athlete Scholarship program. Under the tutelage of Dr. Aladar Kogler (then the U.S. National Men's épée coach), Bratton

400-618: A key scene in Doctor Zhivago . The sabre was later phased out in favour of the baton , or nightstick, for both practical and humanitarian reasons. The Gendarmerie of Belgium used them until at least 1950, and the Swedish police forces until 1965. Swords with sabre blades remain a component of the dress uniforms worn by most national army, navy, air force, marine and coast guard officers . Some militaries also issue ceremonial swords to their highest-ranking non-commissioned officers ; this

450-456: A slight curve, short, down-turned quillons , the grip facing the opposite direction to the blade and a sharp point with the top third of the reverse edge sharpened. The introduction of the sabre proper in Western Europe, along with the term sabre itself, dates to the 17th century, via the influence of the szabla type ultimately derived from these medieval backswords. The adoption of

500-481: A specific type of sabre-like melee weapon, the szabla , was used. Richly decorated sabres were popular among the Polish nobility , who considered it to be one of the most important pieces of men's traditional attire. With time, the design of the sabre greatly evolved in the commonwealth and gave birth to a variety of sabre-like weapons, intended for many tasks. In the following centuries, the ideology of Sarmatism as well as

550-696: A straight, single edged sword, and in the sixth century CE a longer, slightly curved cavalry variety of this weapon appeared in southern Siberia. This "proto-sabre" (the Turko-Mongol sabre ) had developed into the true cavalry sabre by the eight century CE, and by the ninth century, it had become the usual side arm on the Eurasian steppes. The sabre arrived in Europe with the Magyars and the Turkic expansion . These oldest sabres had

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600-444: Is seen as an honour since, typically, non-commissioned, enlisted / other-rank military service members are instead issued a cutlass blade rather than a sabre. Swords in the modern military are no longer used as weapons, and serve only ornamental or ceremonial functions. One distinctive modern use of sabres is in the sabre arch , performed for servicemen or women getting married. The modern fencing sabre bears little resemblance to

650-470: The 1896 Summer Olympics ) loosely based on the characteristics of the historical weapon, although in Olympic fencing, only cuts are allowed. The English sabre is recorded from the 1670s, as a direct loan from French, where sabre is an alteration of sable , which was in turn loaned from German Säbel , Sabel in the 1630s. The German word is on record from the 15th century, loaned from Polish szabla , which

700-610: The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens , Greece. In 2008, Keeth Smart and Erinn Smart represented the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing , China, and both returned home with silver medals . Ivan Lee won 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008 sabre US national championships, and Keeth Smart won the 2004 and 2002 national championship titles and was ranked # 1 in the world in 2003 (the first-ever American to hold this rank). Erinn Smart won

750-540: The Confederate side—eventually abandoned the long, heavy weapons in favour of revolvers and carbines . The last sabre issued to US cavalry was the Patton saber of 1913, designed to be mounted to the cavalryman's saddle. The Patton saber is only a saber in name as it is a straight, thrust-centric sword. A US War Department circular dated 18 April 1934 announced that the saber would no longer be issued to cavalry, and that it

800-493: The hussars , the sabre became widespread in Western Europe during the Thirty Years' War . Lighter sabres also became popular with infantry of the early 17th century. In the 19th century, models with less curving blades became common and were also used by heavy cavalry . The military sabre was used as a duelling weapon in academic fencing in the 19th century, giving rise to a discipline of modern sabre fencing (introduced in

850-477: The 1930s onward. Where horse-mounted cavalry survived into World War II it was generally as mounted infantry without sabres. However the sabre was still carried by German cavalry until after the Polish campaign of 1939, after which this historic weapon was put into storage in 1941. Romanian cavalry continued to carry their straight "thrusting" sabres on active service until at least 1941. Sabres were commonly used by

900-898: The 1998, 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2008 women's foil national championships, and Kamara James was ranked # 1 in the world in women's épée in 2004. Other notable fencers trained by the foundation are Akhi Spencer-El , Benjamin Bratton , Ibtihaj Muhammad , and Curtis McDowald . The Academic Enrichment Program provides one-on-one tutorial support, literacy assistance, SAT , PSAT , and specialized high school exam preparation, along with group workshops and productivity seminars on core academic skills, time management, motivational techniques, and homework habits. From October through June, students and tutors meet for 6 to 12 hours each month and receive extra academic support. In 1997, Westbrook published his memoirs, Harnessing Anger: The Way of an American Fencer in which he describes turning his childhood experiences into

950-584: The Ancient world, such as the ancient Egyptian and Sumerian sickle swords , these (usually forward instead of backward curving) weapons were chopping weapons for foot soldiers. This type of weapon developed into such heavy chopping weapons as the Greek Machaira and Anatolian Drepanon, and it still survives as the heavy Kukri chopping knife of the Gurkhas . However, in ancient China foot soldiers and cavalry often used

1000-461: The Austrians and Hungarians. Le Marchant also developed the first official British military sword exercise manual based on this experience, and his light cavalry sabre, and style of swordsmanship went on to heavily influence the training of the infantry and the navy. The 1796 light cavalry sword was known for its brutal cutting power, easily severing limbs, and leading to the (unsubstantiated) myth that

1050-576: The British army in 1788 led to a brief departure from the sabre in infantry use (though not for light cavalry), in favour of the lighter and straight bladed spadroon . The spadroon was universally unpopular, and many officers began to unofficially purchase and carry sabres once more. In 1799, the army accepted this under regulation for some units, and in 1803, produced a dedicated pattern of sabre for certain infantry officers (flank, rifle and staff officers). The 1803 pattern quickly saw much more widespread use than

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1100-540: The British in the Napoleonic era for light cavalry and infantry officers, as well as others. The elegant but effective 1803 pattern sword that the British Government authorized for use by infantry officers during the wars against Napoleon featured a curved sabre blade which was often blued and engraved by the owner in accordance with his personal taste, and was based on the famously agile 1796 light cavalry sabre that

1150-593: The Fall of 2003. He led the 2007 St John's University fencing team to fourth place at the 2007 NCAA tournament, with an individual silver medal in épée . Awarded a full athletic scholarship, Benjamin went on to earn a master's degree in Psychology while working to leave his mark on the NCAA fencing circuit and also accomplishing his goal of making his first US National Team. Under the guidance of Red Storm coach Yuri Gelman, Bratton

1200-640: The French put in an official complaint to the British about its ferocity. This sword also saw widespread use with mounted artillery units, and the numerous militia units established in Britain to protect against a potential invasion by Napoleon. Though the sabre had already become very popular in Britain, experience in Egypt did lead to a fashion trend for mameluke sword style blades, a type of Middle Eastern scimitar , by some infantry and cavalry officers. These blades differ from

1250-511: The Junior – and now Senior – fencing circuit adding up, Bratton would become one of the top men's épée recruits for the 2003 season, being courted by fencing programs across the country. Ultimately, in order to continue training in a manner that he had been accustomed, and to continue to work with the network of support that had surrounded him in New York, Bratton chose to attend St. John's University in

1300-560: The Ottoman prototype, their blades, even when an expanded yelman was incorporated, tended to be longer, narrower and less curved than those of the true kilij. In the American Civil War , the sabre was used infrequently as a weapon, but saw notable deployment in the Battle of Brandy Station and at East Cavalry Field at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Many cavalrymen—particularly on

1350-477: The Peter Westbrook Foundation, Westbrook invited Benjamin to participate in his Saturday Fencing Program to be taught by himself and other fencing Olympians. Benjamin gravitated to the sport almost instantly: I was immediately intoxicated by the sport and was amazed by the way fencers moved and looked on the strip. It was an incredible experience to be taught by people who went to the Olympic Games. At that time,

1400-577: The Polish fascination with Oriental cultures, customs, cuisine and warfare resulted in the szabla becoming an indispensable part of traditional Polish culture. The sabre saw extensive military use in the early 19th century, particularly in the Napoleonic Wars , during which Napoleon used heavy cavalry charges to great effect against his enemies. Shorter versions of the sabre were also used as sidearms by dismounted units, although these were gradually replaced by fascine knives and sword bayonets as

1450-835: The U.S. National Men's Sabre Championship 13 times (1974–'75, '79–'86, '88–'89 and '95). Winning the Nationals made him an internationally recognized fencer. In 1975, Westbrook won a silver team medal and a bronze individual medal at the Pan American Games in Mexico City. In 1979, he won a silver team medal. These wins were soon accompanied by his 1983 gold individual medal and silver team medal. From 1987 to 1995, Westbrook won additional silver medals for individual performance (1987); two silver medals for team performance (1987, 1991), and gold medals for individual and team performances (1995). In 1976, Westbrook attended his first Olympic Games and

1500-811: The United States Marine Corps; in this last capacity, it is still in such use at the present time. The American victory over the rebellious forces in the citadel of Tripoli in 1805, during the First Barbary War , led to the presentation of bejewelled examples of these swords to the senior officers of the US Marines . Officers of the US Marine Corps still use a mameluke-pattern dress sword. Although some genuine Turkish kilij sabres were used by Westerners, most "mameluke sabres" were manufactured in Europe; although their hilts were very similar in form to

1550-457: The cavalry sabre, having a thin, 88 cm (35 in) long straight blade. Rather, it is based upon the Italian dueling saber of classical fencing. One of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing , it is a very fast-paced weapon with bouts characterized by quick footwork and cutting with the edge. The valid target area is from the waist up excluding the hands. The concept of attacking above

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1600-408: The century went on. Although there was extensive debate over the effectiveness of weapons such as the sabre and lance , the sabre remained the standard weapon of cavalry for mounted action in most armies until World War I and in a few armies until World War II . Thereafter it was gradually relegated to the status of a ceremonial weapon , and most horse cavalry was replaced by armoured cavalry from

1650-557: The closing ceremonies of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. In 2000, the Foundation was represented internationally for the first time when Ahki Spencer-el, Keeth Smart, and Keeth Smart's sister Erinn Smart qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney , Australia. In 2004 four of their students, Keeth Smart, Erinn Smart, Kamara James, and Ivan Lee represented the United States in

1700-402: The core of light cavalry formations created there. The Hungarian term szablya is ultimately traced to the northwestern Turkic selebe , with contamination from the Hungarian verb szab "to cut". The original type of sabre, or Polish szabla , was used as a cavalry weapon, possibly inspired by Hungarian or wider Turco-Mongol warfare. The karabela was a type of szabla popular in

1750-671: The historical types, with techniques based on historical records. Benjamin Bratton Bratton was born in Queens, New York , and is the oldest child of Deborah Hanson and Dwight Bratton. With both parents constantly working to support Benjamin and his two sisters, young Bratton's mother often pushed him into sports, hoping to keep him away from the trouble and distractions of an inner-city neighborhood. As coworkers, Deborah became acquainted with American Saber Champion and 1984 Olympic Bronze medalist Peter Westbrook . Having recently created

1800-591: The late 17th century, worn by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth nobility class, the szlachta . While designed as a cavalry weapon, it also came to replace various types of straight-bladed swords used by infantry. The Swiss sabre originated as a regular sword with a single-edged blade in the early 16th century, but by the 17th century began to exhibit specialized hilt types. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (16th–18th century)

1850-448: The more typical British ones in that they have more extreme curvatures, in that they are usually not fullered, and in that they taper to a finer point. Mameluke swords also gained some popularity in France as well. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , himself carried a mameluke-style sword. In 1831, the 'Mameluke' sword became the pattern sword for British generals, as well as officers of

1900-435: The number one American fencer under 17 and the number 3 fencer under 20, it was here that Bratton was able to make his first impact on the international stage when, at age 16, he would win the bronze medal at the event becoming one of the first Americans to do so in almost 25 years. Prior to college, Bratton was a member of the 2002 Junior/Cadet United States World Championship Fencing Team. In 2002, with his successes along

1950-437: The regulation intended due to its effectiveness in combat, and fashionable appeal. The most famous British sabre of the Napoleonic era is the 1796 light cavalry model, used by troopers and officers alike (officers versions can vary a little, but are much the same as the pattern troopers sword). It was in part designed by the famous John Le Marchant , who worked to improve on the previous (1788) design based on his experience with

2000-426: The sword and style of swordsmanship in British sources. The popularity of sabres had spread rapidly through Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, and finally came to dominance as a military weapon in the British army in the 18th century, though straight blades remained in use by some, such as heavy cavalry units. (These were also replaced by sabres soon after the Napoleonic era.) The introduction of 'pattern' swords in

2050-413: The term is connected to the employment of Hungarian hussar ( huszár ) cavalry by Western European armies at the time. Hungarian hussars were employed as light cavalry , with the role of harassing enemy skirmishers , overrunning artillery positions, and pursuing fleeing troops. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, many Hungarian hussars fled to other Central and Western European countries and became

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2100-481: The waist only is a 20th-century change to the sport; previously sabreurs used to pad their legs against cutting slashes from their opponents. The reason for the above waist rule is unknown, as the sport of sabre fencing is based on the use of infantry sabres, not cavalry sabres. In recent years, Saber fencing has been developing in Historical European Martial Arts , with blades that closely resemble

2150-708: Was a G.I. stationed in Japan during the Korean War when he met Mariko, a Japanese woman. Soon after their marriage, they returned to the United States, eventually settling in Newark, New Jersey , where Peter and his younger sister Vivian were born. Peter was 4 when his father left, leaving his mother to raise the family. Raising the children Catholic , Mariko bartered with priests at the local parochial school (St. Peters/Queen of Angels) in exchange for schooling for Peter and Vivian. Westbrook attended New York University where he received

2200-622: Was able to successfully balance academics and athletic aspirations. Over the course of the next four years, Bratton would be named to the All-American team three times, with two individual silver medals and one silver team medal at the NCAA Fencing Championships. In addition, upon his commencement from the St. Johns University, Bratton was awarded the Frank G. Haggerty trophy which is bestowed upon

2250-661: Was inducted into the USFA Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 2002. In 2021, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame . Sabre A sabre or ( American English ) saber ( / ˈ s eɪ b ər / SAY -bər ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as

2300-618: Was itself adopted from Hungarian szabla (14th century, later szablya ). The spread of the Hungarian word to neighboring European languages took place in the context of the Ottoman wars in Europe of the 15th to 17th centuries. The spelling saber became common in American English in the second half of the 19th century. The origin of the Hungarian word is unclear. It may itself be a loan from South Slavic ( Serbo-Croatian sablja , Common Slavic *sabľa ), which would ultimately derive from

2350-399: Was part of every Olympic fencing team through 1996. During pre-competition sparring with another European fencer at the 1976 Olympics , Westbrook tore two ligaments . He ended the competition ranked 13th among the world's best sabre fencers. At the 1984 Olympics , Westbrook won a bronze medal and was the first American to win a fencing medal since 1960. Westbrook served as flag bearer for

2400-426: Was placed under a strict training regimen, including group and private classes, along with training camps around the globe with some of the best youth fencers in the world. In 2000, Bratton began training with Hungarian fencing coach, Kornel Udvarhelyi. Under Udvarhelyi, Bratton was able to harness his natural speed and strength and qualified for the first of his six Junior World Championship performances. Ranked as

2450-461: Was renowned for its brutal cutting power. Sabres were commonly used throughout this era by all armies, in much the same way that the British did. The popularity of the sabre had rapidly increased in Britain throughout the 18th century for both infantry and cavalry use. This influence was predominately from southern and eastern Europe, with the Hungarians and Austrians listed as sources of influence for

2500-407: Was to be completely discarded for use as a weapon. Only dress sabers, for use by officers only, and strictly as a badge of rank, were to be retained. During the 19th and into the early 20th century, sabres were also used by both mounted and dismounted personnel in some European police forces. When the sabre was used by mounted police against crowds, the results could be devastating, as portrayed in

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