The original French word for fencing strip, planche (lit., plank or board), encapsulates the nature of the original strip and points at its inherent limitations, which required adaptation of the footwork by the fencers.
The planche was initially conceived as an outdoors device: It could easily be placed on sand, gravel, or grass, and provide instant even ground…
Continue reading on Terrain v. Planche: A brief history of late 19th-century fencing spaces
