Every night that someone trains as a fencer, their coach writes another chapter in this book. To teach someone to fence is not just to teach the mechanics of fencing. The student often gives the coach a tremendous amount of power to manipulate the personality behind the fencer; to influence not just what they do on the strip, but who they are as people. This is a profound responsibility. Handling it well is one of the marks of a great coach. Fencers from other clubs often ...
Retreating would seem to be the simplest thing to do in the world. One foot goes backward, and the other follows it. Every fencer does a retreat (it’s not a unique move, after all) and every coach teaches it. So why is it always done so badly? I think that every fencer that has come to me after starting with another coach does a retreat incorrectly. They step back with the back foot and then roll the front foot off of the heal (lifting the toe of the front foot first). ...
On the drive home after the Cherry Blossom this weekend, Jill (my wife) and I were discussing the referee cadre that worked this weekend. We were impressed by the over all level of the referees Jill had available for a “local” tournament. It was a very strong group, with a mix of referees active nationally, and some local talent. Jill and I were pleased that one of our friends -- Tom Lucente -- was observed by Greg Dillworth this weekend, who spoke favorably about Tom’s performance ...
It appears that none of the fencers I know on the Virginia Tech campus are among the fatalities or injured. Relief, however, seems selfish in light of the enourmous tragedy for the campus, and our fellow Virginians. AE
...is this weekend. It's a monster, with some 400 people registered for the event. Quite a number of years ago, the Cherry Blossom was a big deal. In the early 80's it was one of the premier East Coast events (one year, fencing phenomena Mike Marx and -- I believe -- Mark Smith fenced in the finals in foil). The Cherry Blossom, General Dynamics Open, and the Duel at Dallas attracted people from all over the country to fence in them. Then the NAC's were established and the air went ...
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