Fencing.Net - Your Guide to Fencing & Fencing Equipment

Congrats! Don't worry, epee will grow on you... Yes, I'm on Facebook; I'll look up the group.

When I started with epee, that was the biggest thing for me to remember. Distance, timing, and EXTEND! My game is predominantly counter-offensive but that's also because I'm a pommeler. The extend and counter is a basic action that I have to be able to do in my sleep. That's also how I get the hand You should come to one of my clubs open fencing nights when you're on break. Our senior coach takes us through some intense footwork exercises and drills and then we fence. It's exhausting, but you learn a lot.

Yeah, my weekend just started so I have a few days to recover before I go at it again.

Well I just got home from the epee tourney....I WON! Yeah so now I have my E in epee which is really strange since I still like foil more. It feels good though to prove myself. Are you on facebook? If you are you should join the MTFC group. That's where we post all of our vids and pictures and stuff.

Sabre feet huh? That would probably help with the whole not parrying thing. What worked for me really well was to just stick my arm out when I saw my opponent coming at me which worked really well. I think I played defense all night.

It's friday, you should get some ice cream and grab some couch and just veg. Thats what i'm doing now, haha. Yeah I graduate in the spring and can't wait to get back to the WWD and see how I stack up against some of those fencers.

Hope your epee tourny went well!

Parry? In epee? Well, you certainly could more so than I. I don't have the leverage that pistols do so I'm all about avoidance and counter. Good footwork is a huge plus. One of the things my coach tries to get me to do is to use my "sabre feet" in epee. I'm sure you'll be fine; just takes some getting used to.

This week has been exhausting, fencing wise. I really love it and will continue with my crazy schedule, but all I want to do is crash. You graduate this spring, right? Well then, you can fence more!

Wow maybe I got your pages then. I also had a whole bunch of blank pages. Very strange.

I just got back from SFU and I got stomped at epee. I keep trying to use foil parries and its not working out the way I want it to. I'm afraid to go for the attack because there is no right of way and its not like a parry repost is gonna save my butt. It just stinks because my footwork is my strong point and I really can't use it how I want. Very frustrating but fun at the same time I suppose. I guess I just need to keep at it.

That's nice that you can just order through your coach. I think that my coach could do that if I asked him to but it's usually just easier to get it myself. WOW you are all over the place during the week aren't you? I really can't even begin to tell you how jealous I am that you get to fence that much.

Those are pretty fair prices. I think that MTFC charges like $15 for a individual lesson and our master teacher gives free lessons on Saturdays. He's getting up there in age so I don't think he will be giving lessons very much longer. Hopefully this summer I can learn as much from him as possible.

Ha ha! My book was missing about 20 pages! I took it back to B&N and got a complete one. Sounds like the printer was having issues!

You're right; for a foilist, there's not point in using French. Epee, personal preference. Pistol does give more leverage for parries. That's one thing I'm constantly working on with my coach. The extended French game is all about timing and distance. I often let myself get way too close to my opponent where they can take my blade.

My club orders through Athos and I've also have gotten a few things from f.net. But mostly I tell my coach what I want and he gets it. He's an excellent coach, but yes, pretty tough. WFA doesn't have a monthly membership per se. You sign up for classes (usually an eight week session for around $100) and go from there. Right now I'm paying for an epee class, sabre class, two private lessons ($25/30 mins), and open fencing/drills ($5 floor fee). But I'm fencing much more than that. Tuesdays I have a lesson, sabre, and epee. Wednesdays I'm probably going to go to SAS for some open fencing that my coach suggested, Thursdays I go to another location where my club offers classes and have another lesson and epee class, and Fridays we have open fencing/drills taught by our fencing master. WFA doesn't have one main location; we offer classes in various schools, community centers, rec centers, etc. Since there's no monthly fee it's certainly one of the more affordable clubs in the area.

One question about that book. Did your edition come with a double print of the saber section or am I just special?

I tried to stay with the french grip but was soon converted. I actually fenced my first tourney with a french grip and did fine but my coach suggested the pistol and I actually like it more now. I can get a lot more range of motion and stronger parries out of it. Seeing as i'm a foilist and you are an epeeist it makes sense for me to use pistol and you french.

Where do you buy your stuff from? I got my last blade from f.net and its just really heavy, like I said, it could be just because i'm used to foil.

Sounds like your coach is pretty tough. What do you pay for monthly membership and individual lessons? I know at MTFC they charge 50 a month and SFU is 30. EWU just upped their quarterly dues to 20, which still isn't enough.

That's the book I have. Good for the basics (parries, terms) but as you said, not applicable.

Ah yes, the club/class rivalry. If you ask me, they're both bad, in both different and similar ways. Heh heh, pistol eh? Well, that's one thing that stuck with me. I just couldn't get used to the feel of the grip. So I stuck with French. Yes, I'm a pommeler. That's why I love the hand I just got my second epee and the blade is a lot more flexible than my other one. I'm going to have to work to get used to the feel. Good for a quick flick to the hand, though! Gah, foot touches; the bane of my existence. My coach made that my personal rule. If anyone gets a single touch on my foot, they get two touches (or I have to do push-ups, depending on the situation). I've gotten a lot better at countering because of that! But then, I have to be. After all, counter attacks compose the majority of the extended French game.

It would be good if there was someone at Fire and Ice who was willing to keep an eye out for the club. Especially if there isn't anyone currently at the club who knows what they're doing.

Wow I guess that leaves you with little time to do anything else. It's kind of how I was this last summer. I would work all day and get off at 5 then fence from 7 to 9 every night. So I was in there about 5 or 6 out of 7 days of the week. I loved every minute of it though and I wish that I could be back there now. Well i'm sure that you will make the choice that's right for you. Just remember that fencing is a sport that you will never master, which makes it so much fun. (i'm super jealous of you too, I wanna fence that much)

Oh which one do you have? I have The art and science of fencing, and it was pretty good from a historical standpoint but the technique just doesn't apply to modern fencing. HAHA I totally remember him saying that over and over. Yeah the club calls the class all sorts of nasty names which is funny because that's where they get most of their fresh meat. The club calls me dirty things behind my back too because I use a pistol grip. Sigh...

Yeah I practice at SFU on Mondays and Fridays and then have the school club Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Everyone at SFU is really nice and they have a few pretty good fencers there. They don't have the super nice equipment like they do in the WWD but I mean it's the Inland Empire so I guess you can't expect too much.

I just got my own epee with a Zivkovik BIII grip. It's pretty comfy but I still need to get used to the weight and the fast that I can't flick it around like my foil. Hand touches huh, i'm more partial to the knee and foot. It makes me feel cool when I pull one of those off.

Right now I don't really see anyone that I would be comfortable leaving the club with. There is a guy named Jacob who was in the club last year but he's kind of shy and quiet. I think with a little grooming he could be a really good president. It's difficult though because mostly everyone there does it just for fun when they have time. I think the president should be someone who competes and has an idea of whats going on in the fencing community. I don't know any Aurora but she might have class and not be able to make it this quarter.

Funny you mentioned Fire and Ice. I met a few of them at the last tourney I fenced in and they seemed like really nice guys. They told me that I really needed to stop by and fence with them but I forgot what days they meet! I think that they meet at the Cheney Community Center a few times a week. I'll have to ask them at the next tourney. I would like to have some of them come to the EWU club and visa versa so the kids who are more interested will have an outlet without having to drive all the way to spokane.

Fencing has consumed the last year of my life! Of course I love it! What I'm trying to figure out is if I should be spending as much time as I am. I fence up to three hours a night for four nights and have two private lessons with my coach per week. With my job, I usually leave my place at 5am and don't get back until 10pm. I usually go to fencing straight from work. So it's just a matter of deciding just how far I want to go with fencing. I asked my coach for some feedback as to my potential, etc. so we'll see.

Ah yes, I have an Evangelista book and look certain things up in it every so often, but as a whole...meh... Every now and then I can still hear Paige's "Once more, for the sake of the drill." And yet, the bouting is a disaster. Roz and I call it street fencing.

Good luck at the tourney! Do you go to SFU to practice as well? I didn't have any exposure to epee at EWU until my last quarter. And then I really didn't have any interest. It was all sabre for me. Now, almost all my time is spent with epee. Got to love those hand touches!

Is there anyone capable of leading the club in the right direction? Is Aurora still there? She was a somewhat serious fencer (a little immature...) who could have some potential leadership ability. Have you been in contact at all with Fire and Ice? They're supposed to be based out of Cheney, but I never looked into it. Whoever ends up president should definitely have knowledge about modern fencing.

Of course its worth it! You love it right? Anything that you enjoy is almost always worth it. I would say even if I didn't compete I would still enjoy fencing as a hobby. How far do you want to go in fencing?

Yeah I think that Paige drank the Evangelista kool aid. He's really all about becoming one with the weapon and all that but then he lets his students whack at each other by the fourth class. Kind of counter productive to healthy fencing habits if you ask me. I think this was my 4th tourney and I was able to get my rank but it was an all unrated tourney so that helped. I'm competing in my first epee tourney this Friday and i'm kind of nervous because i'm not that stellar at it yet but I guess it will just be a fun learning experience.

A redouble, is that what they call that? Haha I really have no idea. Don't worry about rambling on about things. Like I said its nice to talk to people in the community. Especially ones that you have a common tie in with.

I'm sure that i'll miss EWU when I graduate and move back to Tacoma this spring. I told them all that they can email me whenever and I'll still try to help them in any way I can. I would just hate to see that club die because it's been so important to me. Yes Gary is still the vice president but I think that he's graduating this year so he will be stepping down. I know hes doing his graduate work at EWU so he will still be around but not as an officer. Jessica will probably be stepping down at the end of this year so we will need to elect a new president as well. I actually see this as a good growing period for the club to move in a new direction.