first competion.

[leia]

hey,
Ill be fencing in my first fencing competition latter today.
Been fencing for a year, Started on foil, it will also be the first time ive ever fenced epee, and apart from 1 sabre lesson, sabre 2.
Just as well its only a school competition i supose. so can anyone give me some info or good advice?
I know you cant learn fencing by just reading about it, but could you please give me some background information on sabre and epee. eg Why you like fencing them rather than anyother? Things to whatch out for? Most important aspects? Anything would be appreciated.

Thanks

Leia

[ShadowHuntr]

cant give you any sabre info, never wanted to pick one up. but for epee, the main thing is give yourself more distance than you would in foil. the majority of the blows are going to be on the hand/arm or close to it. Also, keep your actions very small, always ALWAYS stick the point out, good things will happen. if you go too fancy you will get killed. also for en guarde basically extend a little normally and move the elbow out to the side a hair.

[rvergara]

I chose my weapon because I have the most fun fencing with it. I fence foil by the way. I have tried saber a few times and I like it, I think I would fence saber seriously if I had the chance, but there is no saber equipment on our club except for a couple of dry sabers (kinda old ones).
Like my coach says, "Don't make points, fence!". My first national I only won one bout, because all I wanted was to get the point so I payed no attention to parries, timing, distance, etc.
My second competition I ended up sixth, because I started to make fencing actions, not just extending my arm towards the other guy, most of my points were parry-ripostes. After that I finally got what my coach meant.

[wflaschka]

Burn energy like crazy (especially once you're out of pools). The lighter you are on your feet, the harder you are to hit. This will make the bouts last longer, and you'll have more of a chance to find good openings or fix problems (if you're having any). Have fun!

[noodle]

i fence epee because i needed to fence epee and it turned out to be the easiest weapon for me. i'm reasonably good in the others, but haven't fenced them in competition in a year or two.

basic pointers for epee: at the lower levels, all you realllllly need to do to win is have patience, keep your distance, and keep your point on their arm. when they open up their arm in some form, try and hit. if you're getting pushed, then you should do something so you don't run off the back of the strip. keep your guard off of your body, kind of like a half extension. people get frustrated easily when nothing's happening in a bout and try to force things. have patience, keep the point on. if you want, though, don't be shy to make beats, attacks, or whatnot if you see particular openings you think you can get. above all, though, be patient. winning or losing.

ditto for sabre: your most effective parry will be the one you don't have to throw. if you have right of way, hit them. if you don't, retreat moderately quickly and jump out of the way fast when the attacker launches the final attack. then go. if someone catches you on a parry, do the same attack but then disengage. sabre's quick, its easy to not notice you're doing the same thing over and over. think about what you're doing between actions. don't be afraid to change lines or be on the defensive. when you're on the offense, you have to go. i can't even imagine how many times i've yelled that to teammates.

[MXL]

I started on Sabre, someone told me once I have a natural defense when it comes to sabre. The reason could be it's the only one that can be moved like a sword. *shrugs*.

Sabre is extremely fast, you have to be quick on your feet. I'm not just talking about movement, I'm talking strategy as well. I use to be a one trick fencer, go up with one plan, and I find myself losing a lot. Then I started to have back up plans and back-up to the back-up, the more I fenced, the better I got. The faster I can come up with a plan, the easier fencing got. Do not get frustrated or distracted, in sabre everything is over in an instant, there is no time to dwell on anything while fencing. Oh yes, beginner level sabre, go forward, extend your arm, and hit. (I started winning in Sabre once I injured my left foot, and it hurts everytime I retreat. So, I stopped retreating, and it got a lot better)

Why I picked this weapon? I do not have the patience nor do I have the point control accuracy that is needed in Foil and Epee. My personality just does not mesh with either of them. Given time, I can be a decent foil fencer, I think, but epee? I highly doubt it.

[leia]

well, ive had my first competition now.
it was great fun
Cept for the fact we were completly disorganised.
One of our team members also deserted in the middle of a bout, so it was impossible for us to win.
So that also meant i didnt get to do any epee today.
ack, we will have a new member next week. so i hope all goes well.

is sabre always so fast? it the point was over after the initial attack.

Oh yes, beginner level sabre, go forward, extend your arm, and hit.

that helped ^^ i dont think what we were fencing was prper sabre technique but, just doing that improved our points so much. we may have won even... cept for the whole traitor thing.

Thanks for you advice and opinions so far, keep posting them if u read this ^^
u ppl are a great help.


Leia