Tall Sabre?

[grantsmilitary]

Hello everyone.

I'm just getting into fencing by 3 months and have been borrowing people's equipment but I feel that it is now time for me to get my own since I've fallen in love with the sport and hate bogging others down. I'm really wanting to fight Sabre but the general thought is that it is better off for shorter people and I should fight epee since I am 6'2" tall. Is it really THAT important? Or should I go with sabre because I know it's the one I really want to do?

Thanks,
Grant Bender

[AaronK]

You should fence whatever you really want to fence.

[noodle]

height is an advantange in any weapon
it just takes a little while to learn to use it properly in the ROW weapons.

[veeco]

Many current high level sabreurs are over 6 feet tall. Why don't you try sabre and see if you like it? I don't see how being small would be an advantage in sabre. It's as much as an advantage as being small in epee or foil.

[kalivor]

Fence whatever you want. Height is an advantage in all three weapons.

Initially, height is a much larger advantage in epee than in foil or sabre -- aggressive, athletic (read "fast") fencers tend to do best as sabre beginners.

In the long run, however, I think height might be a bigger advantage in sabre than in epee or foil -- after all, you can't really "get under the point" in sabre, and though arm is target the majority of the hits land on the head and body.

Assuming that it's just the height that has people leading you over to epee (it could be your height + your disposition ... some people are just better suited to a certain weapon), go with what you want to do. Your height will be an advantage no matter what.

[The0ne]

definitely fence sabre if that's the weapon you really like. Keeth Smart, number one sabre fencer in the USA (and the world for a little while) is tall and skinny, the build that people usually associate with epee. . . The main thing is to fence what you enjoy, not what other people think you would be good at!

[Inquartata]

Pursue the weapon you'll enjoy the most, without regard for extraneous factors like height or even which you think you'd "do better" in. You'll put more into it, and get more out of it. And you may turn out to be another Ben Igoe! (Would I say this if you weren't leaning toward sabre? Yes! Though perhaps with slightly less conviction and verve! )

[Purple Fencer]

Speaking as a short guy (5' 4 1/2") who has fenced (read: got stomped by) someone 6' 2" (Costa Nicols) in sabre...

The reach advantage isn;t just that you can hit me farther away than I can hit you...with a longer reach, your blade would copminto contact with mine (if I attempt a parry) farther down on your blade then against someone of comparable height, resulting in a longer blade to whip around my parry and land on target...relatively inexpereiced fencers won't make their parries wider to counter this and will get nailed (happens to me all the time)

On the other hand, if you advance with your arm en garde set for someone of your height, it may open up the underside for a short guy like me to try and pick off.

Likewise, although a lot fo shots are deep body/head shots, remember that your arm is target...and I teach my student to go fo whatever target's available or closest. She pulled off a beautiful (touch of the day, IMO) beat & go to the forearm against a point in line at her last event...and she's my heights...her opponent was 6'.

[oiuyt]

No! No! No! Keep sending all the tall people away.... only short people are allowed to start fencing sabre. I LIKE my advantage!

Seriously though, if you look at the world class sabre fencers they're mostly starting to be around 6'+ (Medina's an obvious exception, you can still be phenominal without huge height). Not as insanely tall as the top level epeeists (you'd be below the median at a Div I epee NAC at 6'2), but certainly not the stereotypical short and stout body type any more.

As mentioned previously in the thread what you want to do is going to, in the long run, matter much more than physical tools that nature has endowed you with. If you enjoy whatever weapon you're fencing you'll train harder, work longer, stay with the sport, etc. If you don't (and don't eventually switch to a weapon you do enjoy) you'll stop fencing completely, or, at best, be lackadaisical and not care which will lead to results which reflect that level of effort.

Do what you want to do, forget about the stereotypes or what others think you "should" do based on your build.

-B :)
*6'3" sabre fencer*

[edew]

You don't have to be tall to fence saber well. Look at Mike "The Rhino" Momtselidze (sp?). Junior is also pretty short, compared to other saber fencers. And Max Williams was pretty darn good when he was still quite short.

[fencerontheline]

What about Ben Igoe?

[Saber-Psycho]

Ben Igoe is a ridiculously tall saber fencer.
He's like 6'6 (I'm not sure, though...) and probably weighs less than 150lbs.

[Purple Fencer]

Ben Igoe is a ridiculously tall saber fencer.
He's like 6'6 (I'm not sure, though...) and probably weighs less than 150lbs.

That is SO wrong!

Eric...at my first PCCs in 99 there was a guy from Halberstadt named (I think) "Hack" on their epee team. How tall is he? I remember thinking/praying "Please don't give us Halberstadt...pease don't give us Halberstadt..." 'cause he looked like he could nail you just by extending from the en garde line!

[grantsmilitary]

Thanks alot everyone! I'm going to the store to get my sabre gear tonight ! I talked to my current coach and he refuses to teach me sabre since I'm in his view "epee height" so I'm going to switch coaches as well even though I hate the idea of doing so. I love sabre and know it's the one for me and I'm going to go with it and yall just gave me the boost I needed to go out and do it.

Thanks,
Grant Bender
grant_bender22027@hotmail.com

[whtouche]

As has been mentioned before, height is not the deciding factor by any means, but it is still an advantage in all three weapons.
I'm only 5'10" and I wish I were taller, as it would make life alot easier.
A tall sabre fencer who actually does good footwork rather than trying to abuse their height advantage are phenominally dangerous.

[The0ne]

glad you took the leap! Have fun!

[whtouche]

You coach refuses to teach you sabre because of your height?

Looks like you made the right decision

[P00Man]

height has nothing to do with it, it is all distance. however, i do think that being taller allows for more mistakes distance-wise then for someone that is shorter.

I fence sabre and im only 5'7" (maybe even shorter, that does seem tall...) and i consistently distance parry and defeat guys a lot taller than i am. There are many many tactics you can use to your advantage against a taller person, which you'll find the longer you fence and the more advanced you get.

[daveappr]

you should definately give sabre a try- and as far as switching coaches- I think you've made the right decision. Too many people get pigeon holed based on their physical size

[K Degnon]

I'm only 5'10" and I wish I were taller, as it would make life alot easier.

Don't worry whtouch, it could be worse. You could have been 5' 3"