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Originally Posted by capa I am 20 years old and am anxious to commence a sport that promotes fitness. However, just over 3 months ago I had an operation and cannot risk any hard bumps to my head or direct blows to my eyes. ... I have researched fencing and found it is an ideal sport as it seems safer than most sports and yet provides a fun way to keep physically fit. |
On the whole, fencing results in fewer injuries than most other sports; your research has probably revealed this. However, while it
is safer than basketball, football, &etc., it is still a combat-derived sport. There is no guarantee that, in the normal course of fencing bouting, you will
not get an accidental blow to the head. Most of these accidents will be incidental, but every now and then one will leave your head ringing (like when the opponent accidentally hits the mask with the guard of the weapon). FWIW, your eyes are safe behind the mask.
http://www.exra.org/FencingChptr.htm -- Epidemiology of Sports Injuries, re Fencing.
Most accidents of this sort happen during competition, and second-most accidents happen during bouting (face-off against an opponent). If you're keen to try fencing, then you can take introductory classes -- these are usually comprised of footwork, agility and strengthening games, and structured drills. You can sit the bouting out for medical reasons until you are further progressed in your recovery (the coach will understand), or you can be very selective and find opponents who are passive or unathletic.
If your recovery period is a long one, you can progress to taking individual lessons with a coach and achieve a high level of skill and gratification. All this can keep you busy for 3-6 months, but ultimately you'll want to test yourself against opponents, and this will lead to frustration unless you're recovered by then.
About the sorts of people in fencing -- every stripe. As ReverseLunge demonstrates, you won't always find nice people. Some people fence with intensity, e.g., what you'd need to climb to the top. But there are young, old, infirm, recovering, & deteriorating fencers. It is possible to fence, and be completely unathletic and weak, if desired. If the club is big enough, you'll find people with your outlook or who match your situation. The only commonality is that everybody talks more than they fence.
I've had salle-mates that were in severe car accidents with bigtime head trauma, and they were accommodated in many ways (for one of them -- no whistling in their presence), so I know it can be done. It would probably be fine to try out, but you may find your requirements too binding; I hope your condition isn't permanent, but there are individual-sports options too (perhaps less interesting, unfortunately).
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