Time to Pick a Weapon

[Tyshalle]

OK, I am faced with a rather interesting prediciment. Up until this point I have been an epee fencer, almost exclusively, but a few weeks ago I picked up a Saber for the first time and loved it, i even did quite well in the saber pit at my club, using mostly epee-wristshots. Now there are two coaches at my club, an accomplished epeeist and an accomplished saburest, and both want to train my in their respective weapons full time. Im torn, i think i may have found a new love in saber, but ive been doing epee so long it would be strange leaving it behind. (Note: im a 6'5'' 16 year old) Now if this was all of you, and you HAD to pick one weapon, doing both was not an option, and wanted to take fencing as far as it could take you, which would you choose? Please dont tell me it is up to me, im just looking for opinions either way, pros, cons ect.... Thanks in advance for your help

[Teme]

I guess you should try out a saber competition, just to find out if you're saber kind of a fighter. Not a club competition, but a one where they're really out to get you.

I mean, it's quite the same as epee, but also a completely different kind of thing.

[Victor]

They are identical in a different sort of way.

[mlr2fence]

How long have you been fencing and have you competed in tournaments in epee? if so, how were your results? If you have been fencing epee for awhile with good tournament results and going 'as far as you can' is your primary goal then switching would put you back some steps. Another thing to consider is the coaching--to get 'as far as you can' you need a coach who can help you get there--which weapon has the better coach? Buying new equipment is an added expense. When all is done and said I think the bottom line is to pick the weapon you truly enjoy the most for then you're more apt to stick with it and to train harder.

[oso97]

Originally Posted by mlr2fence

Another thing to consider is the coaching--to get 'as far as you can' you need a coach who can help you get there--which weapon has the better coach?

Also important to consider isn't just who is the "better coach" - as measured by the fencers they've produced (a reasonable measure), their credentials (not a bad one either, assuming you can verify them), or their own competitive results (this one pretty low on the pole, although it can be the deciding factor if everything ELSE balances out).

Its just as important to consider teaching style and personal relationship. If you and the coach are not seeing eye to eye, or have a conflict of personalities, you're going to have a difficult time learning from them, given the nature of the student-teacher relationship in fencing.

Also, bear in mind that the best coaches don't only teach you on strip during the lesson...

[CvilleFencer]

I am an epee fencer who loves to play around with saber. I do pretty well fencing at the club with the saber guys, mainly using epee distance and timing, but when I come up against a real saber fencer (D or better) they shred me.

The moral of the story, for me anyway, is that skill will beat strange timing and reach every time. If you want to do saber you will have to unlearn a lot of your epee reflexes to really excel in the sport and you will have to learn Saber ROW which is kind of an animal all its own in many regards.

I was lucky to get to fence in a dry saber open (kind of a nostalgia event in my Division) and true to form my weirdness did well against less experienced fencers but I was crushed (and badly bruised/slashed by the B I almost put out of pools by counter attacking. I think I made him mad!) by the better fencers as I did not know the rules well enough to beat them on extensions and foot/hand work and timing.

I would really suggest sticking with epee and treating saber as a fun thing to blow off steam with. If I ever have a ton of cash to play with I will get some electric saber kit and go to the occasional comp as I really enjoy it, but epee is my true love as it were. My two cents.

[Epee_Pox]

I agree with the representative from Charlottesville. Stick with Epee, but definitely do some Sabre now and then for fun.

And it is fun for an Epee fencer to do some Sabre here and there. Your Epee skills will get you a lot of points against a lot of sabreurs, because (1) you approach the bout in a manner unfamiliar to them, and they'll be perplexed, (2) your footwork and distance skills will keep them at bay much longer than they're used to, and as the bout gets longer they get tired, and all the points should yours once they're tired, and (3) you can use the point better, thus score from farther away more readily. Sabre doesn't cross over as well to Epee, however.

[noodle]

talk to oiuyt

but anyway, i fence epee primaritly but i pick up a sabre occasionally to help the sabre kids in my club. generally speaking, i whip up on them. i've never gotten a lesson or drilled or fenced in competition, i just "know" how its supposed to be fenced. was thinking about going to the div2 nac for it, but i'm low on $. probably fence a local tournament just to test myself.

anyway, long story short, yes epee and sabre are more closely related than it seems and you'd do fine as mentioned earlier, play around with sabre but concentrate in epee. or vice versa.

[prittieinpink]

why not try sabre for like two weeks and then decide? i fence epee, so of course i would be all "fence epee! fence epee!!", but fence what you want to fence! i like epee bc the directors will never give away the wrong touch due to right of way. but the exact opposite is true for sabre and foil, you have to prove that it was your touch or whatever.

i dont know, you should make your own decision. dont let a bunch of online strangers tell you what to fence. :-P

[Inquartata]

"Follow your bliss", as Campbell said. Do whichever appeals to you most; enjoying what you're doing will take you far, and it won't be rote drudgery just in the name of winning.

We have a guy in my Division who was an A in epee and used to dabble in sabre ( which of course he fenced as though it were epee ). He completely threw it over for sabre as soon as a decent coach became available. Now he fences sabre like sabre, and it shows. He's currently a C, which is about the best one can do in our small Division.

Of course it depends on your priorities, but I haven't ever been able to fathom the concept of choosing an option you are good at but don't enjoy over the converse...

[J.Harris]

Have you tried foil?

[MyraTrue]

I'm just "Run by posting" and haven't read all replies. But...

I have been in the same place before. I am an epeeist, and I know that now. But I have been able to fence well in sabre (I've been able to WIN, anyhow), I remember doing VERY well in a team event with almost no sabre experience because I used point attacks and was "unorthadox".

A couple of things: for me, sabre is fun. Its a weapon to go goof off in and not conform to the sabre norm, using epee tactics etc. I had a coach who was determined to teach me sabre, always telling me "you'd be a great sabre fencer!". So I took two lessons in sabre, instead of my usual lessons in epee. I didn't enjoy them, or the weapon, when I was seriously trying to learn the weapon competitively. I learned I didn't want to seriously fence sabre, EVER. Its a game to me, and not a competitive one. Take a few lessons in sabre, and see what you think.

Also, which I think someone has also said, compete a little. My "style" of sabre works well in a team event, where people haven't seen me fence until they get to the strip. However, in an open competition (which I've also fenced sabre in), a decent sabrist can take me appart and after watching me fence someone else, and does it without a great deal of trouble. I enjoy sabre at the club level, some at the team level if they're in dire need of another sabrist (not so much now that I'm the womens epee captain).

but I don't think you've got to pick right now. Fence both weapons if you want, until you know what you want. Maybe you are ok being a 2-weapon fencer. You have to find out! Good luck.'