What ranking needed to....:

[Dclax07]

Just started, and im reading up on stuff right now, but
just curious:

what ranking should you / do you need to:

1. Fence in college (within top 10 in division)?

2. Fence in the olympics?

Im 15 right now, after a week of lessons im soooo hooked....

reading up on it, im gettin a lunging pad, etc., lol

Fencing is so addictive!

Thanks

[mrbiggs]

Well, it depens on the division, the college, and the weapon. Foil has more high-ranked fencers than epee, which has more than sabre. So an A foilist is more common than an A epeeist. As for college, it really depends on where you go; some teams are much better than others, and are looking for better fencers.

What's a lunging pad?

[Army Fencer]

2. Fence in the olympics?

Ranked... you need to be at a minimum top 4 in the nation. Those are if you make it through the team events. Otherwise, you can win zonals, but that doesn't get you there if we send a team. You can also go if you're top 8 on the FIE standings.

...as I understand, at least.

[ReverseLunge]

Just started, and im reading up on stuff right now, but
just curious:

what ranking should you / do you need to:

1. Fence in college (within top 10 in division)?

2. Fence in the olympics?

Im 15 right now, after a week of lessons im soooo hooked....

reading up on it, im gettin a lunging pad, etc., lol

Fencing is so addictive!

Thanks

Way too early to be thinking about this. You don't even know how to lunge properly yet.

0ver 50% of new fencers don't go on to the intermediate class and maybe only 20% of that class stays fencing. Finish this class and the intermediate class and then come back and ask these questions again.

Years ago when I took my first fencing class it was a full class about 35 people. There is only 1 person besides me from that class who is still fencing.

[Rolls]

Way too early to be thinking about this. You don't even know how to lunge properly yet.

0ver 50% of new fencers don't go on to the intermediate class and maybe only 20% of that class stays fencing. Finish this class and the intermediate class and then come back and ask these questions again.

Years ago when I took my first fencing class it was a full class about 35 people. There is only 1 person besides me from that class who is still fencing.

On the same note, don't you think it's WAY too early to be so discouraging.

Rolls.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

The determining factor if this dude stays fencing is how much success bouting he has early on. Generally, the people who suck compared to the rest of the class drop out the fastest. There is a certain amount of talent involved in fencing, and 1/2 of that talent is decided in your first bout. I say that people who lose their first bout, more often than not, end up quiting, while the people who have more success stick with it. If you can overcome this mindset, then you're half way to victory.

[veeco]

I would have to disagree with you DFP.

I think on the contrary that whatever the result of your first bout you can be a great fencer.

Talent is one thing, but it really doesn't apply in your first bout. Talent is something that needs to be harnessed and to grow. Further, "talent" in itself doesn't mean anything. What is talent? Is it the will to train harder than others? Is it a knack for feeling the timing for a particular attack, that once one has found out how to overcome or beat you cannot rely on?

I have seen many people who never take lessons, and don't really fence that great, be good in the beginning, and win a lot of bouts against beginners. After a couple of years, these people get discouraged and quit.

They get discouraged, because they realize that their early results were not because they had "talent"

Most of the time it was because they were more competitive, more athletic. Once that initial difference between them and the other beginners happened to be removed, because the others were training as well, if not better than those who were winning, they started losing bouts and not doing so well.

Fencing is something that, like a lot sports, most people don't just get "good at" in a couple of years, let alone a couple of months.

I didn't think RL's post was discouraging. It thought it was sound advice (for once, coming from him). One thing that makes most people quit is when they set to lofty goals from themselves from the beginning. It's great to want to become an olympic champion, except that for most people who did become one, it happened little by little. Perhaps they wanted to do it from the beginning, but they understood that they had to work towards something more attainable each year, each month, each practice.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I think on the contrary that whatever the result of your first bout you can be a great fencer.

I wasnt saying that they couldnt become good, I was saying that most people decide whether or not the sport is for them based on their first bout.

[S. Hunter]

The determining factor if this dude stays fencing is how much success bouting he has early on. Generally, the people who suck compared to the rest of the class drop out the fastest. There is a certain amount of talent involved in fencing, and 1/2 of that talent is decided in your first bout. I say that people who lose their first bout, more often than not, end up quiting, while the people who have more success stick with it. If you can overcome this mindset, then you're half way to victory.

Er... No. Actually, that has to be the biggest piece of crap I've ever heard here, ever. There are people who lost their first bout that can go to nationals and do great in less than a year, and there are people who can such for five years and then get good. And its not a good generalization either, your first bout had NOTHING to do with how you will be as a fencer. You are incredibly arrogant if you think so, your first bout has more to do with who you fence then how good you are. Fencing isn't about how good you are in your first bout, its about how much you love it. I lose a lot, I've been fencing for two years and I probably couldn't get an E in anything except sabre, but I LOVE fencing, and I do it because its fun, and you can enjoy your first bout even if you lose. (I did)

[Dclax07]

.....

Ok, I think people got the wrong impression.

I wanted to know what the limitations, standards, expectations of high

ranked fencers where.

The BEST Fencers in my entire club, adult/beginner/intermediate

(about 50-70 members) Is one A rank in foil and a few c's and d's.

I dont know how common A rank or C/D rank is. I was just curious.

I in my post never mentioned that I was setting "olympic fencing" as my goal.

I was just wondering. You guys dont have to jump on my back for this.

Reverselunge, i understand what your saying, but im not "thinking about it".

I just wanted some info! Fundamentals first. or FUN-damentals as my coach

puts it

[frenzl]

but I LOVE fencing, and I do it because its fun, and you can enjoy your first bout even if you lose. (I did)

great ending to the post.
But just realx, yes some people may get discourage to continue fencing if they don't do as well as they've liked early on, but many do stick it out at a normal club/salle.

[S. Hunter]

Rank Epee Foil Sabre
A 116 0.82% 211 1.49% 83 0.59%
B 281 1.99% 353 2.50% 160 1.13%
C 534 3.78% 534 3.78% 295 2.09%
D 876 6.20% 666 4.72% 466 3.30%
E 1,336 9.46% 934 6.61% 741 5.25%
U 10,982 77.75% 11,427 80.90% 12,380 87.65%

If that lines up right, then that should tell you a lot. Apply that to any club and you basically have what is average and what isn't. :-D

[pammie003]

Some crazy people don't even discover fencing until college - and it's still possible to make the varsity squad! It just takes work.

[mrbiggs]

I agree with DFP to an extent. Many kids come to do "swordfighting", try to adapt to fencing, lose, and quit. Those who win usually stick with it. It's not true 100% of the time, but it is in general. It's definately not the biggest piece of crap ever on this forum.

Back to the original topic, as the statistics show, A's and B's are very rare. If you're an A or B, you're one of the top fencers in the country. Very few fencers ever reach that level.

And I lost my first bout as well. But I thought my opponent's strategy sucked, so I stuck with it solely to beat him. (He quit shortly thereafter)

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Er... No. Actually, that has to be the biggest piece of crap I've ever heard here, ever. There are people who lost their first bout that can go to nationals and do great in less than a year, and there are people who can such for five years and then get good. And its not a good generalization either, your first bout had NOTHING to do with how you will be as a fencer. You are incredibly arrogant if you think so, your first bout has more to do with who you fence then how good you are. Fencing isn't about how good you are in your first bout, its about how much you love it. I lose a lot, I've been fencing for two years and I probably couldn't get an E in anything except sabre, but I LOVE fencing, and I do it because its fun, and you can enjoy your first bout even if you lose. (I did)

I never said that people who dont win their first bout suck. What I said is that they get discouraged, so more people who win their first go on to win more then those who quit after being discouraged. You got the wrong impression.

[S. Hunter]

I agree with DFP to an extent. Many kids come to do "swordfighting", try to adapt to fencing, lose, and quit. Those who win usually stick with it. It's not true 100% of the time, but it is in general. It's definately not the biggest piece of crap ever on this forum.

I must go to an odd club, because I'm pretty sure that almost everyone lost their first bout. The people that quit are the ones who love something else enough to do it during fencing time, I really don't think that initial skill or discouragement has anything to do with it. Most people also join fencing for the 'sword fighting' aspect of it, I did. Almost no one really knows about the whole sport fencing thing as opposed to sword fighting, I see very few athletes looking for a sport, I see a lot of interrested people looking for something fun.

But er yeah, origional topic, right. Look a few posts down in a thread called 'Rankings' (I think) for more info. It seemed to be a pretty good resource.

[Army Fencer]

Please note that there is a difference between "rating" and "ranking." Rating means you did well at a local tournament. Ranking means that you are on the national points list.

[ReverseLunge]

The determining factor if this dude stays fencing is how much success bouting he has early on. Generally, the people who suck compared to the rest of the class drop out the fastest. There is a certain amount of talent involved in fencing, and 1/2 of that talent is decided in your first bout. I say that people who lose their first bout, more often than not, end up quiting, while the people who have more success stick with it. If you can overcome this mindset, then you're half way to victory.

I got beat my first bout.

[LordTofuDog-jnr]

Well I'm going to have to agree with DFP on this one, if a person wins their first bout and then has immediate results for the next few months then there is a much better chance they'll stay with the sport than somebody who loses everything and never improves.

Otherwise - on the contrary to what somebody said (S. Hunter I believe) winning your first bout isn't rare, I did it. It's just a matter of being better than the guy, on the day at least, like in any competition.

In conclusion if a person wins their first few bouts and has immediate success they're far more likely to stick with the sport, I know that's is what has happened with me. I've been fencing for about one and a half years now have had good results and I'm enjoying myself.

P.s - Why people like fencing and what makes people stay with our grand and noble sport shouldn't be on trial.

[prototoast]

I wasnt saying that they couldnt become good, I was saying that most people decide whether or not the sport is for them based on their first bout.

How about this... I can't even remember my first bout. I've only been fencing about 4 years, so it hasn't been that long. For me, actually, I think it took about a year before I even liked fencing... now I can't imagine not fencing.