Games

[fencing fish]

Hi everyone, I am looking for a ton of new game ideas, fencing related preferable but if you have some other great original games I, and my fencing kids, would love to try them out

Thanks
Meghan

[sabreuse]

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for but here are a few I've participated in.

1> The "glove game". divide the group of fencers into two equal groups. Assign a number to each fencer in each group, 1 through whatever. Have the two groups line up facing each other about 15-20 feet apart. In the middle between the two groups, put a fencing glove on top of a mask on the floor. The coach calls out a number and the person from each group with that number run toward the glove and try to grab it and carry it back to their line before getting tagged by the person from the other team. There's some strategy here. You can make a quick grab and run or you can hover over the other fencer and wait for them to grab the glove so you can tag them. The coach can also call out more than one number at the same time. Keep track of the points and play until one side gets 5 points or whatever. This works best when you have fewer than 12 or so fencers.

2> Have all the fencers stand in a circle facing each other. Each fencer holds a weapon with the point on the floor and one finger on top to keep it standing up. The coach claps once, twice, or three times. For one clap, each fencer lets go of their weapon and tries to grab the weapon to the right before it hits the ground. For two claps, do the same thing except grab the weapon to the left. For three claps, let go of your weapon, spin around and try to grab your own weapon before it hits the ground.

3> This one can be kind of rough so you may not want to use it on little kids. It's pretty much fun though. Take a piece of 8 1/2 X 11 paper and fold it in fourths long-ways. Take it securely to the top of a fencing mask so that about 4 or so inches sticks out in front. Everyone puts on their mask and uses a sabre. The object is to try to cut the paper tab off another fencer's mask without getting yours cut off. The last fencer with the paper intact wins. Warning: Resist the temptation to fend of an attacker with your off hand.


[This message has been edited by sabreuse (edited 02-15-2001).]

[MikeHarm]

Two I know of are sword and tankard matches, and schlaeger match games. In the sword and tankard one, you carry a mug filled with whatever beverage you want, and are allowed to parry with it. Whoever has the most liquid in the tankard at the end of the match gets an extra point.

In the schlaeger one, you put a filled shot glass behind the rear foot of each of the fencers when they're at the onguard line, and if either of them spills the glass by retreating they lose the match on the spot for being a coward.

They are more drinking games than kid games though.

Mike

[darius]

The "glove game" mentioned above - a few twists; instead of running, do footwork. The coach holds the glove about chest-height.

You're not allowed to cross the center line until the other person grabs the glove, or the other team gets the point. This adds another dimension, feinting at the glove with a half-retreat to get the other person to cross, when they're off balance grab the glove and go, etc...

Another:

The U of R calls it "chaos ball," RFC calls it "the glove game." It's basically team handball--there are two masks at opposite ends of the gym, two teams, and a wadded up glove or bean bag. You get three steps max, and either pass to a partner or shoot at the mask. Hit the mask, get a point.

If the pass misses, the ball is dropped, or blocked, the other team gets the ball.

This game is great for warming up especially if you have a competitive group, and it scales well in intensity from youth to older kids.

...and then there's the five-lunge game...but you shouldn't do that...your students will hate you.

darius

[This message has been edited by darius (edited 02-15-2001).]

[fencing fish]

These are awesome guys, keep them a comin....

[belligerent_sorceress]

Our "glove game" involves everyone tucking the cuff of their glove into the waistband in the back of their pants. The object is to grab the other players gloves, which therefore tags them out. You can only lunge and do whatever fencing footwork you please in order to attain the other players gloves. If your glove is taken, you're out. The game is played in a designated box in the gym, if you step out of the box with both feet, you're out. Last fencer left wins.

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Melissa

"You can beat me, you can bind me, but you can't touch me!

[Clean Touch]

Here's a couple of fun ones we play at the Sacramento Fencing club among the foilists:

1) The Army Game
The fencers face each other in two lines across from a center line. When the referee calls "begin!" the fencers may attack any fencer on the opposing team WITHOUT crossing the line. Touches are acknowledged by the ref and by Fencer's Honor. When the battle narrows to two or three fencers the ref can call "Free for all" and the remaining players can move about the room, trying to touch each other. Last team standing wins.

2) The Circle Game
The fencers form a circle on the floor, taking note of the player to their left and right. When the game begins it's a mad free for all with the exception that you CANNOT touch the person to your right and left at the start. When two or three are left they may fence/fight until only one remains. (After all, there can be only one...)

The Important point to remember with games 1) and 2) is safety. The masks are open in the back, so the smart thing is to watch your attacks, even if it means sacrificing an opportunity to score. (It's all for fun, anyway)

3) The Glove Game
Two players, no masks, glove in hand. One player starts with the initiative and tries to slap the opponent's chest with the glove using an advance-lunge. The defender may use any footwork to evade the touch but ONLY footwork: no parries. When the lunge is finished play passes to the defender and the roles are instantly reversed. The first person to score on the oppponent's chest scores the point. You can play to five, ten or however may points you want to play for.

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Est-ce que l'attaque etait bon? Mais Oui!!

[darius]

Melissa,
We play that, too, only you can use whatever movements you want (running, spinning, etc.). As the field gets whittled down, we start making a tinier box in the gym. Once it's pretty small, all the people in the outside stand at the edges.

They are allowed to grab gloves, too, as long as they don't move into the circle. This creates ultimate paranoia, as you have to avoid the people in the middle trying to grab the glove from your waistband AND the people from the sidelines.

Fun game.

darius

[fencing fish]

In our club we are very lucky that we have piste lines painted on the ground and have come up with a couple of cool tag games, one in particular is donkey Kong tag......those of you from the Atari era can relate best. There are usually about two people "it" you are allowed to move up and down the pistes but only entre and exit at the ends. Also we through in the freezing function (freeze tag rules) which can be brillent when the players stratagize and trap one of the "its"

[FencerInUS]

heres one we played awhile back.
2 people stand back to back, en guarde. Back feet touching. director says left or right. the apropriate fencer lunges while the opposite fencer tries to slap the lunging fencer with his off hand. good for building up fast lunges and recoveries.

------------------
F.I.US.
Parry, THEN riposte
--)--------

[sabrechick]

Here's what the sabre program does from Sacramento.
1.) Sometimes we all gather in a circle, put two gloves on, and two opponents go in the cirlce, and practice sword and dagger fighting, using the whole cirlce. It's a fun way to fence after a big tournamnet and the kids want to have fun.
2.) One of the coaches started a game of "Trivial Pursuit," in which the coach has set up a bunch of trivia questions, and the person who know the answer to the question has to ring a bell, advance across a strip, and give the answer to the coach.
3.) We also play soccer w/ a nerf ball as a warmup which is harmeless fun, and a great warmup. My coach also bought a b-ball hoop, and we paly four on four inbetween practice to warm up. THat's a lot of fun too.
Lauren

A game i have seen played is called "Queens"
divide the fencers up into two teams (left and right) (note: they must all have the same weapon)and set up three lines(see diagram below) capital letters denote queens
the game begins with the front lines challenging each other... they fence a best of three touch series... loser is out... winner advances to next line... the back row can fill in the row forward if people begin to get out... game is over when one team captures the queen.
____X____
x___x___x
x___x___x
x___x___x
o___o___o
o___o___o
____O____
(i had to use the _s cuz ubb apparently doesnt like spaces)

[This message has been edited by foilist (edited 02-25-2001).]

[saberkid]

ok ok some of the best...

shoulder tag: just like a normal bout except so weapons you have to tag your openits shoulder to get the touch

glove tag: you have a glove in your hand and your objective is to hit your openit (anywhere but the face)

steal the bacon: play steal the bacon with a glove in the middle, everyone has a number and you throw a glove out and call the number in witch you want to retreav the glove, if you touch the glove you are it and your oponit can tag you in order to win(its fun when you hit the floor to fake out your oponit) if you tag the other person and they havnt touched the glove you lose

yet another glove game: you put a glove in your back pocket, and you have a farly small boundrys that you need to stay in, theres no teams its a free for all you protect your glove from ppl getting it and pull theres out of there pocket, once you get down to a fewer number then make the boundry's smaller

russian rulet(sp?): theres 6 fencer's, fencer "A" stands in a corner the 5 other fencers stand facing him in a 90 dagree angel each fencer has a specific number when the coach calls a number (example: "2" fencer 2 atacks the fencer in the corner and fencer "A" defends fencer "2") and so on

saber dagger: you have gloves on each hand, you have an adult blade in your weapon hand and a childs blade in your non-weapon hand, there are no rules of right of way you CAN cross over. you can also make this into teams of 2 and 3 any more and it gets confusing if you have 3 teams of 3 ppl you have 9 ppl on the floor and it becomes a bit messy, but with 2 teams of 3 its ok.

ok thats 6 games right there... and I've got more....

saber dagger full body target: same as what i said above but this is where if you hit the left leg then that person can only his his right ih you hit his right arm he can only use his left, if you hit the head or torso then its an instant kill. this is best if done on a 1v1 system

atack race: you place your weapon at the on-gaurd lines you go to the back of the strip, on ready fence you use fencing footwork to get to your weapon, pick it up and score a touch... its fun when you hit them befor they evan have there weapon

ok thats all for tonite, its 1 and i cant think of any more if more come to mind while im dreaming i'll get on-line and post em


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Chris
Fence with the best die like the rest!

[vegan]

alright gang,
I love the handball game- and so does my classes.
Heres one for experianced college or high school fencers:
2-6 people w/ two gloves, masks and jackets- take two different weapons in their hands (foil left, sabre right) and proceed to run around the gym whacking the heck out of each other using the conventions of each weapon. This is lots of fun, and once the players have some practice with it, you force them to use a weapon they don't fence in their dominant hand.
One caveat, however- this is not the most safe of games.
Great fun, and great warmup, however
Enjoy
Ben

[fencing fish]

Just to add another element to some of the games that involve actual fencing with weapons.......my kids love these additions cause it keeps them in the game just that much longer....we play what I call limb loss...what this means is that, if a hit is made off target, the opponent doesnt die but instead looses that limb...ie if hit in the right hand they must change weapons to their left hand, if they are hit in the leg they must hop on there good leg, if hit in the mask they have to close their eyes (yah like they actually do this but still). If hit in target area they do infact "die". I found that aswell as adding an extra element of fun, the kids actually try for a specific target rather than a hope for random hit that occurs when they are too overwhelmed with the fun to think....

[Cutter]

Game Show: This one is not only physical but mental as well. Get two small bells. Divide them into two teams. Have a list of questions. Ask a question such as: If both fencers start forward and attack, fencer A to head, fencer B to flank and both touches land, who gets the point? The fencer who advances to the bell and rings it first answers. If correct, that team gets the point. If incorrect, the other team has the opportunity to answer. The team with incorrect answer all does 3 push ups. You can make the questions as hard or easy pursuant to the level of fencers. You can also throw in some silly questions to make it fun.

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Cutter
"Don't run with that, you'll poke your eye out."

[FencerInUS]

Cutter:
Have them ring the bell with their weapon may as well get some point control practice in

I have one more game. This one I think is actually on this site somewhere. The name of the game is the gauntlet.
You have a single line of fencers shoulder to shoulder. One of the fencers on the end moves to stand in front of the fencer to his side. They fence for one touch, and then the attacker moves to the next defender in the line whether he scored or not. Need and illustration? I know I do

X=attacker
O=defender

X------->
O O O O O O O O O O O O

so X and O fence. once a valid touch is made, X moves on to the next O, whether is was X's point or O's point. (I wonder if fencing coaches ever do this in the locker room on a chalk board before a DE bout?) and so on down the line. make since? I hope so, cause it dosen't to me

------------------
F.I.US.
Parry, THEN riposte
--)--------

[This message has been edited by FencerInUS (edited 02-27-2001).]

we have one of our practices in an old dance studio, and we have a "game" affectionately known as "pipe dream"
we line up just outside of thrusting distance from the ballet bar on the wall (with rubber-tips on dry foils), and extend to put the point on the pipe.
the trick relazation and point control.
we start at a count of 0 and go to 5, but we all have to hit simultaneously, or the count goes back to zero. After the trust from guard, we back up to make it advance distance, then lunges, then advance lunge...
usually we never get to lunges. its harder than it seems, and has been known to give some beginners nightmares

[arcon]

[ 10-19-2001: Message edited by: arcon ]