Games and stuff for youth fencers

[hpfencing]

I need some games and ideas for our youth fencing program.

If anyone can post a few here or e-mail them to me I would really apprieciate it. My e-mail is matt.hite@amaisd.org

Or you could mail me at 3602 S Bryan, Amarillo, TX 79109-4816

or ideas on boooks with youth "stuff' would be great too.

Thanks!

[Go? Fencing?]

Glove games are always good:

-fencing, tagging the opponent with a glove held in the hand
-practicing lunges by having a partner drop a glove and then the other person tries to catch it
-a bunch of fencers stand in two parallel lines facing each other, each person has a number (if five people are in each line, 1-5 on one side, 5-1 on the other, so the 1's are diagonal from each other). A glove is put in the center. You call a number and the two with that number have to advance towards the glove, the first one there grabs it and has to retreat without being tagged by the other person- remeber to keep good form.

[mrbiggs]

Simon says, except with footwork.

[fencingmetalfan]

I already started a similar thread a few days back. Look there.

[VERITAS]

Here's a crazy idea I came up with:

Get a cheap dartboard and have your students lunge against it. To develop point control, have them lunge targeting specific zones on the board. They can play darts (there are a lot of variations of the game) by themselves or with others.

Make a hanging target out of a tennis ball - this my instructor designed. Tennis balls are hollow: cut a slit open, take a length of rope and tie it to 2 washers, which then are inserted through the slit into the ball to keep the rope attached to the ball.

Suspend through eyelet or around a beam, and lower/raise it to match the appropriate height of the student.

You can weight the balls with pennies or sand, or leave them as they are.

As far as games, Red-Light Green-Light is fun, Simon Says and such also. Tag gets a little silly, but may be appropriate.

[KD5MDK]

Tuck a glove in the back of their belt/waistband, and play tag.

[cfaustus]

Red Light-Green light is great with younger kids (and older ones too!). Red light obviously is stop, green is advance, but throw in a yellow light which has them retreat. You could even throw in a blue light for lunge! If they are on the starting line then they don't have to retreat. If a person moves in the wrong direction on a given light or if they move their feet before they move their hand, they have to go back to the starting line. The first to make it to the person calling the colors (the traffic light) wins and gets to take over as traffic light.

[telkanuru]

Originally Posted by VERITAS

Make a hanging target out of a tennis ball

Idea is not unique to your instructor, and tennis balls are easy game. Use golf balls.

[VERITAS]

Ah - you must have excellent point control.
I still find it tricky to hit the tennis ball in motion consistently with a correct lunge...

[fencingmetalfan]

Originally Posted by cfaustus

Red Light-Green light is great with younger kids (and older ones too!). Red light obviously is stop, green is advance, but throw in a yellow light which has them retreat. You could even throw in a blue light for lunge! If they are on the starting line then they don't have to retreat. If a person moves in the wrong direction on a given light or if they move their feet before they move their hand, they have to go back to the starting line. The first to make it to the person calling the colors (the traffic light) wins and gets to take over as traffic light.

We used to do something like that when I was in Tae Kwon Do.