Hi from Redmond, WA

[Reepicheap]

Hi!
I'm a 43-year-old guy trying out fencing. My daughter (14) and I are taking a beginners' class and having a ton of fun. I know that the sky is the limit for her, but does an old guy like me stand a chance? Or is it just too late? Are there many other old guys starting out in fencing?

This is probably a religious war starter, but: why do people choose the various weapons? I'd love to hear the opinions

[Reepicheap]

I forgot to add: what equipment/clothing is recommended for starting out? Do people just practice with electric foils or are they always saved for competition? Note the 'cheap' in Reepicheap; I'm trying to figure out how to minimize outlay of $$$$$ where reasonable.

Our class provides french-handled foils for now, so there is no rush, but I'd like to get enough stuff that my daughter and I can practice together at home.

Thanks!!!

[Larrison]

Hi!
I'm a 43-year-old guy trying out fencing. My daughter (14) and I are taking a beginners' class and having a ton of fun. I know that the sky is the limit for her, but does an old guy like me stand a chance? Or is it just too late? Are there many other old guys starting out in fencing?

This is probably a religious war starter, but: why do people choose the various weapons? I'd love to hear the opinions

Hey! I'm actually older than you, and I've restarted fencing after being off for more than 20 years. I'm having fun in it.. and going to my first competition in more than 20 years. I've got a 15 year old fencing partner who's going with me..

As for age, at leat where I fence there are several other "old dudes" who fence, and a couple of "old chicks" too.. And its really frustrating for some of the younger guys who have real problems beating us in bouts. *Heh heh* If you like the sport, you can have lots of fun with it... There are senior levels of competition, and you can push the competition level to as high as you want.

[Larrison]

I forgot to add: what equipment/clothing is recommended for starting out? Do people just practice with electric foils or are they always saved for competition? Note the 'cheap' in Reepicheap; I'm trying to figure out how to minimize outlay of $$$$$ where reasonable.

Our class provides french-handled foils for now, so there is no rush, but I'd like to get enough stuff that my daughter and I can practice together at home.

For a basic starter set, for practice you'll need a dry foil (or whatever weapon), plus glove, plus mask, plus jacket. Some vendors have complete "starter sets", or you can just put together one from whoever you buy from. (American Fencing Supply in San Francisco, or the Fencing Post near San Diego, or HOM fencing in LA are probably the closest suppliers to you. I buy most of my stuff from the Fencing Post.) With that you can practice at home, and do basic practices, lessons, and bouting.

For more advanced competion-level fencing, you'll need 2 electric weapons, a lame (if foil or saber, and weapon specfic), a mask (may be weapon specific) and potentially the electric compatible glove or cuff for saber, plus fencing pants (knickers), an underarm protector (required), breast protectors (for your daughter) or cup (for you), and 2 body cords. You can practice with an electric weapon, but a practice dry weapon is much cheaper and you don't wince as much when it breaks.

Optional stuff for you to consider are a bag (to put all this stuff in), fencing shoes (or some type of high-grip shoe -- I use racquet ball shoes), high socks (I use soccer socks), and some basic repair tools (pommel wrench, etc.) just in case.

My recommendation is to spread the purchases over time a bit -- in my case, restarting after being off for so long, was to buy some replacement basic stuff just to get up to speed for practices and bouting. Then after 6-12 months of practice and training to get some basic electric competition level equipment. I'm slowly upgrading my equipment as I figure out better alternatives or things break or need replacement. If you're moderately handy, some changes (like going to a pistol grip on a weapon) can be done by just buying the part and installing it on the weapon yourself --or doing things like replacing broken blades youwerld.

My fencing partner is just now switching over from a french grip foil to a belgian pistol grip, after a year.

From a cost standpoint, my recommendation (and like every other recommendation here, take it with a large grain of salt), is to buy lower end stuff the first time -- but not the cheapest. You don't want the absolutely cheapest since sometimes the quality there is suspect, but also you sure don't want the superbly expensive absolutely-top-of-the line stuff for starter stuff too. As you get more experience you'll figure out more exactly what you like, and you will replace stuff later. The one exception to this, as people have pointed out in other threads might be to get an FIE-rated mask, since that's the most safety critical item.

[Reepicheap]

Thanks!

I appreciate the discussion and the encouragement.

[toucheturtle]

Welcome to the forum Reepicheap! It's great to see you get out and have some fun!

In addition something that you may want to consider, if you are going to do more competitions, is get a FIE plastron. That is something that you will need for competition and all it does is offer more safety to you and typically more comfort because they tend to be thinner, but more protective then the non. This is only if you are looking at doing more competitive fencing. In practice it is unnecessary unless you like the extra protection.

[Mizore]

Hello and welcome!!!

You're in Redmond, Wa.? I'm from Seattle. Living in Japan now but planning a long trip back to the US in January. I'm hoping to visit a fencing club while I'm out there. I'd love to hear about your club and fencing in the Seattle area in general.

Have a great time fencing. I started at 41 and just finishing my intro course. I love it and hope to keep at it for a long time to come. I hope you have a great time!!

Take care,

Mizore

[Reepicheap]

Hi Mizore.

I'm not in a club (yet) but am taking a class through the Issaquah Parks & Rec department. Actually, the classes are taught by this group http://www.washingtonfencing.com/ through Parks & Rec. If you look around the fencing.net website, there are articles about the 2005 world championships written by Kevin Mar. He is one of the instructors for our beginning class.

A friend of mine has been active with a couple of local clubs: http://www.salleauriol.com in Seattle and http://www.raincityfencing.com in Bellevue.

The Washington Fencing Academy website mentions open fencing, but I'm not sure where it is held. Salle Auriol and Rain City Fencing have their own facilities, perhaps their websites have some schedule info.

[HollyM]

Hi, Reepicheap,

I'm one of those "old chicks" [42] that Larrison referred to . Like you, I started fencing with my teenage daughter, and I almost don't care that she's so much better than I am -she may be younger, but I'm working on being faster.

I'm also taking classes with Kevin through Washington Fencing Academy; my class just moved over to Maple Valley [having to miss class tonight, though: flat tire.] I have to say it's the hardest thing I've ever attempted, but I'm having a great time with it and am making it a personal mission to keep at it for as long as I can hold a foil. I hope you and your daughter enjoy the time together.

[Reepicheap]

That's great! I enjoy Kevin's style and patience.