Question for returning/de-retiring fencers

[XBallardite]

I was helping out with a beginner class last night, spending most of the evening teaching foil. Then the main instructor and I fenced, and, considering I'm five years or more out of the sport, he kicked my butt. Then we fenced a saber bout, and the whole thing felt oddly familiar. Unlike in foil, my distance was good, I could recognize his attacks and I had some of the explosiveness I used to have before I "retired." Admittedly, saber is my primary weapon, but I used to be slightly better than average with a foil back in the day.

(This was also when I had the revelation, which everyone knows, that foil distance and saber distance are completely different.)

So here's my question for people coming back to the sport after a layoff: Do you notice some skills return faster than others? If so, what?

Adam

[GGK]

Do you notice some skills return faster than others? If so, what?

I have. All my bad habits come right out.

Welcome back to fencing!

G

[needle]

I have. All my bad habits come right out.

Exactly. I spoke to a few others who came back, plus my own struggles with getting the skills back and improving them - it seems that it's different for everyone and mostly the skills that you developed to level where you didn't have to think about them at all are the first to come back. The skills that you had to work on from time to time still need to be worked on. For me, footwork, finger control and speed of reaction came back pretty fast; distance control and keeping that bloody elbow where it should be ... well, still working on those.

Welcome to the forum and цelcome back to the sport!