Young fencer..

[Kayla]

My 6 year old daughter started her first fencing lesson last week and just loved it! However, after reading more about the rules and regulations of the local fencing school, I noticed that the kids start out at age 10, possibly 8 years of age. Am I starting her out too young? She was devestated when I told her that the school may not accept her because of her age and she almost started to cry. Are young fencers frowned upon? Will I have to wait 2-4 years? This is the only sport that she took interest in and I would like for her to start right away. Anyways, any feedback would be great!

[ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: Kayla ]</p>

[DamedEscrime]

Some children are more mature than others. We will start them usually at seven in a very small class. How is your daughter's attention span? Does she listen and follow directions? This will be of primary concern for the coach. If she can handle it, I say go for it as long as you have a coach who is good about dealing with young children. S/he must be able to communicate in a language (I don't mean English) that the child understands, also at that child's level. Not all of them are skilled in that.
Good luck, I hope she makes the Olympics!

[Zelda]

Kayla, back home my old club used to run a Musketeers club on Saturday mornings for kids. We had girls your daughters age and slightly older. As long as she is enjoying it why stop her? On of the coaches sons back home is 3 and can already hold a foil and do a fairly decent attack. The younger the better in my opinion. Mind you, thats just at my club back home in Australia, dont know about the American view point!

[Catlady]

Hello,
It's great to know we have another young person entering this maddeningly addictive sport--and a female person to boot It's wonderful as well to hear from a parent who is concerned about and involved in her childs activities, kudos to you for that

Now to answer your question. The generally accepted wisdom around my club is usually that children should start at around 8yrs old as well. The reasoning I heard behind this is that it's an issue of maturity, both physical and mental. Fencing is a sport that requires a lot of coordination, eye-hand and otherwise. Generally kids coordination doesn't completely develop until they're around eight--heaven knows sometimes I think that at twenty something my coordination still hasn't reached the proper level--but as with everything, there's always exceptions. If your daughter isn't feeling frustrated, then it's probably not a problem. The other concern is that fencing requires some pretty complex thinking sometimes--it's called physical chess for a reason--again it's generally accepted that kids aren't fully capable of complex, abstract thought until they're a bit older, but again to everything there's an exception. As far as size, being small isn't necessarily a disadvantage--granted it's unnerving if you're an adult fencing this tiny little person--the good thing about fencing is that people with different physiques and strengths can create a "game" that will be sucessful. Around my club we've had some kids who were pretty small who have become pretty competent fencers.

Anyway, you say that your daughter is enjoying this and imho as neither a coach or a parent if she's having fun, let her do it. While perhaps your local fencing center may not let her participate, I can't see it happening. I would think that if she is enthusiastic about it and really wants to do it, they would be more than happy to have her, especially since whoever gave her the first lesson didn't seem to have a problem with it. Also, check for multiple centers in your area by searching the club section on this site. It may be that if one club won't let her join, another one will.

That's my unprofessional opinion on the subject anyway.

[Mergs]

Kayla,

As long as your daughter continues to show an interest, encourage her. I've taught beginners from 5 1/2 to 64 and as long as they keep coming back, I continue to teach them, not necessarily for competition, but just to learn and improve. Nothing says that at this point she needs to compete, just learning and club bouting may be all she needs until SHE is ready. She has taken up a lifetime sport, so there is no rush for her to jump in with both feet. So sit back and enjoy watching her grow up. You would be suprised at how quickly the time will go.

[Cheryl]

Kayla,
I am in the same situation. My daughter is 6.5 years and I have gotten a lot of "flack" for starting her out "this young". I talked to my old fencing coach from Italy and he said that they accept kids at around 5-6 years old and he saw no problem with it. I have 2 other (younger) children. So we bought a "starter" set (mask, jacket, glove, foil). Boy, does it look great on her! Good luck!
Cheryl