Fencing unit in high school phys. ed.

[labelle]

Anyone have experience with fencing in a p.e. class, particularly in high school? Please share! What weapon? How many kids? How long/often was class? Who taught? What did they cover?

Since we started a little school club, one of the gym teachers has become interested and wants to put a fencing unit in the p.e. cirriculum. He's even gotten several thousand dollars okayed to purchase gear.

We'll be doing epee, I think partly because there's no RoW to worry about. P.E. at my school is every other day for 40 min., and each unit is about 3 weeks long. There are usually about 25 kids in a class.

The guy has no fencing experience, but last I heard the plan was for him to take lessons at the local club this summer.

If nothing else, it will get people interested in the sport. I only hope they don't ruin it! (P.E. has a way of making otherwise enjoyable activities into torture. Or maybe I just have a bad attitude.)

[Five Rings]

By Phys Ed do you mean that fencing is a compulsory activity or one of several compulsory activities during a set period in the school day? I assume kids are between 14 to 18? How many times a week is PE and if someone signs onto fencing, how often will they get to fence?

[tbryan]

No, not personally. But point the teacher to the USFA's Coaching Eduction site. They recently started offering a "Become a Fencing Instructor" course. As the course information says, "This is a new course designed by physical educators, open to any activity instructors in a school or youth service agency coach who are interested in learning how to teach fencing. NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF FENCING NEEDED."

Of course, the registration deadline has passed for this year. Maybe something for the teacher to consider next year.

[labelle]

They totally revamped the cirriculum for next year. It used to be you either take regular p.e. or you could take block p.e. (2 periods in a row, so like an hour and a half) which did more involved activities, like biking. Now, we can choose one of four groups of activities (besides block p.e.): one is team sports (kickball, football, basketball), more individual sports (tennis, badminton, archery, fencing), and then there's one that does like pilates and stuff, and the other ones is more about health and nutrition, the way I understand it.

My high school is grades 10-12, so yeah, 15-18 year olds.

The coaches at the local club did try to get him to do BAFI, but he's not going to . . . don't know why. Seems the obvious thing to do.

[Five Rings]

I have an old fashioned approach, so bear with me:

1. I think foil first rather than epee, especially given that you may have a mixed class. ROW rules tend to level the field rather than to have the jab and stab that beginner epeeists tend to do (which may favor the bigger and more aggresive beginner). Others may disagree - this is just my view.

2. Smaller rather than larger class size - one coach with limited fencing (or even one with lots of) experience can only keep an eye out for so much. I think 12-15 at a time. Be mindful that at that age group, attrition is a big factor, especially with a non-standard sport like fencing.

3. Footwork classes initially, before moving on to attacks, then defenses. I know this is not the most exciting thing to start with, but I would seriously caution anyone from letting kids "mix it up" and free fence without adequate preparation.

4. Are there fencers in the area who may be able to pop in from time to time to do demos or to arrange for the kids to go to a club to watch? I remember as a beginner wondering why I did certain exercises and moves. Particularly if the coach can't explain these, and given the mentality of high schoolers, it would be great to have practical demonstrations periodically.

See also a related thread I started on this forum on "Fencing for Kids" (sorry, not sure how to append a link).

[Rick Thompson]

When I was in high school (eons ago), I started a fencing club there. The "coach" was really a faculty member who was fascinated by the sport, but who had no experience.

We got some of the instructors from the local university to come and teach for the first two semesters. They were mostly the experienced fencers who taught or worked with the college beginners. They taught the class while the "coach" supervised. This worked very well while the faculty coach got some experience. He also did a LOT of reading, and visited a salle with a real fencing master periodically during that period.

Encourage the instructor to contact the fencing schools in your area, if only to make contacts with experienced coaches.

Regardless of the instructor, if the program is to survive, the students need to go out to competitions once they reach a level of training to be able to. I have seen a couple of programs wither on the vine, primarily because the students and teacher work in isolation and get bored or frustrated. Competition, whether in open events or in team meets with other clubs, generates excitement and goals to aim for.