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Anotherfencingmom · 09-28-2006, 10:57 AM

Hi, first time poser. My son is seven years old and has been fencing (foil) for about eight months. Recently, his coach had him try saber and he seems to enjoy it. My question is: shouldn't my son have more experience in foil before trying another weapon?

thanks,
toni

HDG · 09-28-2006, 10:59 AM

Why second guess your son's coach?

downunder · 09-28-2006, 10:59 AM

Your son should do what he enjoys.

IHateMrPotatohead · 09-28-2006, 11:08 AM

Different schools teach different things. If your coach had him try saber and he likes it, and the coach wants him to continue, he should continue. The only reason for him to go back to foil is if he doesn't like saber. Good luck!

epeemike81 · 09-28-2006, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HDG

Why second guess your son's coach?

Quote:

Originally Posted by downunder

Your son should do what he enjoys.

I second both of these. Additionally, while the main consideration should be what your son wants to do (especially at his age), you may want to look into what weapon your club has had the most success with.

-m

Allen Evans · 09-28-2006, 11:20 AM

Why fencers should fence one weapon or another is a hotly debated topic on the forum. After hundreds of posts there's no closer consensus as to why someone should fence one weapon over another, except for the fact that some people enjoy one weapon over another.

There does seem to be a growing trend among coaches to abandon the tradition of "foil first". I think that as long as your son's coach is competant to teach the weapons he or she is teaching, and your child isn't getting frustrated in trying to mix between the two, you probably have little to worry about.

Allen

Anotherfencingmom · 09-28-2006, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HDG

Why second guess your son's coach?

I wasn't seconding guessing the coach (who happens to be a former Olympian and NYU Hall of Famer) I just thought my son should have more experience in foil. I happen to think my son would be a great saberist. There are only four other saberists in the club, two boys and two girls.

Allen Evans · 09-28-2006, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anotherfencingmom

I happen to think my son would be a great saberist.

Which makes your first post very mysterious.

Allen

IHateMrPotatohead · 09-28-2006, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anotherfencingmom

I just thought my son should have more experience in foil.

Why????

Fencergrl · 09-28-2006, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen Evans

Which makes your first post very mysterious.

Allen

Bah... Allen... It is the nature of mothers to fuss over their children in the effort to try and do what's best for them.

Anotherfencingmom... don't worry about it. Your son is young. At this age they are just having fun. Let him fence the weapons he enjoys and feels he'll be successful at.

There's no harm in letting your son learn a different weapon. Or if he decides to switch again, or fence more than one weapon.

Anotherfencingmom · 09-28-2006, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen Evans

Which makes your first post very mysterious.

Allen

Nothing mysterious about my post. Maybe I should rephrase it. How long should you be fencing (foil) before you try another weapon? Wasn't the old school "Foil first"? I think my son would be great in whatever weapon he chooses. I just thought it was too early to introduce him to another weapon that's all.

wahrman · 09-28-2006, 11:50 AM

Granted I don't know all of the background here but if it's between fencing foil
a little longer, getting bored and giving up. By all means Sabre away!

As long as he is fencing and having fun.

I fenced foil for about 6 months before my coach told me to put that thing down and switched me to Epee. He _is_ an epee fencer so he may be biased but I've had more success and a lot more fun. But I was 35 not 7.

Wafath · 09-28-2006, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anotherfencingmom

Nothing mysterious about my post. Maybe I should rephrase it. How long should you be fencing (foil) before you try another weapon? Wasn't the old school "Foil first"? I think my son would be great in whatever weapon he chooses. I just thought it was too early to introduce him to another weapon that's all.

A lot of coaches like sabre for younger students. There is a theory that sabre will be less frustrating, as it requires less fine motor control in the hands to obtain early success.

Or your coach may just look at your son and say to himself "he moves like a sabre fencer".

How long one spends on a weapon before switching is hotly debated and there is little concensus. I subscribe to the philosophy of getting the student into the weapon they will ultimately compete in as soon as possible. Moving a student after 7 minutes, 7 hours, 7 months or 7 years does not make the coach wrong or bad.

As noted in other threads, talk to your son's coach. Engage him/her in plesant conversation. Make it clear that you are curious, not questioning his/her judgement. Chances are, they have a very good reason for the move.

W

epeemike81 · 09-28-2006, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anotherfencingmom

Nothing mysterious about my post. Maybe I should rephrase it. How long should you be fencing (foil) before you try another weapon? Wasn't the old school "Foil first"? I think my son would be great in whatever weapon he chooses. I just thought it was too early to introduce him to another weapon that's all.

hate to be picky, but "I just though it was too early to introduce him to another weapon" IS second guessing the coach, as he/she clearly does not.

As to foil first, the operative word is old school.

In fact, if one were to start everybody with one weapon (which I don't recommend), I think a very strong argument could be made for that weapon being sabre.

-m

Wafath · 09-28-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epeemike81

In fact, if one were to start everybody with one weapon (which I don't recommend), I think a very strong argument could be made for that weapon being sabre.

<blatant threadjack>
Ok, I'll bite. Why does "epeemike81" say this?

Hey, I love sabre, I just don't know I would pick it for everyone.
</threadjack>

W

wahrman · 09-28-2006, 12:12 PM

Yeah, I would love to hear more about this, assuming we can do so
without taking over this thread of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wafath

<blatant threadjack>
Ok, I'll bite. Why does "epeemike81" say this?

Hey, I love sabre, I just don't know I would pick it for everyone.
</threadjack>

W

Hollywood Troy · 09-28-2006, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anotherfencingmom

Hi, first time poser. My son is seven years old and has been fencing (foil) for about eight months. Recently, his coach had him try saber and he seems to enjoy it. My question is: shouldn't my son have more experience in foil before trying another weapon?

thanks,
toni

Isn't eight months almost a whole school year? I think that's fine. By the way, I started on sabre and I turned out okay. I think there was some Peter Westbrook guy that did okay that way, too.

Capt. Slo-mo · 09-28-2006, 12:22 PM

We allow epeemike to dabble in saber...so he has some familiarity with the weapon. His true calling, however, is long sword and buckler.

***Craig*** · 09-28-2006, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anotherfencingmom

his coach had him try saber and he seems to enjoy it.

Toni - His coach saw something in his approach to foil that made him think sabre might be a fit. Your son enjoys it. Just let him go for it.

He doesn't need a lot of foil experience to be good in sabre, especially if his coach knows what they're doing.

Craig

epeemike81 · 09-28-2006, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wafath

<blatant threadjack>
Ok, I'll bite. Why does "epeemike81" say this?

Hey, I love sabre, I just don't know I would pick it for everyone.
</threadjack>

W

well, as you've already been informed, I dabble in sabre, which is why I have an opinion on this.

As to why I have THIS opinion, it's been my experience that sabre (good sabre, that is) teaches the use of footwork, distance, and tempo changes slightly better than the other weapons. while not every tempo change you learn in sabre is a good idea in the other weapons, the important fact is the ability to control tempo and distance. Once you learn to control that, you can adjust what you do with that control to fit the situation.

After taking two years off of epee and doing only sabre, I went back to epee...

what I found was that despite having less point control and worse hand actions, I had about as much success as I had prior to the break due to better footwork and tempo. Since the ability to control distance and tempo is the most important thing in any and all weapons, it's my belief that if you're going to start everybody with one, it should be sabre.

that said, my real belief is that if they want to do epee, you should start them there, etc.

-m