Question - From Wisconsin

[Birdman25]

It would be the blind leading the blind - since I know nothing.

I am just learning the difference between the three types of swords - I thought they were all the same

I will leave it to the professionals!!!

[TBean]

It would be the blind leading the blind - since I know nothing.

I am just learning the difference between the three types of swords - I thought they were all the same

I will leave it to the professionals!!!

So sorry, three swords in modern competition, it can be confusing.

At five, encourage him to love be physically active. Sports for kids this age should be fun and focused on building skills not playing the game. Sports that encourage process and learning steps - karate, gymnastics - will help teach him the patience to learn to fence. When your little guy does start, you will hopefully see lots of games being played to teach him skills he needs that will lead to fencing. At eight it should still be a lot of fun - drills and lines of footwork come later - when they are young, you teach those things in the context of a game. You might not know anything about fencing but as a parent keep an eye on how they teach. You will know if that is correct for your child.

Keep at each other with the foam swords - that is a daily battle for our family.

[Pescados666]

Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to try to teach a child positions on your own. Even with the best diagrams, books, etc. if they are not taught properly, the child will develop bad habits. It's hard fo a child to unlearn a bad habit and replace it with a good habit. If the parents were fencers and knew the basic positions and footwork, they could certainly get the child started. But, in a situation where the parent has no experience with fencing, you're going to have the blind leading the blind.

Maybe you could find a fencing club that would be willing to do a monthly lesson of footwork for your son?

But I did all that work Ofcourse you shouldn't try to teach him without knowing them yourself, the pictures were for her to get an idea of it rather then blindly teaching it. You could probably find someone, not necessarely a coach, to teach him basics. He will most likely be bored with fencing just learning footwork and not using a weapon.

You could try epee, it's slow and a 5 year old could probably learn it

[Lady Riposter]

I have to agree. I think 5 is too young to be in a strict regimine of fencing classes. I have taught both preschool gymnastics (1-6 year olds) and fencing (ages 7 to adult). While I personally would be willing to work with a younger student one-on-one, my club doesn't take students younger than 7. With kids that young I might do some very basic footwork but largely we would play games that would build skills required in the future, such as listening skills, reaction time, focusing on your opponent, etc.

Even things like "Red light, green light" and "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" are good because the kids have to listen carefully or follow directions.

One of my favourites for the really little ones is "Mirror Images" They stand across from you and pretend that they're a mirror, mimicing your every move. Do slow, smooth movements with your arms and legs so that they can keep up. After all, how can you provide an appropriate reaction to an opponent's action if you can't recognize what they're doing?

If you need any more ideas email me or message me privately and I'll see what I can come up with.