1) My 5 year old is fascinated with fencing and wants to learn how. I am from Wausau, Wisconsin and don't know where I should begin to look?
2) Is he to young to start??
3) Is there any summer camps in either in Wisconsin or Minnesota for kids?
I will be honest - I know really nothing about fencing besides what I have seen from the little coverage it gets during the Olympics. So any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
That will give you localized info and you can ask them if they have a program. Generally, the accepted wisdom is to start around 8 years old, but if the attention and enthusiasm is there, the age becomes less relevant.
Good Luck!
Wow. You're way the heck up there. There is a university club in Appleton, but that's the closest one I'm familiar with. You should get in touch with the Wisconsin Division and see what resources there are.
I am one of the coaches for the fencing Club at UW-Stevens Point. We're working on putting together a children's fencing program for elementary school kids starting next fall. Send me a PM (private message) and I can talk to you more about what we can provide.
We have the foam swords - now I just need to rent the Princess Bride!!
Play with him. Let him chase you around the house with those wacky wackers. Build a pirate ship, (not a real one of course, a pretend one) make up stories, foster his imagination.
Kids need time to grow up.
(Sorry Nicksmom but I really think Nick is also a bit too young.)
(Remember too I am just a person on a message board and personally know nothing about Nick of his situation.)
(I do remember how I felt impatient when my kids were younger though and knew they could proceed better if left to do it at their own pace.)
What takes months of learning for a 5-6 year old, even a very smart 5-6 year old to learn will take much less time for an older child who is more developed. The frustration level of a younger child will push them into despair.
There are kids at our club who have been fencing since they were practically babies. Older kids, 10-11 year olds come into the beginner classes and learn just as much as the kids that started five years ago learned in years in one class.
They need to grow up a bit. Some kids learn very early on and some need more time.
If a child has a gift for fencing it will carry them even if they do start a bit later.
That said, if a child really really wants to do it, I would suggest some private lessons with a club that has alot of home educated kids in it. When properly done, home education lets a kid learn at their own pace, fencing should be the same.
The Momster
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Last edited by Mo; 02-26-2008 at 04:57 PM..
Reason: clarity
Play with him. Let him chase you around the house with those wacky wackers. Build a pirate ship, (not a real one of course, a pretend one) make up stories, foster his imagination.
Kids need time to grow up.
I very much agree. My club has a few young kids whose parents bring them to "learn to fence" and then say and watch them take a class or lesson! Most of these kids would be better off chasing their parents around the house with a foam sword and their parents would be better off too!
Don't forget reading to your child! Starting with....The Princess Bride!!! (I can't believe I didn't say reading first) I'm a bad mother, bad, bad, bad.
Last edited by Phincer; 02-26-2008 at 09:24 PM..
Reason: grammar and grandper
We have the foam swords - now I just need to rent the Princess Bride!!
5 is way too young to fence. But, as others have suggested, no age is too early to have fun hitting people with things. Expensive lessons, classes, and equipment would be wasted on your child right now, because he wouldn't be learning fencing, he'd just be having a good time. However, there are coaches (none of them up north I believe) in Wisconsin who will tell you younger is always better and take your money. I think getting some foam swords is a great idea. (You can get some nice ones at Walgreens two for five dollars.)
As to clubs in your area, in addition to the Eau Claire club and the Lawrence varsity program, there is Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay. wifencing.org has a list of Wisconsin clubs. If you want opinions on them, feel free to PM me.
Yes to the Princess Bride. Also read the Redwall books.
At 5 my DD was running around with her foam or wooden sword screaming "Eulalia!" (Badger war cry from Redwall)
She took an introductory fencing class at age 7.5. I thought she needed a little more growing time, so I made her wait a year before enrolling her in a regular class (a whole year of begging). At 8.5 she started her career as a fencer and still loves it (12 now). She has to buy all of her plane tickets to NACs and SN (I pick up my ticket and the hotel and entry fee). I want to make sure this is something she really wants.
My younger DD tried fencing since she was always there. It turns out she doesn't like being hit . So we only have one fencer in the family.
Just a quick note that occurred to me while driving home from Temple this evening...
If you do choose to 'prentice the promising lad to some career seafaring, please confirm that his birthday is not this Friday.
-B
It's all right if his birthday is this Friday, as long as the duration of his apprenticeship is not defined in terms of how many birthdays he has had. Of course, if he can sing really well, it all works out all right in the end anyway.
While most here would agree that 5 is too young for fencing, there are plenty of other classes that he can take at this age. Any class will teach him how to become a good student, and really that's all that most classes can teach at that age. Just learning to pay attention, work hard, and set and achieve goals is a good start. Karate would probably be a good start.
Until he's older you can foster his interest by taking him to tournaments and clubs. Of course, you, the parent, could always take up the sport and be a role model for him. You'll find a lot of fencing families. Maybe it's the "if you can beat them, join them" thing.
5 seems a bit young and I doubt that if you take him to a club and get him in that a older person will want to fence him, he will probably feel left out as the older kids tend to not hang around with a 5 year old. You can do research yourself and teach him the basic parry positions (4,6,7,8), the en guarde/on guard stance, and basic footwork (Advance, retreat, cross-forward, cross-backwards,) if he really wants to fence. I'd just stick to foam or plastic for now as he doesn't have anyone else to fence with. Also a real weapon right now would be a waste as he will grow out of it eventually.
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Last edited by Pescados666; 02-29-2008 at 11:53 AM..
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?
I'm bored
. So we only have one fencer in the family. 
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