How to encourage a child to attack when fencing smaller opponents?

[trace_s]

My daughter is currently fencing in the 13 and under division and is nearly 5'9" (the way she's growing she'll be 5"9" by the end of next week ). Most of her competitors barely come up to her arm pits and when she is fencing them she won't attack as she thinks it isn't fair that they're so small and therefore will only fence defensively against them. When she fences opponents nearly her size she will attack. I would really appreciate any suggestions anyone can give to enourage her.

[Allen Evans]

One of the things it is VERY hard to teach a young fencer, especially if they have skills over their peers, is to use the appropriate amount of skill/force to win bouts. Without knowing all the particulars, your daughter seems to be doing this already, and this is much to her credit.

Is her failure to attack smaller opponents REALLY that much of a concern for a young fencer? You don't say anything about the rest of her fencing development, her skill level, her coach's opinion on this subject, or anything else, so it's difficult to speculate.

I'm not convinced from your discription that this is a problem.

[Wetmelon]

I think she'll find out once she gets her butt kicked by a very strong and aggressive (albeit short) fencer that it doesn't matter HOW big the opponent is, they can still be better than you. That's about all I can think of that would be a nice healthy way to get her to fence the same way (within reason, of course) with every single fencer.

[tbryan]

My daughter is currently fencing in the 13 and under division and is nearly 5'9"...

At that age and height, she may be more concerned about not being known as the "tall freak" and just blending in as much as possible. I think that as long as she seems to enjoy fencing and working at becoming better, this problem may solve itself in the next few years.

[Applesauce and Foils]

I think that it may not be as much of a height thing, as a skill thing. So she's skilled at hitting people easily 'cause she's tall. Still a skill.

I found that one of my students would not attack the other students because she was more skilled than they were. I'm sure she was thinking the same thing, that it wouldn't be fair, that she wanted to be nice to them, etc.
I came up with two ways around this, for two reasons.

First, I put her on a team. That way there were other people counting on her to perform. It wasn't just about her, and whether she cared if she won or lost anymore. There was a team that she couldn't let down.
Second, I gave the less skilled fencer only 5 points to win, and doubled the amount she would have to get to win. It still wasn't murderous, but she got the idea and fenced better.

The first reason that I did this was because she was not learning anything by standing around waiting for the other kids to hit her. She was just being nice, and as her coach, she's supposed to be learning something. Niceness is mostly for in between touches/off the strip.
Secondly, it wasn't helping the other fencers either. All they were learning from fencing her, was that they would be able to walk in on all their attacks and that things would be easy. It was not a good way for them to practice.

When people just stand around and wait to be hit, what happens to tempo, footwork, and that general rythm of fencing? It just DIES, and it's not pretty. They don't "get it" either. Not in that bout, and not when they go up against someone better than them who's serious.

Oh, and from one tall girl to another, respect your height, appreciate it and stand up straight. It's not going away, and people admire you for your confidence.
AF

[K O'N]

My daughter is currently fencing in the 13 and under division and is nearly 5'9" (the way she's growing she'll be 5"9" by the end of next week ). Most of her competitors barely come up to her arm pits and when she is fencing them she won't attack as she thinks it isn't fair that they're so small and therefore will only fence defensively against them. When she fences opponents nearly her size she will attack. I would really appreciate any suggestions anyone can give to enourage her.

It's understandable to not want to open your full can of whupass on someone who's clearly outgunned, but at the same time she's not doing them any favors by standing there, either. When I have someone in this situation, a more experienced fencer who doesn't want to 'beat up' a new fencer, I do a few things: a) acknowledge the courtesy; "It's nice of you to not want to scare her", b) address the real issue, "She needs to learn tempo and see full speed fencing. You're not helping her by standing there. She has to see your moves to start to fence at your level", and c) give her a restriction so she'll feel better about the whole thing. You don't say what weapon, but in epee I tell a bigger or more skilled kid, "No invito. No overly passive fencing. No fleche. No foot touches." Something like that, make up a restriction that makes sense for her. That makes her feel better, gives the new fencer a reasonable taste of full speed fencing, and makes the more skilled fencer feel it was 'fair' since some of her game was taken away. Likely she wouldn't have fleched or hit the foot anyway, but you making it explicit helps her go full speed in the rest of her game, which is what you want.

K O'N