Fencing Book for Lefthand Fencer

[Proud lefty]

Does any one know if there is a fencing book for lefthanded fencers? I am a beginner left handed fencer who is looking for a book to help me. Thanks.

[Coldfire]

There isn't. Books aren't very helpful anyway. Get a coach.

[Regret d'Vie]

Books aren't very helpful anyway.

I could more easily birth a child than express how strongly I disagree with this comment.

There are many possible reasons why Coldfire hasn't found fencing books helpful, a few of which are: Incompatibility with his natural learning style and/or difficulty visualizing actions based on written descriptions, insufficient framework of fencing knowledge and/or experience (though I don't think that's the reason in his case), outdated content, content targeting a fencer on a much different "level" than he's on, author teaching from a training background/fencing style that's wildly incongruent with that of the reader, etc. However, to blanketly reject fencing books as a potential source of improvement based only on one's own experience is a reckless disservice.

Many fencers find fencing books helpful -- it's often just a matter of studying the right book at the right time in your development. Books can be particularly helpful when studied with a training partner, as the actions can be practiced, dissected, criticized, and internalized much more easily and in a more practical and in-depth manner than when working alone. In the end -- as with most endeavors -- what you reap will be in direct proportion to what you sow: Read the book with intent, re-read anything you don't fully understand, meditate, visualize, question, test. To be truly helpful, most fencing books must be studied -- don't just "blow through them." Their content must be consciously injected into your training. (And then, in some cases, subsequently <i>e</i>jected from it. ) Don't just read the book, "eat the book."

That said, I agree with Coldfire on his other points: 1) I know of no "fencing for left-handers" book, though perhaps one does indeed exist, and 2) if a coach is available who you believe can help you improve, by all means, employ him or her.

I tell my students "You can't learn to fence from a book, but a book can help improve your fencing."* Fencing books are one of many possible training tools, along with drilling, group instruction, private instruction, partnership training, cross-training, mental conditioning, videos, competitive experience, etc. To dismiss fencing books with a "Bah!" and a wave of the hand seems profoundly unwise -- especially if you are in a rural area with few clubs, coaches, and potential training partners.

There are numerous threads on fencing.net discussing left-handers. If you haven't already found them, try the "Advanced Search" feature, as the standard search feature is more often than not an exercise in futility and frustration. Additionally, I would say the majority of fencing books at least touch on the subject of left-handers, so make sure and check every book you run across for the topic. You might PM MdA and ask if there's a thesis on left-handed fencing in the usfca.org archives, and if so, pony up the $35 for an associate membership so you can access it.

My oldest daughter is a left-handed fencer/musician/gymnast/basketball player, etc., so I have a sense of the frustration you're encountering. The world is indeed built for right-handers. Good hunting

Regret d'Vie

* Perhaps it's technically possible to learn to fence (in a very loose sense) from a book, but the idea of doing so seems so remote, inefficient, and impractical that I dismiss it from the realm of possibility altogether.