Too old?

[jes282]

Hello!

I am currently seventeen years old, and am taking private fencing lessons. My coach teaches me very differently than most American coaches. I've been training for about five months (since I was sixteen) and haven't done ANY sparring yet. We're working very slow and steady, shorter lessons focusing exclusively on technique. I really, REALLY want to compete and get somewhere, and I am willing to not go away to college so I can do that. I am wondering, though... do I really have a shot? Before I put college plans on hold, I'd like to get some opinions. I know that I'm four to ten years older than the standard mold but I'm determined to give this my all. I also think the one-on-one, intensive teaching might help... opinions?

[foibles]

Find a college you like that has a good fencing program, (or is near a good fencing program).

Patience. Sparring and competition will come in due time.

[jes282]

I'm considering several college options with good fencing programs, but won't college fencing be quite different than competing locally, nationally, possibly even internationally?

What I'm considering doing is training for those types of events instead of going to college right away. But I'm not sure if I have a shot. From what I understand most people competing at that level are my age now!

I love the more thorough lessons and am in no rush to start competing. My question is... will I be able to successfully when I'm starting so late in the game? Has anyone been known to?

[Namir]

It depends what college you go to.
Some varsity programs have relatively weak teams allow beginners to fence tournaments simply because they need people to fill positions. Other schools have a lot of strong fencers to fence in every team slot. Also, a lot of schools have non-varsity programs you could certainly fence on.

Fencing Nationally isn't all that hard to do and I know fencers who've done it in only a short time and having started well older then 16 and don't worry about your age to much you're not going to be able to change it.

as for international level competition, don't hold your breath. Their are very few places available on international teams and the competition for those spots is awfully rough.

And five months without sparring is an awfully long time. All my coaches have always had people sparring after a few weeks to a month at most, even the very classically schooled ones.

Sparring early can bring up some nasty habits early on but little Brazilian kids don't get good at soccer by doing drills they get good by playing soccer. And one doesn't fall in love with the sport by doing drills either.

Go fence.

[misha]

My question is... will I be able to successfully when I'm starting so late in the game? Has anyone been known to?

This question pops up often. I have the same reference for now:
Canadian epee fencer Tomy Linteau
http://www.fencing.ca/athlete_bios/c...au-profile.htm
He started at beginner class at 21

Do not wait to go to college!
Road to success in fencing is long and you need to plan for a decade,
not for a couple of years.
You will need steady above average income to support it.
College education makes it easier. Hard to pay for all those lessons
and competitions travel working minimum wage...

.

[Phrogger]

jes, allow me to enter a word of skepticism as well. There are many good coaches in your area who are capable of taking students all the way, so it's always possible. But consider the fact that putting all your resources into fencing will take away from other pursuits.

Do you want to be 30 before you go to college? That would put you taking an entry level (crappy paying) job around your mid-30s when you may need to support a spouse or family. How long will your parents support your ambitions, or do you have a means to support them yourself? There are many threads about the material costs of competing on an international level which you can check out yourself. Even phenomenal talent does not mean someone will swoop in and foot the bill for you. It will be largely up to you.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

It is difficult to go from where you are to the Olympics. Not impossible, but you would have to give up just about every single other goal in order to do so.

On the other hand, there are plenty of people who start partway through high school, or in college, or even later who manage to do well nationally, and with a bit more work and good coaching, even internationally.

But let's put it this way-- You've taken lessons long enough to determine you like taking lessons. You don't actually know if you even like competing. You don't know if you're good at competing. Competing, it turns out, is very different from taking lessons. You simply don't have enough information to know if serious college fencing programs are a good match for you, if postponing college is a good idea...

Find out what you're not fencing other people yet. Find out why you're not going to competitions yet. You may need a new coach. You may not. But you shouldn't make huge life changing plans when you have no idea if it's even a little bit sane to do so.

[jes282]

I am not yet competing because, simply, I don't know enough fencing to compete. We're working on learning each technique very well before ever actually applying it... the logic makes sense to me, but as you all point out, makes the approaching decision difficult...

[oiuyt]

How many of your coach's students have been successful with the plan you describe?

Care to name either your coach or said students?

-B

[MyrddinsPrecint]

I am not yet competing because, simply, I don't know enough fencing to compete. We're working on learning each technique very well before ever actually applying it... the logic makes sense to me, but as you all point out, makes the approaching decision difficult...

The vast majority of coaches and programs have students competing by 6 months-- not just fencing other people, but fencing other people in officially sanctioned competitions-- if the fencer is interested.

Even those who don't have students interacting with each other-- perhaps not immediately full out fencing, but doing drills, games where you're only concentrating on one thing, etc.

Without competition, or at least bouts, what you are doing is not fencing. Without competition, you have very little to explain whether or not you're any good, whether your coach is very good. You and your coach probably don't know what to work on either. And you probably don't know how to apply any of it.

There could be mitigating circumstances. I suppose. So what qualifications does your coach have? How many other students, are they all on the same program you are? When does the coach intend to let you fence other people? When will you be allowed to compete?

You may want to go on a field trip to another club and just observe and ask questions (call or email first to find out a good time to do those things).

[counterattack]

I would say that without a doubt you are not starting too late for men's epee. And almost as certainly you are starting too late for women's saber. The various events have different peak ages for a variety of reasons. But basically (unless the future proves this wrong) you have at most 5 or 6 years to go from 0 to the best of the best in women's sabre. You have maybe 14 to 18 years for men's epee (you be battling age at the end, but you can do that in epee).

There are many discussions of the ages for each weapon that can be found by searching. In Europe many women (who got very good while young) have been able to keep it up through children (but not jobs, for the most part). I the U.S. this is less true, but I also don't think I know enough about the last generation of these fencers to say why they left.

-ph

[Cookeit]

Making the decision to not go to college just because of five months of fencing is incredibly stupid.

I once had a conversation with an NCAA fencer who fences for a school with not necessarily good academics. I asked him what his major was, and he said "Umm.. I don't know, fencing I guess".

I love fencing too, but my future comes before it.

[whtouche]

Making the decision to not go to college just because of five months of fencing is incredibly stupid.

Yes. This.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Making the decision to not go to college just because of five months of fencing is incredibly stupid.

I mostly agree with you.

My only hesitation is you used the word "fencing". What the OP has been doing is not fencing. It has been taking lessons. We don't even know that they're lessons in modern olympic sport fencing.

[jes282]

Oh, heavens! I'm not NOT going to college to fence if I go that route. I'm going to a college near where I live so I can continue training as I have.

I would rather not name my coach because I don't want to start anything. But I hear what you all are saying completely.

[jeff]

Too old to do what? It makes a big difference. Is your goal is to be an Olympic or national champion (with tremendous odds against, regardless of when you started or how you train) or to fence successfully in college or regional competition like most of us mere mortals? Age isn't the most worrying part of this story.

I really hope you keep a sense of proportion about the whole thing. Fencing is wonderful, but should not be thinking in terms of how you would rearrange your life in order to accommodate it, or in order to stay with one coach.

You've just started out and you don't know now if you'll be successful or enjoy it long term. That you haven't actually fenced anyone is somewhat of a red flag, as several have noted.

Get some experience, including actually fencing with others, before you start worrying about setting fencing as a priority over other things that are really much more important. I think you're putting the cart waaaay before the horse.

[Catseye]

Put a little more of your time and energy in figuring out where you're going to college. Find a school with a good team (good being defined here as organized, competitve, with a dedicated coach and funding is always a bonus). You will probably learn alot more about competing from the collegiate team dynamic than you ever could staying at home training with the same coach.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Oh, heavens! I'm not NOT going to college to fence if I go that route. I'm going to a college near where I live so I can continue training as I have.

........ There are a number of schools near you where you can fence AND go to college AND train where you're training. I'm guessing (and yes, I'm just guessing, since you won't tell us about your coach) that there are even schools where you would get BETTER training.

It's very hard to be serious about college and serious about fencing and fencing somewhere that's not on campus. (Harder still if you work during the same period of time, even if it's part time and on campus.) Other things being equal, it's much cheaper to fence seriously on a college team than to do so not on a college team.

There are some people who lose competitiveness by fencing for their college teams. Most of them go to a school that's a bad fit fencing-wise. The others are Olympians.

Use the search function and look at the advice we have for people looking at fencing and college. There's quite a lot there.

[Inquartata]

Fencing is wonderful, but should not be thinking in terms of how you would rearrange your life in order to accommodate it, or in order to stay with one coach.

I call de gustibus!

I have turned down jobs because the schedules would have interfered with fencing practices.

OTOH, I could also move somewhere that would increase my fencing and training opportunities, but do not choose to do so...

[Warrior Princess]

It takes years to get really good, but that doesn't mean it's too late. Most of what fencing is can't be trained into you, it's something that you have to feel, and only experience will give you that ability. Bouting and drills are two VERY different things.
When I first started at my club, all levels of fencers trained together because it was divided by age (only recently has that changed for the teenagers because we're running out of space). Everyone around me made sure that I knew that it wasn't expected of me to win for a while and that I was doing great for where I was and how long I'd been fencing. When you do start bouting and if you don't win, don't be discouraged. It takes time.
So anyway, there are a lot of great coaches in college fencing and in a lot of places you'll probably have the opportunity to compete in local meets even if you can't compete in the NCAA ones.
Don't put off college, you'll probably regret it.