So what is fencing like?

[????]

I thought this would be a great place to ask. Is it fun? How often should you practise to become a good fencer?


Does it get you in shape? What are tournaments like?


Details please.


Thanks in advance everyone.

[edew]

Originally posted by ????
I thought this would be a great place to ask. Is it fun? How often should you practise to become a good fencer?


Does it get you in shape? What are tournaments like?


Details please.


Thanks in advance everyone.

It's great fun.

About two or three times a week, about 2-3 hours each time.

You bet.

Tournaments can be very exciting and fun, if it's run quickly and painlessly, or it can be pretty long and drawn out if they screw up with the computer and have to re-seed again and again.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

As in, we forgot his "E", reseed.
Whoops we dropped someone from the tourney, reseed.
Hey, there goes someone else, reseed.
Hey time to get the tourney goin, wait, what's that, dropped a "D", reseed.

It can really be a pain in the behind. But, it gets addicting quite quickly.

Getting you in shpe has nothing really to do with fencing. It has to do with the person who fences. Fencing 3 days a week will maybe boost your cardio, but that is about it. To get in good, or above avergae shape you have to do it the same, monotonous way everyone else has to.

[135711]

You bring up an interesting point about fencing....

The best of times: the practice sessions are great fun, people generally have a good time running around,and you can try new stuff and break the rules, but competitions are very different.

The worst of times: if they: "screw up with the computer and have to re-seed again and again".

[L_Marie]

F-U-N?? YES YES YES!
Not only is is fun, it can get you in shape when you use it as a regular part of your physical fitness routine. Personally, I couldn't eun very far or jump or anything very physical before I stated. I also was 65 pounds heavier. Am I where i want to be physically?
No, not quiet, but I am certainly closer than where I was.

I've only been competeing for 2 years and I love it. Am I terrifc? Nope. But I'm working on it. The best thing is you can pace yourself and set your own goals.

My favorite thing is that I get to meet such interesting people at tournaments all over the midwest.

So, if you are thinking about trying it...GO FOR IT!

The Dame

[????]

Thanks guys. I'm definitely considering it.


Now to find a place that teaches it where I live.

[epeemike81]

Originally posted by ????
Thanks guys. I'm definitely considering it.


Now to find a place that teaches it where I live.

Which is where? Depending on where, somebody on this board can probably recommend

you can find clubs in your area by going to the clubs section of this website, or to the "info for members" > "Clubs and Divisions" section on the USFA Website (if you are in the US).

-m

[ReverseLunge]

Getting you in shpe has nothing really to do with fencing. It has to do with the person who fences. Fencing 3 days a week will maybe boost your cardio, but that is about it. To get in good, or above avergae shape you have to do it the same, monotonous way everyone else has to.

Are you kidding? Fencing got me in great shape! Not only is my cardio better but I've gained of muscle on my arms, shoulders and legs, though mostly on my sword arm side. Now all I have to do is learn how to fence on the other side and it will be perfect. HAHA

[Scott Allen Abf]

Well, this is a large question, actually.

One common description of fencing is that it is "like playing chess at ninety miles per hour". That refers to the fact that you are continually revising strategy as you fence with your opponent.

It is fun. It is good exercise. And the VERY BEST way for you to find out what it is like is to try it.

Until then, let me try and draw a picture of foil fencing:

Fencers are very safety concious, the sport is very safe due to
this. So when you are fencing you are going to be wearing some
protective clothing. This includes a jacket that is generally like
double-thick jeans material, but sometimes lighter. You wear
a mask with a thick grid. Go to the store and find a nice wire
spaghetti strainer. Stick it up to your face. That's what looking
through a fencing mask is like. The mask itself is larger, and fits
over your head with the back open and so your hearing is a
little bit muffled. You are wearing one glove on your weapon
hand. You are wearing knickers; like baseball pants, and high
socks. If you have them, you have shoes with rounded heels
to make your footwork a little easier.

That's if you are fencing "dry" which means not hooked up to
scoring equipment. If you are fencing "electric" then there is
more. You wear a metallic mesh vest over your jacket, and
you have a wire running from your glove, down your arm, and
out the back of your jacket. This is hooked up to a reel which
gently tugs at your back and keeps the wire to the scoring
machine out of your way. You are holding a light weapon,
in this case a foil (which is the lightest of the three) which
is hooked up to the loose end of the wiring at your glove.

So now you are all ready to fence. Hopefully you have stretched
out, warmed up with some fencing earlier, and maybe even have
had a chance to check out your opponent in one of his or her
earlier bouts.

You down a long heavy metallic-mesh strip on the floor that is
the area of valid ground for your bout. In the middle is the
referee who will officiate your bout and make the subjective
calls on right-of-way that are part of the sport. You really hope
that he knows what he is doing.

There is a minute or two of checking to see that all of the
electric equipment is working (testing the spring at the end of
your weapon with a weight, testing correct operation of the
scoring machine by allowing each fencer to touch each other,
and stuff of that nature). Sometimes this drags on if there are
any problems. The rules force you to bring two weapons to
the bout because problems at this point are so common!

Now fully checked out, the referee asks the fencers to salute
each other and come "en guarde". Some people salute in a
friendly fashion, others salute as if their opponent was a side
dish that they didn't order. Some make real flashy and useless
displays with their salutes! They also salute the referee, who
they really do not want to offend. And if they are courteous they
make a somewhat sloppy half-salute to anyone else watching.

Now you come en guarde and the game really starts to begin.
I am sure more experienced fencers will be able to fill in a lot
about what happens mentally here, for me (a novice of a few
years) I'll give you the beginners perspective.

The referee asks if you are ready. He might do this in English,
or maybe in French. In any case, when you indicate that you
are ready he'll tell you to fence.

Now at the start of the bout, you will come forward with some
funny stepping motions we call 'footwork' which is very, very
important yet often really neglected or sloppy! You and your
opponent will start making some exploritory attacks and defenses
to see how each other reacts.

It should be mentioned that, unless one is really new to the
sport and really sloppy, these attacks are not the flashy
Errol Flynn style things. Correctly done, these are small and
precise motions because the larger and less precise they are
the easier it is for your opponent to defend against.

Eventually, a buzzer goes off on the scoring machine and the
referee calls "Halt!" which means "stop fencing right now!". And
then he explains what he saw, and awards any points based
on that.

Generally things fall into these broad categories:
1. One fencer just hit the other in a valid area. He gets a point.
2. One fencer just hit the other in an invalid area. No one gets a point.
3. A more complex series of attack-defend-riposte occurs. The
referee interprets these and awards a point if something was
valid. There are too many permutations of these to go into and someone may or may not get a point.
4. The referee admits he doesn't know what happened, and doesn't award anything.

In any event, once the referee does his thing he then tells the
fencers to resume fencing. This repeats until either time expires
or the maximum amount of points is reached by one fencer.
This is generally 5 or 15 points depending on what part of
the tournament one is in.

At a tournament often fencers are broken up into small groups,
called 'pools' and they all fence each other. Using the results
from these pools a chart is drawn up for direct-elimination bouts
where one who did well in the pools is rewarded by being
set up to fence someone who didn't. The winners of these bouts
go on to the next phase, and so on until it's just two fencers.

In my own experience anytime I've been one of those two
fencers I've always lost, at least in real competitions. I hope you
fare better!



ANYWAYS, that is a whole lot of writing to answer a simple question but it should help you get some vague idea. I hope you actually read this reply! And remember the BEST way to find out what fencing is like is to try it out.

Scott Allen Abfalter
Knight Blades Fencing
Cocoa, FL
(thx@cfl.rr.com)

[????]

Ok, i've got some more questions. First of all I'd like to thank everyone for their input. Especially Scott Allen. I appreciate this VERY much.

Secondly, I live in New York. Brooklyn, New York.

Third, I have some concerns to be honest. First of all I was actually thinking of choosing between this and certain martial arts styles that I was considering. Kalis, Arnis, Kendo, those are just a few of the ones I was considering.

But to be honest, Fencing seems to interest me the most. I'm not looking for "just" a hobby. I really wanna get into this and make it a part of my life. Hence why I've been on the "fence" for so long, because I was thinking about it and deciding.

I have concern though. Please understand that I'm not assuming I'll be some master sword-wielding maniac in one year. But i've heard several times people say how they've been practising for years and are only "ok" or a little decent. Um, why is that exactly? I have no problems paying for fencing. My fear is that I will feel like I won't get my money's worth if I'm learning at the rate of a slug because they are deciding to teach me so little at a time.


That's something me and my brother hate. My brother took martial arts for YEARSS!!!!!!!!!!! And he switched around a couple of times recently. And he noticed that some teachers didn't really "teach" and would only talk most of the time. Now if it was free, I wouldn't mind. But if I'm paying with my hard-earned money, I want to learn fencing not get a PH.D in philosophy. LOL

PLEASE don't think that I want to rush this. Because I don't.

Do you understand what I mean? I'm just curious why some people seem to do it for YEARS and think of themselves as only "ok" or a little decent.

Btw, that "seed and reseed" thing was funny, lol.



Thanks again guys.

[DJ Apostrophe]

Living in New York you have the opportunity to work with some of the best coaches in the country and fence with some of the best fencers in the country. Your development will be based on several things, your natural talent is one, your coach another, whom you fence with another, and how often you fence. There isnt really a way to tell how quickly you'll improve without doing it. Beyond anything, a dedication to the sport and a willingness to work towards success will be your best way to improve.

[counter riposte]

True NY boasts some of the best fencers and coaches in the country. You will be working with some of the best, thus the price.

I believe the reason that people may say that they are not the best or extraordinarily good at the sport is that it takes a LONG time to learn the sport, it's intricacies, and the time. Some of the best fencers in the world have been doing this since they were the age of six, and continue to compete into thier late 30s.

I have been fencing for almost four years, and have enjoyed the sport immensely, simply because there is so much more to learn. From technique, to speed, to time, from opponent to opponent, you will constantly be learning, adapting, and changing. While some of the techniques such as parry-ripostes will not change, the means that they are deployed in terms of strategy and tactics will continue to puzzle and amaze you.

It takes masters decades to learn technique and strategy, so don't be disappointed if you don't learn everything, even in the first few years. If you are just starting, think back to the time when you were a kid, playing with a couple of broom handles against your playmate. Chances are, 80% of the technique that you used bashing your playmate over the head was similar to that of the sabre. The only difference is, we have added rules to determine who had right of way, and who gets the point.

Remember, you will not conquer Rome in a day, try all the weapons and find out which you like the most. Whether it be strategy, tactics, target practice or bashing your opponent, you will find fencing to be remarkably intelligent, and a life-long sport.

[????]

Excellent. I have no problem with the fact that it will take A LOOOOOOONGGGGGGGGG time to learn everything. I just don't want to be a horrible fighter even after a few years.

Anyways, I've made up my mind. This sounds like a lot of fun, which is of course my primary goal. Thanks guys you're the best.


Btw, Counter I love your sig. And it's so true.


One last question if you don't mind, how "comfortable" is the equipment that you wear? Does it really bother you?

Do you get used to it?

Thanks again, you have no idea how much I appreciate this.

[DJ Apostrophe]

you get used to it... the one thing that's tough to get used to for me is 'glove hand' ... i always forget about it after ive been fencing... then my hand drifts near my face and it makes me remember ... even something you might think would be tough to get used to in seeing through the metal mesh of the mask... you learn to look beyond it and not even notice it within 5 or 10 minutes.

[Zelda]

With reference to hte clothing I can tell you the first couple of times you feel like michelin man or the Pilsbury Dough Boy, but after that it becomes second nature. You just have to get used to carrying around your own personal sauna in Summer (at least where I am from anyhow) and doing lots of washing (unless you want you clothes to walk themselves to the machine).
As for how long it will take to be good, it depends on
1. How you define good
2. Where you are
3. Who you are training with.

I know I improved in my year O/S as my coach mentioned it. However only parts of my fencing improved. The rest stayed the same. Thats something you get used to, only bits improving but not the whole lot at the same time. EG my hand is now fairly ok, however my feet and balance are still everywhere most of the time.

Enjoy your new found sport.
Zelda

[Peach]

The remarkable thing about the clothing is the way it ought to be stiff, odd, and awkward, but when you put on the "magic jacket" all of a sudden you're a fencer and you don't think about those things at all.

[epeefencer74]

Originally posted by Zelda
With reference to hte clothing I can tell you the first couple of times you feel like michelin man or the Pilsbury Dough Boy, but after that it becomes second nature. You just have to get used to carrying around your own personal sauna in Summer (at least where I am from anyhow) and doing lots of washing (unless you want you clothes to walk themselves to the machine).
As for how long it will take to be good, it depends on
1. How you define good
2. Where you are
3. Who you are training with.

I know I improved in my year O/S as my coach mentioned it. However only parts of my fencing improved. The rest stayed the same. Thats something you get used to, only bits improving but not the whole lot at the same time. EG my hand is now fairly ok, however my feet and balance are still everywhere most of the time.

Enjoy your new found sport.
Zelda

Hey where I come from, it's summer all year round. Humidity between 75% - 98%, Temperature range 28-36 deg Centigrade. Yes it does feel very uncomfortable when you first put it on. After a few months though you'll get used to it. Oh plus it helps if you wear a singlet underneath rather than a T-shirt.

About that question about getting good. Someitmes it's the coach sometimes it's you. Are you open to new concepts? Are you willing to try new things even if they fail the first few times? Are you willing to go through 45 mins of plain and simple footwork every training session? When I first started out, my coach and I spent four years figuring out what weapon I was suited for. Going through each of them from foil to sabre to finally epee, just to find out that I was good at the weapon I thought was boring was to say the least disheartening. Only in the next year did I discover the beauty and strategy involved in fencing epee.

As a fencer, I have tried to reach that Zen like stage when nothing before or after matters only the point and how to get there. Progressing from the physical game to the mental game in any martial arts is one of patience and self reflection. No coach can make you play the mental game, they can only guide and show the way to the door. The next step to proceed to the psychological stage is up to you. At this stage you'll find yourself fencing at a totally different level. In short you aren't worrying about how to perform a move but how to use that move in your overall strategy. This is where I believe all fencers should strive towards. For me this is where it gets fun.

[JEC]

epeefencer74 (Dave?), with such a high humidity and heat (= RUST), how do you take care of your blades/mask? If you feel so, reply starting a new topic under armory. Thanks, Jose.

[big poppa]

This is my 30th year in this sport. It feels like I just started. i didn't notice the time mostly because i was having so much fun. This is a part of my life. I never thought I would be able to fence this long. Im not as fast as I once was but. Im as fast as I need to be. More than any thing else it's the people in this storp that make it so great. Join us you won't be disapointed. you may not become a champion but you'l have a lot of fun. and that's a great way to spend one's life.

[D'Artagnan1673]

Hi There,

Oh is this an exciting question! I just love talking about fencing in these ways.

One thing that I would avoid is thinking that your previous martial arts experience is going to help in any way other than that your reflexes should be pretty good. Fencing takes different footwork than other martial arts.

My suggestion is to start fencing with the foil. Do not worry about being flashy but concentrate on learning the very basics of the weapon. Concentrate on understanding the basics and worry about being fast and flashy later. I must continue to emphasize what other people have said on this board; spend lots of time on your footwork. Spend lots of time practicing and becoming very familiar with all your different strokes (your coach will explain them)

Another suggestion that is entirely my own is read lots. I like to read books that older fencing masters have written to get a little more insight into what is going on on the piste. Another thought later down the road is the select the weapon in which you will specialize in. It is rare indeed that a fencer can be highly proficient in foil, epee and sabre. Rather most people pick foil and sabre or foil and epee or only epee; I am one of the latter. Each weapon has different technique and its own unique mindset and challenges that it brings along.

The main thing to remember that is that no one will be D'Artagnan their first time to fence, or not even perhaps a year later. True mastery takes lots of time and effort.

good luck!