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Peach · 11-03-2002, 06:49 PM

I was at a sabre tournament today. There was a women's event followed by a men's event. Some of the young male sabreurs were amusing themselves by leaning over, butting together the tops of their heads, and pushing each other all over in a sort of mountain-goat or young-buck dominance contest. I said to my young teammate, a sabreur himself, "I wish I had my camera. This would make such a funny poster. . . of course, the foilists and epeeists would make fun of us."

"Yeah," he said. "And the sabre fencers would say, 'Wow, that looks like fun!'"

JEC · 11-03-2002, 08:21 PM

Quote:

This would make such a funny poster. . . of course, the foilists and epeeists would make fun of us."

We already do

remise · 11-04-2002, 10:45 AM

Peach -

My son fences foil and a couple of years ago, I caught him doing the very same thing with his team-mates. Mind you, none of the girls were doing this, only the boys.

Philistine · 11-04-2002, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by remise
Peach -

My son fences foil and a couple of years ago, I caught him doing the very same thing with his team-mates. Mind you, none of the girls were doing this, only the boys.

Well, I think the lesson to be drawn from this is obvous.

Your son should switch to sabre.

--Philistine

remise · 11-04-2002, 04:26 PM

He would in a heartbeat if there was a coach available within driving distance. At the Veteran's Challenge in Boston, he was put to work running lines and keeping the judges well fed and watered, and I bought him a sabre for his efforts. A sabre fencer stopped by our club once or twice from out of state and worked with him.....and he's been hungering for more ever since. If the opportunity presented itself, he'd relinquish his foil in an instant.

Mo · 11-04-2002, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by remise
He would in a heartbeat if there was a coach available within driving distance. At the Veteran's Challenge in Boston, he was put to work running lines and keeping the judges well fed and watered, and I bought him a sabre for his efforts. A sabre fencer stopped by our club once or twice from out of state and worked with him.....and he's been hungering for more ever since. If the opportunity presented itself, he'd relinquish his foil in an instant.

Carolyn Wright is a saber fencer in Virginia. Perhaps her coach can help you get into contact with someone who can find your son a saber coach.
Look around!! That is why there is not more saber participation. There are people out there who would fence saber if there was a way they could. The sport is growing!!! YEAH
We had to move to get good saber, it was completely worth it.

Peach · 11-04-2002, 10:18 PM

If you're in the Northeast, whereabouts are you? I know many of the sabre clubs (& most of the sabre kids) in the Northeast. Yesterday I was at Fencers Club in NYC for a Liberty Cup & there are often excellent people from Connecticut, Massachusetts, & New Jersey (and of course Pennsylvania) there, so I know their clubs are training them well.

oiuyt · 11-05-2002, 01:26 PM

According to his profile he's in Baltimore.

Remise- what club are you/your son with? The tri-weapon boys club (in Baltimore) is run by Dick Oles (men's team coach at Hopkins) and, as the name implies, includes all three weapons. Another possibility is the club at the NIH in Bethesda, MD. The head coach there is Vitali Nazlymov. I believe that they're a sabre-only club.

-B :)

Peach · 11-05-2002, 03:07 PM

Thanks, Brad. Yeah, NIH is sabre. Don't know how much of a junior program they have, though. DCFC is also within distance, though driving into the burbs of Washington can be a pain. VAF is largely a big recreational-fencing club with a very few competitive members (I can think of Carolyn Wright and Deb Stopak, whom I haven't seen for a little bit)

remise · 11-06-2002, 08:56 AM

Hi guys -

Actually, I've heard of Tri-Weapons. We live closer to the Delaware border in Maryland, and going to Hopkins would be too hard of a drive- especially on a school night. I can hardly get him to roll out of bed as it is. We belong to the Baltimore Fencing Center, which is right off of I-83. The BFC focuses primarily on foil and epee, and does not even offer sabre. It's a pity, because I believe quite a few members would be quite serious about taking it up as a second or even a primary weapon.

Peach · 11-06-2002, 09:06 AM

Yeah - I'm always ragging on BFC folks to get some sabre. Their tournaments would be very drivable for me (Philadelphia area) if they had sabre. My club has always been primarily foil & epee but we sabre fencers always manage to keep a little group going -- sometimes a VERY little group in past years--despite the disparity in numbers. And people are often willing to fence two weapons, witness the thread on doubling up at events.

remise · 11-06-2002, 12:43 PM

Peach -

You guys have GOT to stop by one evening and visit us. If I knew ahead of time when you could come, I could rustle up the folks interested in sabre to be present. We have practice sabres at our club, and I know some of the boys would just love it. (Besides, I seem to be the only veteran fencer there on some evenings....it would be wonderful to meet another veteran - even though I don't fence sabre)

Peach · 11-06-2002, 03:59 PM

Hey, let me know! Some of us will be down at Charm City December 15th if you're going to be there, and we could try to set up something. That would be fun.

I'm incredibly lucky that I have a few veterans at my club so I'm not alone, though every once in a while I suddenly realize everybody in the room is less than a third of my age. Weird feeling.

remise · 11-06-2002, 04:09 PM

I'm going to try to make Charm City. Several of my club-mates have been aggressively talking me into fencing it, but I'm SUCH A BEGINNER....I'm afraid I might embarass myself as well as my club. My son wants to attend, though. I'll e-mail again about it. I also know what you mean about age....there's me, and then the entire club. All of them are young enough to be my kids.

Peach · 11-06-2002, 04:53 PM

I'll encourage you to go too. Yes, you're a beginner--SOMEbody has to be <grin>. But based on my own experience, if you just go and get it over with, you're a great deal less of a beginner than you were before. I think my first big tournament was the Susquehanna and in the foil I was basically target practice, but I tied for third in the women's sabre (I admit there were four of us, this being back when, but it was still a medal!).

I admit I felt like such a dork being a beginner at the age I was when I started (43), and I still feel like a bit of a dork when I go to some place like Fencers Club and I'm not only older than all the competitors, I'm older than most of their mothers, but I'm willing to put up with feeling like a bit of a dork if it means I get to fence. Anyway, at Charm City you won't be the only relative novice and you sure won't be the only veteran, so why not?

I dare you

remise · 11-07-2002, 08:28 AM

We're more alike than I realized. I started out at 42, but I dropped out for a few months, came back, dropped out (due to sick kids and family stuff). My coach talked me into one tournament that turned out to be an "A" tournament. There was myself, and other fencers who had been fencing almost as long as I was old. (Just kidding). But I'm not kidding about their size. I felt as though I was matched up with the NBA. The shortest opponent I fenced was 6'3". My son couldn't stop laughing. He said it looked like a modern day David and Goliath. Anyhow, I mentioned the possibility of your coming to our club last evening during my daughter's class, and found myself surrounded by at least 5 teenagers. "When? What night?" I told them that I would be talking it over with you. What I thought was really nice was the instant response I got from the kids within earshot. Problem is, our club only has a few spare sabres, but hey, they could all take turns. Even my daughter, who is very shy and is beginning to open up to her classmates in foil has mentioned an interest in trying it.

I'll be there at Charm City. I know my son will compete and maybe my daughter as well. Hope I live through it.