New to fencing, competition question

[chief5286]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the sport. I had a couple lessons a while back, but I just had my first one since I started back at fencing. Great site, I've been reading some back posts. Here's my question.

How long will a begining fencer take before he or she starts competing in tournys? I just kind of want to know what to expect. I love the sport so far (I just hope I don't have to hit the lotter to continue fencing...).

Any feedback will be appreciated.

[MyraTrue]

Hey Chief, hope you don't need to win the lottery to keep fencing. Your chances might be quite slim!

So, how soon do you start competition? Well, each fencer prolly feels different about how soon is right, but I'm of the mind, the sooner, the better! I went to my first tournament (I had intended to warn a seat, and "see what it was like") as a women's foil team alternate... I'd been fencing for 6 weeks. Both bouts I fenced... absolutly destroyed! But I scored one point, a parry repost in 4, and I was thrilled.

Tournamenting gave me an idea of what this game really looked like. When I fenced other beginners, you couldnt see it, and didn't really know if it was right or wrong. I also was encouraged to keep fencing, to get better, because I suddenly had people cheering for me, and got to see what REALLY worked.

I will always love tournament. I feel like its my marker stick that tells me I'm learning to fence better. My first epee tournament, was beaten soundly... a year later, I won against the same fencer.

Hope some of my rambling helps... and the best of luck,
Myra

[Wizardly]

I'm of the opinion that you can start as soon as you think you want to. All you really need is on guard, advance, retreat, at least 1 parry, and 1 attack (although even the advance and retreat can be optional at times). Something to consider though is to pick a tournament that will be fun for you. If you've been fencing a week, an open isn't going to be much fun. Keep yourself challenged, but not so much that it's not fun. If you're in your first year, try to fence with other first year fencers. Competition is where you test yourself to see if you get to apply and make what you learned useful, and you also learn things in competition you just don't learn in drills. Ballpark figure: maybe a month.

[cowpaste]

Here's a fun story. I have a friend in Thailand who decided to start taking fencing lessons one day. The very next day, there was a tournament. She entered and managed to beat one person in the pools. :P Anyway, she kinda had a hard time because her arm was too weak at the time to hold up the foil for more than a minute, but she sure had fun.

[mollusk]

If you can enjoy a competition even though you are getting thrashed, you can start at anytime you wish. I fenced in my Division's Divisional qualifier with only six weeks of fencing leasons under my belt. My coach knew that I'd be "OK" because I had told him that I had played pick-up basketball against several NBA players over the years. (I was almost 48 years old at the time. The NBA players all entered the NBA after my 30th birthday.) If I could take that kind of humiliation, there was nothing that a C or under fencer could do to me that could possibly be worse. I had a blast, even won a bout and nearly won two others, and have been enjoying the competitive aspect of the sport ever since. On the other hand, if you are somebody that has to win to have fun, then you may wish to hold off on competing for some time.

[MyraTrue]

I was so used to being beaten by better fencers, the first time I won a bout, I just couldn't believe it. I felt like I was in a dream, like I'd gotten the best present ever. It made me think, even when a better fencer was schooling me, "I won, I won, I won... I can do it again, and I'll try now".

Competition against someone who is a good sport, a polite and friendly fencer, and as gracious a winner as looser is unbelieveably nice. Wish there were more of those out there.

[j4gg3d3dg399]

Yeah, I started fencing in tournaments after 3 months of fencing. You go to these tournaments, do the big things: the open events, getting your assed kicked in your first tournament is a given, however you go away knowing much more than you came to the tournament with, after all tournaments are the best places to train.

[Kismet]

Well, I fenced for a year and still didn't participate in any tournaments...so it all depends on who you are and what you're comfortable with. Now I'm fencing again, and still no tournaments...I personally don't feel ready for it yet. Maybe in a couple months. We'll see!

[CarlKnoch]

I fenced for about 10 weeks when I tried my first tourney. An Open in the Capitol division right before Summer Nationals. I actually won a pool bout, (and then the weiner withdrew with a medical stating he just didn't feel well.) Then in my DE I got beat 15-13 by a 10 year old kid.

Great to have your first experience on the strip to be a humble one!

[chief5286]

Thanks for the input everyone!

I don't think I'm ready to try a tourny just yet, but hopefully soon.
Just need to work a littl on my footwork (and everything else) for a month or two, hopefully.