Mike Gayler <gaylers@REMOVEntlworld.com> wrote in
news:Xns944BC12DC76E6gaylersifrancecom@194.168.222 .40:

> The thing that I'm concerned about is the upfront cost of ten
> lessons, before I know whether I'll enjoy the gig!

I would suggest hanging out at the club and watching some of the
lessons before you sign up, or discussing with the instructor what
the course will cover. Do the other beginners look like they are
having fun and learning? (At the club I fence at, there are often
classes going on in part of the salle while the other part is being
used for free-fencing, and the beginners always look like they are
having a good time. As they should be - fencing is fun!)

In my opinion, a basic beginner's course should cover the basics
(footwork, stance, basic attacks and defense, and fundamentals of
right of way) and should involve limited fencing as soon as possible,
and actual bouting also as soon as possible (though a bit later). It
should be oriented toward practical results, not perfecting one thing
before moving to another.

As you can see, I am *not* a proponent of the "spend 3 years
perfecting footwork before you even are allowed to touch a weapon"
style of instruction - OK, I'm exaggerating ;-p but some coaches are
definitely more geared to getting their fencers "going" more quickly
than others. I think that for fencing to be enjoyable, you need to
*fence* as soon as possible. It's what puts the lessons in context
and motivates you to learn. Or it's what motivates me, anyway - I
need to understand the context for what I'm learning. "Just practice
this, you'll need it someday" has never worked for me.

(I'm currently working with someone who has lovely form and footwork
when drilling... but who has a huge amount of difficulty putting it
all together to score in an actual bout; a victim of focusing
exclusively on correct form without putting it into the context of
actual fencing. Correctable, sure, but not ideal. OTOH, you don't
want to just throw people "out there" - that is a good way to develop
bad habits. That's why I like a nice balance of
instruction/correction and actual fencing practice.)

You mentioned "lessons" - not sure if you meant one-on-one lessons or
"group" lessons. I would encourage beginners to start off in a
*class* /group lesson with other beginners, not in a one-on-one set
of lessons with the coach. Later on, you may find individual lessons
to be very helpful, but to get you going and teach the fundamentals
in a fun way, a class is (IMO) vastly superior.

Cheers,
--Holly