The History of Fencing

The History of Fencing is a long and storied one, and while sword-fighting has been around for thousands of years, the sport of fencing has ancient origins and is believed to have developed from the similar techniques of swordplay, wrestling, and boxing. The first recorded evidence of fencing as a competitive sport was around 588 […]
Does Fencing Hurt?

When you think of fencing, you might think it’s a dangerous sport – after all, swinging swords at each other must be dangerous, right?! Well, our experience (and studies!) have shown it’s one of the safest sports you can take part in. Everything about modern fencing is built with safety first in mind, from the […]
Practice Fencing with Video

Hello All, Below is a link to some fencing training videos, suitable for all levels. For those who are more advanced, the preparatory footwork review is work! When you are a new beginner you don’t realize how much strength and control some of the basic exercises require (partly because as a new beginner you […]
Practice Makes Better

Hello All, Although this is a foil lesson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSBmGC6z_E0), it is a good example of a solid working lesson for an experienced young fencer. I chose this particular lesson because the fencer demonstrates what we are trying to achieve in our daily fencing academy practice. Note the depth of the guard position that facilitates: the […]
It’s Just a Fleche Wound

Whenever I tell someone that I am a competitive fencer, they usually ask one of the following questions: “Doesn’t it hurt to get stabbed with a sword?” “You must get injured a lot in a sport like that.” Now these are reasonable questions especially, to somebody who doesn’t know a whole lot about the sport […]
When Will We Learn?

For those who don’t play video games, the concept of ‘joysticking’ as a coach refers to coaches who are micro-managing the performance of their athletes in every bout, telling them what to do and when to do it every step of the way, with the athlete merely a conduit for the coach’s thoughts, like a […]
Competitive Goals for the Fencer

Managing your pool round Let’s assume that you have been training regularly, have all the equipment you need to compete and have made sure that you are otherwise ready for your competition (you are rested, you are at the event an hour before check in closes to get a good warm-up, including practice bouts, you […]