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I am getting ready to take some fencing lessons. I've always been interested in it, have practiced informally on my own, and read a bit, but have never been formally instructed. The classes will be at the Community College level, given by an ex-amateur fencer and Olympic qualifier, some 30 years ago. So the instructor is a bit older.
What can I expect from this? How long till we actually get to yield swords against each other? LOL What of conditioning tips? Will it be most likely with a foil or an epee? (I like the sabre but am told that is hardly ever used to begin with). And what is the diffs and the pros and cons of foils and sabres? What should I watch out for? Common mistakes and problems with most beginners?
Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated. (I may be wrong but I am sort of counting on some of our European friends to come through for me on this, as i know the sport is much more popular over their than here in the USA.
I took a fencing class in college years ago. It was more for fun than competition but we got suited up pretty quickly and had at it. We learned a bit about the history of fencing as we went along.
As you may know epee, foil and saber are different pursuits that feature different skills and practice. We used foils where the target is from shoulder to groin and points are scored with the tip of the blade. Epee is the same but the whole body is a target. Saber allows for points to be scored by the edge of the blade and the whole body is a target.
I would say you will probably be using foils and maybe epee's.
As for conditioning it will be good for you to stretch before engaging in class. The stance and quick movements require balance depending on your physical condition.
Get the basics down and practice those to no end with your class mates. Fencing is fast and the moves are minute and exact. It is not like a sword fight in a Hollywood movie.
At the end of the semester we met the other class and had a little match. I'm sure you will have matches once everyone gets some practice in.
We have beginner's saber classes but usually basic intro class seem to be foil. My classes usually start w warm ups and stretching, footwork, drills and then bouting for advanced fencers. Fencing is hard, everything happens fast and often your brain and body don't have time to communicate as fast as it needs to. I'm a foilist, maybe should be doing epee...saber is too fast for me. Just focus on the very basics bc it's easy to be sloppy. Bend your knees, don't worry about hitting someone too hard and expect lots of bruises. And have lots of fun!
Thanks guys, for the tips and advice. I will loosen up before class...Maybe go to my gym for some stretching and a bit on the treadmill.
Bruising? LOL. Not that I'm worried about that, played lacrosse in college and got beaten and bruised weekly. But I didn't expect that too happen from fencing. Those danged foils seem so light and all. Is it from the whipping action? But oh wait....You can only thrust, right? Do those thrusts really cause bruising? Seems the epee and foil would bend first? Anyway, I can't wait. How many classes usually before we actually pick up foils and spar?
You'd be surprised at the bruises you can get from fencing. It doesn't hurt and the blades do give but there's a lot of power behind those hits. And yes, you can kind of whip, it's called a flick.
My club does the months of class before electric bouting.
Also, expect your muscles to be sore unevenly....usually one leg will be very sore and the other not as much.
I took lessons in my late 40s at a fencing studio. One cool thing is fencing has no real age restrictions as long as you're flexible enough. I bouted with a 16 year old and with a 70 year old on the same evening!
I have been fencing for more than twenty years. I pretty much agree with all of the advice that has been offered in this thread thus far. Specifically, I will stress that stretching is very important. As is the case with other sports, many injuries could have been prevented by proper warm-up. I had a trainer at a national tournament scold me about this after a minor injury, and I deserved such a reprimand on many other occasions.
When I first started, I was surprised to see how much stamina is needed in fencing. You are moving continuously. The best fencers work on their endurance and conditioning a great deal. Even at a decent sized local tournament, you can expect to compete in anywhere from four to seven 5-touch bouts, and anywhere from one to five 15-touch direct elimination bouts, depending on how far you get the the DE round. The number of DE bouts can be as high as nine at a very large event. I have know of a few fencers who could compensate for a lack of stamina with excellent blade work but I stress the word "few!"
Most coaches start adolescent and adult students with foil or epee. Foil and sabre have a rather complicated set of rules know as "right of way." Here is a basic description of these rules. In short, you can only score a touch if your attack first, or if you parry your opponent's attack and immediately launch your own attack thereafter (know as a riposte.) During a bout, the referee determines who has right of way at the moment of the touch, and thus decides who is awarded with the touch. It is therefore possible (and quite common) to score a touch, even if your opponent manages to hit you first. It's a lot more complicated that that, but that's the general rule. Epee, on the other hand, has no right of way rules. Whoever hits first gets the touch, and the scoring machine determines who hit first (with an 1/25th of a second, if I recall correctly.) Some coaches like foil, because it's limited target area encourages good blade work. Other coaches prefer to start students with epee, since the rules are simpler. You will not go wrong, regardless of which weapon you start with.
Fencers who learn two or three weapons often decide to focus on one of them. Although height is an advantage in all three weapons, it is arguably most helpful in epee, because shorter fencers can take advantage of the right of way rules to partially negate a height disadvantage. Speed, timing, and quick thinking are more helpful in foil and sabre, so it's generally more common for shorter fencers to excel in these weapons. That said, a large portion of elite fencers, in all three weapons, are taller than average.
Feel free to post any other questions. I have also listed a couple of good resources below:
Wow...that was a great thread, and very helpful. I appreciate your taking the time to write if for me. It's good to know that taller guys often excel, since I'm a few inches taller than the average. My hand-eye coordination should still be pretty good from all those lacrosse years, and also playing pickleball (LOL) and ping pong. Well, here's hoping anyway. I'm pretty sure I'll be one of the oldest guy in class, since the course is as a CC. (though since it's on a Fri night, who knows? Could be other older adults there I guess.)
So what I am getting from all this, and watching fencing videos, is that the sport of fencing does not seem to me as if it has really much at all in common with historical sword fighting, as in real combat from history. Like, say, the Samurai and the Vikings and the Romans and all those peoples they all fought? Am I correct in this? Seems like maybe Japanese Kendo is closer to the real deal of fighting with a sword for your life. Seems like in fencing quickness basically trumps all other skills. Hence, a skinny 14 year old girl could be lethal. Yet, same girl would become instant mince meat in a real deal sword fight. Right?
. . .So what I am getting from all this, and watching fencing videos, is that the sport of fencing does not seem to me as if it has really much at all in common with historical sword fighting, as in real combat from history. Like, say, the Samurai and the Vikings and the Romans and all those peoples they all fought? Am I correct in this? Seems like maybe Japanese Kendo is closer to the real deal of fighting with a sword for your life. Seems like in fencing quickness basically trumps all other skills. Hence, a skinny 14 year old girl could be lethal. Yet, same girl would become instant mince meat in a real deal sword fight. Right?
Fencing (foil in particular) has its roots in the duel, which is certainly a historical form of sword fighting. In foil, one must hit his/her opponent's torso (e.g. the valid target area) to score a touch. If you hit your opponent in the head, arms, or legs, you are not awarded a point/touch. This is nod to the fact that a duelist would only strike his opponent in the chest (the heart, ideally), in order to score a single killing blow. Maiming or causing injury to any other part of the body was considered to be dishonorable. Slaughtering you opponent by poking a big hole in his heart was just fine, though.
Sabre has its roots in cavalry (horseback) combat. In sabre, the valid target area is limited to everything above the waist (head, arms, and torso,) because striking a mounted swordsman in his legs would serve little purpose, in regards to killing or disabling him.
Although fencing does not resemble some forms of modern and historical sword fighting, it does indeed have its roots in lethal combat.
I am getting ready to take some fencing lessons.
Thanks!
I'd expect lots of wood, hammer and nails...
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