What kinds of people are great fencers?
What does it take to become good at fencing?
These are two questions that we hear again and again at AFM. Everyone wants to know what they need to do in order to become the best, what qualities they need to possess in order to be good in this amazing sport. There are some basics that lend themselves to great fencing. Let’s explore them.
After a recent RYC in Santa Rosa, one of our fencers came to me and asked why she just lost the bout in priority when “nothing really happened, I just stepped sidewise out of the fencing strip and clock was still counting”.
When I started to investigate what actually happened, she explained to me the following (quite a typical situation). It happened when she was at the end of her strip and trying to avoid a touch – she stepped out of the strip sidelines. The referee declared victory for her opponent.
Our girl was totally confused. She didn’t understand what had happened. Since it was a DE bout, she packed up her gear and headed home. The next day she asked me why the referee awarded her opponent a winning touch and denied her an opportunity to continue.
Since it might be indeed a bit confusing, I would like to explain what does it means – in pictures! I’ll walk you through the basics, then dive into the pictures to make it more clear.
When you watch a fencing bout, what exactly are you looking at?
For the novice fencing fan, including parents and even new fencers, it can be confusing to watch fencing. Things move fast, and the bouts only last for a few minutes. It can be a major challenge to understand what’s going on in the lighting movements, and there’s no time for explanation during the bout itself.
With these nine simple steps, you can quickly learn the basics of how to watch a fencing bout, and the bout will be much more exciting because you know!
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