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How to Qualify for USA Fencing Summer Nationals 2026

How to Qualify for USA Fencing Summer Nationals 2026

by | Dec 6, 2025 |

The 2025-2026 fencing season is half way through! Regional and National competitions are running across the country, and even International season had started. As you sharpen your skills, attended a few your target tournaments, it's time to set your sights on the big event – USA Fencing Summer Nationals 2026! Many fencers ask: what should be my goal for the season, and how do I qualify for Summer Nationals? What's New for 2026? There are a few important changes to the 2026 USA Fencing Summer...

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The Mental Warm-Up: Why Your Brain Needs Preparation As Much As Your Body

The Mental Warm-Up: Why Your Brain Needs Preparation As Much As Your Body

by | Dec 2, 2025 |

You wouldn't dream of stepping onto the strip without a physical warm-up. No one walks into a bout cold - no footwork, no blade work, no stretching - and expects their body to perform at its best. Everyone understands that muscles need preparation. But what about your brain? Most fencers think that their mental state is some “inherit” attribute of their personality, they either have it or not. Most perceive there are “naturally born” athletes with superior mental ability. If a fencer,...

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Getting There

Getting There

by | Nov 24, 2025 | ,

Every fencer hits the moment in their career when almost everything they do feels wrong. New actions as well as old and trusted actions. Nothing feels quite right. Some fencers will keep trying, grinding through the frustration. Others will want to move on to something else, something they already know how to do, something that makes them feel competent again. And both of those fencers are making progress, even the one who's getting visibly frustrated, whose technique looks worse on attempt...

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The Salute: Why This Small Gesture Matters More Than You Think

The Salute: Why This Small Gesture Matters More Than You Think

by | Nov 20, 2025 | ,

Recently I read an article by Italian fencing master Giancarlo Toran about the importance of the salute in fencing. His reflections on tradition, respect, and what the salute reveals about character deeply resonated with me. I've borrowed some of his ideas here and added my own perspective about this small but crucial ritual. Every fencing bout, in pool or direct elimination, ends the same. Two fencers have just spent one to three periods trying to score touches against each other. Maybe it...

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Why Motivation Isn’t Enough

Why Motivation Isn’t Enough

by | Nov 11, 2025 | ,

January 1st arrives with familiar declarations: "This is my year!" "I'm finally going to get serious about training!" "I'm more motivated than ever!" The young fencer posts inspirational quotes on social media, creates detailed training schedules, and attacks their first practice session with infectious enthusiasm. By February, that same fencer is making excuses about why they missed their third practice in two weeks. The inspirational posts have stopped. The detailed schedule sits abandoned...

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Weapon Check to Annul a Touch: A Complete Guide

Weapon Check to Annul a Touch: A Complete Guide

by | Nov 6, 2025 |

If you've been at enough competitions you know this moment by heart. The score is 14:14. Your fencer lunges, gets hit and misses her touch, and immediately - without even a split second of hesitation - points their weapon at the referee. The arena goes quiet. Well, as quiet as a fencing venue ever gets. Everyone watching knows what's happening. The fencer is asking: "Check my weapon. I think I hit too, but it didn't register. Maybe my equipment is broken. Annul that touch against me." And now...

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The Competition Treadmill

The Competition Treadmill

by | Oct 21, 2025 |

The picture above is a real registration schedule for a Y10 fencer that I came across recently. Twelve competition events in 7 very big and significant tournaments between October and mid-January. That's basically every other weekend for three months straight, often competing in both Y10/Y12 age categories back-to-back. When I saw this schedule, it looked painfully familiar.  It always begins reasonably. "We'll do 5-6 competitions this season. The important ones." But then the additions...

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The Weekly Rhythm

The Weekly Rhythm

by | Oct 12, 2025 | ,

Screenshot A mother of a beginner fencer came to me recently and signed up for ongoing group classes. Then she watched some private lessons and asked if her daughter could take them too. "Yes, of course," I said. "Actually, private lessons are a necessary part of fencing development—there's no real way to advance without them." "Great," she replied enthusiastically. "I'd like my daughter to have a private lesson once a month." I had to stop her there. "That won't work," I explained. "It would...

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Superstitions in Fencing

Superstitions in Fencing

by | Oct 8, 2025 |

A few years ago we had a fencer with an interesting habit. Before every bout she performed the same routine: adjusted the mask three times, tapped the guard twice with her left index finger, took four steps back, then advanced to the en garde line. She'd been doing this exact ritual for two years. When I asked about it, she shrugged: "It just feels right. When I don't do it, I feel... off." Welcome to the world of competitive superstitions, where lucky socks can feel as important as proper...

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Discipline versus Self-Discipline

Discipline versus Self-Discipline

by | Sep 29, 2025 | ,

Talk to any fencing coach and they will tell that the difference between successful fencers and others lies in discipline. And that's exactly right, but what most coaches mean is a different type of discipline than what fencers and parents typically assume. Let’s look at two typical fencers who you could see in every fencing club. The first one arrives fifteen minutes early for practice, equipment already checked and organized. While teammates are still putting on their gear, she's begun her...

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Event Rating Update: A4 Events Now Need 63 Fencers, Not 64

Event Rating Update: A4 Events Now Need 63 Fencers, Not 64

by | Sep 23, 2025 |

For years, I could recite the USA Fencing event rating table from memory. Ask me what rating a fencer would earn for finishing 12th in a B3 event, and I'd answer instantly: D rating. Everyone in the fencing world knew that the large rated events must have at least 64 fencers. That number—64—was so fundamental to our rating system that it became second nature to anyone involved in tournament organization or fencing development. I think it came from the table of 64 of the Direct Elimination...

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The Danger of Overtraining in Fencing

The Danger of Overtraining in Fencing

by | Sep 19, 2025 |

Talk to any fencing coach (actually any sports coach) and you will hear many stories of overtraining. They all watched a promising young fencer collapse during what should have been a routine lesson. Not from exhaustion—from sheer mental fatigue. This athlete had been training seven days a week for months, convinced that more practice would translate to better results. Instead, their performance had been declining for weeks, their enthusiasm had evaporated, and now their body was sending an...

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Building Champions: The Long Game vs. The Quick Fix

Building Champions: The Long Game vs. The Quick Fix

by | Sep 9, 2025 |

A reflection on sustainable fencing development in an age of instant promises In today's fencing landscape, families face an overwhelming array of choices and competing promises. Social media feeds overflow with dramatic transformation stories, bold claims about revolutionary training methods, and guarantees of rapid results. It's natural for parents to be drawn to these compelling narratives—after all, who wouldn't want their child to achieve in four months what traditionally takes four...

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URGENT: Your Voice in USA Fencing Governance is Under Attack

URGENT: Your Voice in USA Fencing Governance is Under Attack

by | Jun 24, 2025 |

Fellow fencers, coaches, parents, and clubs - we need your voice and your immediate action. On June 29th, the USA Fencing Board will vote on bylaw changes that would fundamentally strip away our democratic voice in how our sport is governed. This isn't just about politics - it's about whether the people who live and breathe fencing daily will have any real say in the decisions that affect our tournaments, our families, our clubs, and our sport's future. There is a petition to the board that...

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When Better is an Enemy of Good

When Better is an Enemy of Good

by | Jun 17, 2025 |

I appreciate when USA Fencing tries to improve things for fencers. It's important, and most of the time things are moving in the right direction. One such example is the significant improvement in event locations, which are definitely more balanced this time. For West Coast families, having two events—the October NAC in Salt Lake City and Summer Nationals in Portland—is fantastic. Here are the event combinations: October NAC (10/3-6/2025) - Div1, Junior, Cadet, ParaNovember NAC (11/14-17/2025)...

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