Art of Fencing, Art of Life

Month: August 2015 Page 1 of 2

Fencing Books for Children and Youth: Reviews from a Fencing Family

Fencing Books for children and youthAs is the case for every parent, I want to instill in my children a love for reading. My husband and I are devoted readers and our personal library at home consists of several thousand books which we read throughout our lives. Like all people of our generation, the major entertainment of our childhood was books. While we do not want our children to live our lives, I would still rather at any given moment that they were reading books instead of playing video games or watching brainwashing video content.

Well that is much easier to say that it is to do. My oldest daughter took her love for reading from me, and eats books by volumes. But for her twin brother reading would be last on his list. While I can be very persuasive and  force him to read, on the other side I realize that forcing will not instill his love of the page, so I need to be more creative with my methods.

Fencing, Sport of Royalty

Fencing, Sport of RoyaltyFencing grew out of the long tradition of dueling, which has been going on for as long as history has been recorded. It wasn’t until the 15th century that fencing really became a codified thing, the artform that we think of with fencing masters – one that is beautiful and noble. This really began with the publication of the Treatise of Arms by Diego de Valera in 1471.

It’s true that fencing was practiced by royalty across Europe as well by other members of the upper class, although it was also practiced by many tradesmen and lower class men who sought more money, fame and the thrill of the fight. Of course kings are famously the heads of armies, so it was natural extension for fencing to become a big deal for royalty. However fencing has proved to be more than fighting, as the technicality and finesse required to fence effectively is far different that the requirements of the battlefield. Fencing separated the nobleman from the soldier.

But how did this all come about? Fencing as the sport of kings evolved over a long time through many iterations to become transformed into what it is today.

Best Fencing Club Honor AND 2nd Anniversary for AFM!

AFM SN team 2015 - San Jose(3)

AFM participants – Fencing Summer Nationals 2015, San Jose

We never do know where life will take us, but we do know that we have the power to make positive decisions and to live our passion. AFM is proud to be garnering the fruits of some hard work and love of sport this week.

Best Fencing Club Honor

I opened my email today and was surprised to find this lovely and completely unexpected message from National Fencing Club Rankings regarding an award which is being presented to Academy of Fencing Masters!

We’re proud to announce that AFM is being honored with the 2014-2015 “Best Fencing Clubs” award!

Fencing Links – Websites that YOU can Use

Useful Fencing LinksIf you’re looking for a resource to help you extend your knowledge of fencing, then you’ve found it. Here you’ll find virtually anything that you need in fencing and all things that are related to fencing.

These fencing links are organized into categories. In the list you’ll find a lot of information related to important fencing resources, both national and international.

Is My Child a Fencing Genius?

Is my child a fencing geniusA question that’s not unusual for us to hear, especially from families who are relatively new to fencing, is this one:  “Is my child a fencing genius?”  People want to know RIGHT NOW whether their child is a fencing prodigy, or even just naturally gifted at fencing, and ask for an assessment of their child’s skills and abilities. They want to know whether their child has fencing talent, a fencing future and a promising career ahead of them.

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