Art of Fencing, Art of Life

Month: July 2018

Infographic – Historic Performance of USA Fencing at 2018 Fencing World Championships in Wuxi, China

Infographic - Historic Performance of USA Fencing at 2018 Fencing World Championships in Wuxi, ChinaWhat does a revolution look like? For American fencing, it just might look like the podiums at the 2018 Fencing World Championships in Wuxi, China.

The results are truly unbelievable. There were so may first time top finishes, best ever performances, and team victories that it’s hard to see the events in Wuxi as anything other than revolutionary. It’s the kind of event that comes out of the blue, but that has in fact been building for many years.

Make the Most of Your Summer With Fencing

The days are long and the heat index is high which must mean we’re in the thick of summer! While many families take this time to have a relaxing vacation (and you really should), and many other families are recuperating from time and energy spent at Summer Nationals, I believe that these last few weeks of summer can be the perfect time to re-engage with a sport you love, and improve your fencing game just in time for a new season.

Here are some unique ways you can incorporate fencing into your summer plans without ever having to step foot in a club:

How to Safely Pack Your Fencing Bag with Wet Clothes

How to Safely Pack Your Fencing Bag with Wet ClothesFencing clothes get wet. Not wet like swim trunks or rain jackets, but wet from the heaping amounts of sweat that pour out of a fencer’s body throughout the course of a strenuous practice in thick gear.

The real deal with sweat

First off, let’s talk about sweat.

There is something deeply satisfying about getting in a hard workout at the fencing club. Running up and down the strip, feeling those muscles tense and release, it’s good stuff! That good stuff also produces smelly, wet stuff in the form of perspiration.

Sweat in and  of itself is basically water expelled from the skin in order to cool the body down. There’s not actually bacteria in the sweat itself, rather it’s the bacteria on our skin that mixes with the sweat and digests the small amounts of sugar in it that causes the odor.

There’s no reason to feel crazy about sweat, our bodies are meant to do this. It’s healthy to sweat. What’s no healthy is for that sweat and bacteria to stick around and smell like a rhinoceros as a result. The odor gets worse the longer fencing gear stays sweaty, not to mention the risk of bacteria getting out of control. Getting rid of the bacteria and keeping fencing equipment dry should be a priority.

Burning Desire

Burning DesireMany fencers find their way into the sport after trial and error with other sports, or through a genuine interest in fencing. Some may have watched a competition online or saw an Olympics bout that was exciting. Many discover fencing because of siblings, or other family members who encouraged them to check it out. Whatever the reason, many students don’t know at first whether or not it will click for them.  

When it does it can feel like lightning in a bottle. And that feeling is something that some fencers end up turning into a burning desire.

How to find motivation to train when fencing season is over

How to find motivation to train when fencing season is overDown time after the fencing season is over can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because the pressure is off in many ways, allowing fencers to take a breath and get their heads together. It’s a curse because finding that motivation to train when there is no competition ahead is challenging for many fencers.

Lots of fencers plan ahead to the next year or are fresh out of Fencing Summer Nationals that to help them stay uber motivated over the summer, but there are plenty who struggle to find the drive to get going.  

Getting that motivation back is important, and what you need most of all is to take advantage of the tools that you don’t even know that you have! Training is at its heart about a fencer teaching themselves to think differently.

But how do you do that? Here are five techniques for finding motivation to get up and going in the off-season.

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