We have put out many gift guides for fencers in the past, but for 2020 we have had to rethink how we approach gift giving and holiday shopping. The needs are not the same for fencers as they have been before, so to give the right kinds of gifts, we need to think about...
Academy of Fencing Masters Blog
Art of Fencing, Art of Life
Month: November 2020
Gratitude in the time of COVID
It can feel like the last year has been nothing more than one long and impossible series of choices that are gut wrenching for us to make, yet they have to be made. Gratitude is not an easy sentiment to come by as the months drag on and on, especially when we realize...
Attention in Fencing and How It Transforms to Life
Attention is basically the action of fixating the mind on some activity or some event. And when I say fixating the mind, it means being able to carefully listen and watch, and be in constant and instant awareness of everything happening in the event of interest....
COVID Restrictions and the Reality of Fencing in Pandemic Times
After months of slow upticks in coronavirus cases, it looks as though the winter is bringing with it a new wave of cases and a new reality for us to face. Safety has to be our priority, and so we find ourselves having to step back and restock how fencing training will...
Mindset Reset – From “Have to” to “Get to” to “Want to”
Beautiful flower seedling growing in the center trunk as a concept of new life The mind is the most powerful thing that we have. In both fencing and in daily life, we have the opportunity to change our manifested world when we adapt our mindset. It’s no easy thing to...
10 Ways to Smooth the Parent/Coach Relationship in Fencing
In fencing, the fencer is the priority, but young fencers are necessarily supported by their parents and their coaches. Both of these stakeholders have an important role in facilitating the growth and development of fencers, but what happens when they don’t get along,...
How to Fence Unchallenging Training Bouts
Training bouts are fundamentally different from competitive bouts in fencing, and we know that both are important for improving performance. All training bouts are not the same, with some challenging our thinking skills, some challenging our physical skills, and some...