Part of what makes fencing special is its uniqueness and, from our experience, the supportive community. At the same time, a niche sport with tight-knit clubs means that you will inevitably faceoff against your teammates. These aren’t ideal circumstances, but with a...
No one likes to lose, but it happens. It's important to face this reality head on when it comes to parenting an athlete. Your child winning their first fencing competition is not impossible, but it's very unlikely. As a matter of fact, your child may not win a bout...
Fatigue is a beast that all athletes have battled at one time or another. It can be an even worse enemy than your most talented opponent. Beyond just physical exhaustion, fatigue can also affect you mentally. When you can’t focus or make quick decisions, it impacts...
Recently I talked with the mom of one of our fencers about her son’s progress in his fencing skills. In particular we discussed his need to complement his fencing training sessions and conditioning at the club with at-home exercises. Good athletes know that you can’t...
If you’re an athlete, you've been there before. The big match is starting in just a few minutes. Your mind is racing. You see your opponent practicing and begin to worry. Is he better than I am? Am I going to lose? I haven’t been practicing as hard I should have been....
In a previous post, we covered the philosophy behind strip coaching and how to manage your expectations as to whether or not you will have strip coaching at any given bout. When you do have your coach at your bout, you want to be able to take full advantage of the...
In the top ranks of competitive fencing, the distinction between the best and the greatest is slight. Often the highest rated fencing bouts are determined by two or fewer points and a small change in momentum can make all the difference. At these high levels, the role...
The best and most successful athletes usually have a keen self-awareness of their skills and areas for improvement. You can best utilize your strengths when you can clearly identify them, and you can best improve by understanding where you’re weakest. Every athlete...
You’re watching an NBA basketball game with players who are paid high salaries to help win games. They have practiced for hours upon hours since they were young boys. They have probably shot thousands of free throws and could easily hit 10 in a row in practice. But...
One of our Y12 epee fencers, despite being very early on in his fencing career, wowed us all with a great performance today. Michael started fencing just last fall and has very few competitions under his belt; we don’t have many Youth epee competitions in the Bay...
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