You might think that discussing the significance of a club jacket is rather mundane. After all, it’s just a piece of clothing, right? Well, it seems that some things need reiteration, and this is one of them.
How often have you witnessed fencers at tournaments who, after securing a medal, frantically scurry around in search of their club jacket? It’s a scenario that plays out time and time again, in almost every tournament across the country. I’ve seen it happen countless times. Typically, what unfolds – and I believe this holds true in most cases – is that the fencer didn’t anticipate making it to the medal round. They certainly didn’t expect to be standing on the podium, so the thought of bringing their club jacket never even crossed their mind. Why lug it around when you’re just there to compete, right? This situation doesn’t discriminate – it occurs with fencers of all ages, from the youngest Y8 fencers to seasoned veterans.
In a world where sports transcend borders, sometimes athletes make decisions that go beyond medals and championships. Today, we bring you an inspiring story of courage, conviction, and unity on the fencing piste.
Meet Konstantin Lokhanov, a sabre fencer now training at the La Jolla Fencing Academy in San Diego, and Sergey and Violetta Bida, who have found their new home here with us, at the Academy of Fencing Masters. These remarkable athletes have taken a stand against the Russian war in Ukraine and defected to the United States. Their goal? To continue their fencing journey and represent their new home at the Olympic Games.
Watch a heartwarming video from the BBC, sharing the incredible journey of these fencers who are not only chasing their Olympic dreams but also championing a cause they deeply believe in. 🇺🇸🤺❤️ #FencingForPeace #OlympicDreams
The sheer volume of fencing videos on social media channels like YouTube, Tiktok, and Instagram Reels, offers us a gold mine for analysts doing theoretical research on the sport of fencing.
A couple of such recent studies inspired me to conduct my own research. I decided to take a deep dive into the videos I saw online, and today I’m proudly announcing the outcome of my rigorous study of these fencing materials.
This groundbreaking, unprecedented, data-driven analysis details the influence of Yelling in Fencing on the Final Result! It’s something we’ve all seen happen in matches, but until now, we didn’t know how prevalent it was or what influence it had on the players and observers.
I believe this deeper understanding of a singular aspect of matches will revolutionize the sport of fencing and drastically change its future.
Let’s dive in.
Research Methodology
Unlike other studies that limited their scope to a single weapon, I set a goal to expand the boundaries of my research and address all three weapons – foil, sabre, and epee. This choice is rooted in my belief that all three weapons are vital to our sport.
But that’s not all. My research also expands to age groups beyond Seniors, who are usually the subject of the most intense research, to all Modern Fencers – Youth, Cadet, Junior, Senior and Veterans, And in light of the recent decision of the USA Fencing Board of Directors to include the Y8 events at the regional level, it addresses the youngest group too.
Getting good data is the heart of quality quantitative research. That’s why I watched hours and hours of fencing bouts online and in person. Keeping meticulous notes, I was careful only to take down information that was directly relevant to the subject matter, ensuring clean data. In addition, I had support from fact-checkers, who double-checked my material consistently to ensure that the information was accurate.
Several factors were of particular interest to this research: the number of times a fencer yells, the sequence of yells, the strength of yells (measured in decibels), the duration of yells (measured in seconds), the repetition of yells (measured in a number of yells separated by an inhale).
Every January 1st we come around to the tried and true tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions that we may or may not keep. Too often, we don’t keep them – they’re more of a joke than anything else.
Setting New Year’s goals that don’t come true might be a running gag, but for kids especially it can be a negative experience to set their sights on something only to fall short. When 80% of resolutions set in January (per data from US News) are abandoned within weeks, what’s the point?
None of this is a big secret – everyone kind of collectively agrees that this is a tradition in the same way that we all support kids’ belief in Santa Claus. The resolution might as well be as fictional as the jolly guy in the red suit who, according to astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, would have to visit 25,000 homes a second in order to accomplish his Christmas Eve mission.
Despite everyone’s knowledge that resolutions don’t work, we still continue to make them year after year. There’s always a lot of talk about how to set good New Year’s resolutions, and we’ve written about it before right here. This year, we wanted to offer our readers something a little different in order to support those New Year’s goals.
If you’ve ever struggled to find the right gift for that very special fencer in your life, you’re not alone. Figuring out what to give is a struggle, especially because none of us wants to give a present that will go unused.
Choosing the right piece of fencing gear, the perfect accessory, or the right add on experience is a challenge, even for the most present fencing parent or fellow fencer. This year, our MEGA HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE is bigger than ever before, with sixty gift ideas!
This year, we’re looking at our annual AFM Holiday Gift Guide from a different perspective and breaking it down by age. Every parent knows that different ages have wildly different needs, and fencers of different ages have different needs as well. We’re taking the guesswork out of finding the right gift for your fencer by giving you the best gifts for all ages! Of course, many of the gift ideas below are cross-generational, so you might want to scroll through the entire collection when looking for something that fits your choice, even if it is in a different age bracket from your fencer.
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