Academy of Fencing Masters Blog

We’ve all had the experience of being nervous before an event that we needed to perform well in, whether in school or in sports. That feeling of butterflies in the stomach, a soup of jitters and self doubt, it can feel overwhelming and stressful, especially for young fencers. Many fencing parents come to us with these kinds of concerns, and they’re completely normal. They have things to say like this: “It seems like my son psyches himself out before he even steps onto the strip! What can I do...

I’ve seen it myself too many times to count. A beginner fencer (sometimes even a seasoned fencer) comes in for a private lesson in a rush two minutes before the start time, throws on their gear and jumps in. This is totally incorrect! Before a private fencing lesson it’s so, so important that a fencer get properly warmed up. This isn’t a recommendation, it’s absolutely a requirement. Though it’s easy to get busy and skip the warm up, this is one of those instances in life where the easy thing...

New fencers often struggle with knowing what to do in competition, and naturally so. Y8, Y10, and Y12 fencing competitors are on the whole new to all of this, new to big deal that competition is. And a fencing competition is a big deal. Remember though that these kids are still learning how to navigate life all the way round, from putting their clothes away properly to checking out a book at the library. We can’t expect them to just know how to do this in the best way. Meanwhile parents want...

Training is simply not the same as competing. The mindset that an athlete immerses themselves in during competition is nothing like the way they need to think in the day-to-day training in the sport. When you compete, you’ve got a need to focus and concentrate in a way that isn’t necessary in training. That being said, during training there is still a need to have another kind of focus, but one that is more malleable and less intense. The difference in how athletes must think during training...

How long has your child been fencing? What’s your child’s fencing rating? What was the result from the last fencing competition that your child competed in? What’s the highest level competition that your fencing child has competed in? If you’re a fencing parent, then reading those questions probably just elicited a whole list of mental answers. Maybe you even said them out loud to yourself while you look at this blog on a screen. We like to quantify things. It’s natural. We want to know how...

Who’s fault is it when a fencer loses a match? Here are your multiple choice answers: The parent The coach The ref The opponent The child All of the above There is a correct answer here, and we all know it. It’s not your fault that your child lost the match, after all it’s not your job to do everything for them but to facilitate them doing things for themselves. It can’t be the coach’s fault, though of course it is the coach’s job to offer your child training and support. Might it be the...

The biggest single influence on your child is you, their parent. That’s both a wonderful thing and an intimidating thing all at the same time. Learning how to navigate fencing parenting isn’t something you’ll learn from a blog, but there are some “aha!” moments that we’ve found helped us to feel more understanding about the process. Here are five truths that, if you apply them to your fencing parenting regularly, will transform not only how your child experiences fencing but also how you as a...