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Academy of Fencing Masters Blog

Art of Fencing, Art of Life

Fencing Lucky Charms – What Role Does Luck Play in Winning a Fencing Bout?

Fencing Lucky Charms – What Role Does Luck Play in Winning a Fencing Bout?

Do you believe in fencing lucky charms? Are you lucky on the strip? Lots of fencers carry around lucky bits to bouts. Special socks, a lucky coin in their pocket, that mask that always seems to help them get those points. Sports in general can be tricky in terms of what happens, there’s always an element of uncertainty. That’s part of the fun of it! But what is the role of luck in fencing? Do you have to be lucky in order to be successful in fencing? Bad luck, good luck Every fencer can tell...

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10 Tips to help fencers be light on their feet

10 Tips to help fencers be light on their feet

Quick movement is a key to good fencing. So much of this sport is about controlling the distance between you and your competitor, with those fencers who control the space winning the matches. The faster you are able to move and change direction and tempo, the lighter on your feet, the more effectively you’re going to be able to push forward through to strike your opponent. With these tips, you’ll be able to better control the distance in matches, making you a more effective fencer! 1. Think...

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What Does it Take to Become a Great Fencer?

What Does it Take to Become a Great Fencer?

What kinds of people are great fencers? What does it take to become good at fencing? These are two questions that we hear again and again at AFM. Everyone wants to know what they need to do in order to become the best, what qualities they need to possess in order to be good in this amazing sport. There are some basics that lend themselves to great fencing. Let’s explore them. 1.    Great fencers are dedicated to fitness Balance, muscle strength, and coordination can all be grown through...

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Stepping Out of the Fencing Strip: Why You Just Lost the Bout

Stepping Out of the Fencing Strip: Why You Just Lost the Bout

After a recent RYC in Santa Rosa, one of our fencers came to me and asked why she just lost the bout in priority when “nothing really happened, I just stepped sidewise out of the fencing strip and clock was still counting”. When I started to investigate what actually happened, she explained to me the following (quite a typical situation). It happened when she was at the end of her strip and trying to avoid a touch - she stepped out of the strip sidelines. The referee declared victory for her...

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How to watch a fencing bout

How to watch a fencing bout

When you watch a fencing bout, what exactly are you looking at? For the novice fencing fan, including parents and even new fencers, it can be confusing to watch fencing. Things move fast, and the bouts only last for a few minutes. It can be a major challenge to understand what’s going on in the lighting movements, and there’s no time for explanation during the bout itself. With these nine simple steps, you can quickly learn the basics of how to watch a fencing bout, and the bout will be much...

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5 Hacks for Storing Fencing Equipment at Home

5 Hacks for Storing Fencing Equipment at Home

Fencing equipment is both wonderful and horrible. It’s wonderful because it allows us to do the thing that we love most – fencing. It’s horrible because it can be a beast to store and keep organized. Storing Fencing Equipment at Home may be tricky! Keeping your child’s fencing equipment neat, clean, and in working order can be incredibly challenging. Fencing bags can fester with sweaty shoes and half eaten protein bars if not cleaned out regularly. That expensive fencing equipment can become...

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How Many Weapons You Should Really Have for Competition

How Many Weapons You Should Really Have for Competition

Going to competition, especially a major competition like an NAC or nationals, can be nerve wracking. Fencers want to make sure that they’re as prepared as possible for what’s coming, but at the same time you don’t want to go taking everything and the kitchen sink with you to a competition. Fencing rules about the number of weapons A lot of relatively newcomer fencers and their parents tend to miss an important point in the fencing rules regarding the number of weapons that they should have in...

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How to choose the right fencing club

How to choose the right fencing club

Finding the right fencing club is a big process, and it’s one that matters for success in the long term. For families who are just starting out in this sport, knowing how to choose the right fencing club can be a major challenge. What matters? What doesn’t matter? What are red flags that you should look out for? We receive such questions all the time from people in different areas of the world. People ask us for recommendations, whether we know of a good club in their area, and if we don’t the...

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Valentine’s Day, Love, and  Swordfighting Duels

Valentine’s Day, Love, and Swordfighting Duels

We all know that the safe and thrilling sport fencing that we know and love today grew out of the art of swordfighting. On this Valentine’s Day, we’d like to walk you through some of the great sword duels of the past that weren’t for points, but were instead for love! These stories showcase just how fierce sword battles could be, but take note that swordfighting duels (unlike duels involving guns) were generally not fatal, but those that gained a great deal of fame were more likely to end...

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The Importance of Good Fencing Footwork

The Importance of Good Fencing Footwork

Footwork in fencing is essentially about one thing – control. Good footwork allows fencers to control the distance between themselves and their opponent. During defense, we can use our footwork to move further away from their sword. During offense, good footwork allows us to move in closer to get that point before the opponent has a chance to. Understanding and having the ability to execute great footwork is what allows fencers to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves...

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Celebrating 3 Years of the AFM Blog!

Celebrating 3 Years of the AFM Blog!

It seems like only yesterday that we started the AFM blog, but it’s already been three years. Back in 2014 we never could have imagined how wonderfully this venture would have turned out. It’s a labor of love that we love to do. Fencing is incredibly misunderstood, in fact it’s probably the most misunderstood sport out there. This is a very niche sport, which is a blessing because it means that we get to have these very close relationships with one another. It’s also a bit of a curse because...

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The Role of Fencing Parents

The Role of Fencing Parents

There’s so much talk today of what role parents should take in the lives of their children. Parents in sport seem to be constantly accused of either being overprotective and not allowing their kids to learn from loss, or else being too distant and letting their kids have too much responsibility. Where is the middle ground? How do we define the role of parents in sport in general and in fencing in particular? These aren’t questions that we can answer directly, but they’re questions that are...

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Don’t Judge the Fencing Referees – A Lesson in Good Sportsmanship

Don’t Judge the Fencing Referees – A Lesson in Good Sportsmanship

A familiar refrain that I hear from parents at fencing competition goes something like this: “The ref was completely wrong. He called so many touches incorrectly, and he gave way too many red cards.” The might go on about some other issue with the fencing referees, some way that the ref called the match unfairly and so caused their child of this parent some ill end. It’s tempting to take part in this kind of conversation after a match that doesn’t go our way -  we’re naturally looking for...

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The Magic Carpet Ride of 2016 – The Journey of Veteran Fencer Alan Buchwald

The Magic Carpet Ride of 2016 – The Journey of Veteran Fencer Alan Buchwald

What is it that drives us to keep going? To keep achieving as fencers? And how do we even define achievement? Fencing tends to be viewed as a pursuit of the young. Clubs are brimming with kids holding swords, teenagers on the strip, college students in fencing masks. Adult fencers, though there are many of them, tend to be less common.  Maybe that’s because life gets busy with responsibilities, or because adults who want to start fencing think that it’s too late. Whatever the reason, the...

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Hitting the Books and Hitting the Strip – Fencing for High School Students

Hitting the Books and Hitting the Strip – Fencing for High School Students

High school is a seminal time in the life of just about everyone. Young people are starting to form their own identities during this critical point in life. They’re figuring out who they are and getting ready to step out into the world beyond their home and family. It’s also a time when much more is expected of them than ever before. There’s a great deal of stress and expectation placed on high school students. Prepping for that college resume is a major issue, and many parents find that their...

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