Academy of Fencing Masters Blog

One of the most famous mountains in the United States is Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado. At 7400 feet of climbing to take you a total of 14,000 feet above sea level, getting to the top is the equivalent of a half marathon at 13.5 miles, though that marathon of a climb is up instead of flat. It’s one of the most famous hikes in America, up there with the towering Mount Rainier (14,000 feet)  in Washington and Mount Hood in Oregon (11,000 feet), though nothing in the lower U.S. comes...

As a fencing coach and parent, I've encountered countless situations where parents find themselves caught in what I call the "Chicken-and-Egg Dilemma" of fencing development. It's a frustrating cycle that often leaves both parents and young fencers feeling stuck, unsure of how to move forward. Today, I want to dive deep into this problem, share some real-life stories, and offer a perspective that might change how you approach your child's growth in fencing. The Chicken-and-Egg Dilemma Defined...

When it comes to fencing, hope and expectations play huge roles, just like they do in our everyday lives. And as with most endeavors in our personal lives, and of course, when it comes to our fencing children, how should we balance hope with expectations? If things go well when our children start fencing, should we have high hopes or develop high expectations? Are they healthy or detrimental to our children's development? I've been dealing with these issues a lot—both as a parent myself with...

Do you have a specific expectation when putting a child into a fencing school? That they will leap forward and become great Olympians? How about the kids - they have expectations, too. Will they learn how to be Inigo Montoyo and fight with swagger a la The Princess Bride? Youth fencing, like many other extracurricular activities, can sometimes have a disparity between expectations and reality, for both parents and for kids. Bridging the gap between what we think will happen and what really...