Tag: Equipment

Ah . . . the fencing bag. Is there anything more ubiquitous in the fencing gym than this little gem?

For fencing mom’s the fencing bag is loved and feared. We love it because it helps our kids to become more independent, taking control of their gear and showing their responsibility. We fear it because you never quite know what you’re going to find inside!

Fencing bags can often be home to mysterious smells and strange objects. They’re the realm of our kids! Like an extension of their person. As our kids get older, the fencing bag really becomes a part of their personal space, and to violate it is to ignore those oh so important boundaries.

Here are some tips from me to you on how to help your children take care of their fencing bag.

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Fencing shoes are among the least glamorous and least talked about pieces of fencing equipment. Once a fencer gets into the groove of finding the right shoe, they tend to just throw them in the bag and forget about them. And rightly so. (for more on choosing the right shoe, check out our guide by clicking here).

In the spirit of taking the best care of our equipment possible, let’s explore the do’s and don’ts of fencing shoe care.

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“Hey, can I borrow your extra fencing glove for practice today?”

This was the question of another child to mine, overheard at the club recently. My son didn’t think twice about loaning his extra glove to his classmate. As a fencing mom, I know that the stickiest item of fencing gear is the fencing glove (well, except perhaps for the easily washable socks!)

Well, we all know that fencing gloves do not smell roses. The thing is that sweaty gloves always have lots of naughty bacteria happily living in them. Bacteria like these little perfect “homes” – dark, warm, wet and closed off to outside intrusion. That’s why fencing gloves often have that terribly strong odor if you put them into your training bag after fencing.

Now that we agree that fencing gloves have the potential to be pretty gross, how can we go about taking care of them, and most importantly cleaning them? Here I’ve put together my best suggestions for you when it comes to cleaning fencing gloves.

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What do you do when your child wants the really expensive fencing gear?

Today I’ll start with the tale of my son. For more than two years he’s been asking for a Leon Paul mask; this shiny-all-american-flag-champion-like mask. He started asking me about it when he was just seven and a half. Yes, a first grader dreamed about a mask that costs almost three hundred bucks! Does he want it because it’s the finest in fencing gear? No. Does he want it because it will help him to be a better fencer? Nope. Comfort? Uh uh. He wants it because it looks cool, because the champion fencers wear them, and because it’s different than the other fencing masks he’s seen. The biggest reason is this last one – because it’s different.  (A note that in this particular case it had nothing to do with peer pressure as none of his friends have these masks).

My first tactic was to try to show him that champion fencers don’t need fancy equipment. I told  him that Michael Johnson won four Olympic games medals and eight world championships not because of his famous golden shoes, but the opposite – he got them after he mastered his running style and became a well known runner. My son was silent.

My second tactic was to talk sense to him. I tried to explain him that because we can afford this “golden mask” does not mean we should buy it.  He did not say a word.

The third tactic was trying to talk about him in terms of his age.  I tried to hint that this kind of fancy mask would probably look odd and unflattering on 7 years old beginner fencer. He frowned quietly.

Ok, time to bring in the big guns. My fourth and final tactic was to show him the absurdity of the amount of money.  I invited him to save his own money and get this golden mask. That was the ticket – he smiled.

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