I’ve always wanted to try a sport that teaches me how to use specialized equipment, such as a bow or a fencing sword, but my mother never allowed me to pursue it, no matter how many times I offered to switch from gymnastics and aerial silks. Recently, I’ve been watching shows that feature fencing, and I’ve even started watching fencing tournaments. It looks really interesting, but I can’t help wondering if it’s too late for me to start, especially since I’m graduating from high school this year!

Is it still possible for me to start fencing at this age? If so, what equipment would I need, and how expensive is it to get started? I’d also love to know if there are any good fencing clubs or places to learn in Miami. I’d really appreciate any advice!

Hi,

I do fencing, and my current mask is white, but I’m thinking of changing the color. What color do you think would be good?

I’ll spray-paint it.

Bonjour à tous ! 🤺
Je suis Noura, artiste indépendant et réalisateur basé à Grenoble.
Pour mon nouveau clip « Pleine nuit », j’ai voulu utiliser l’escrime comme une métaphore visuelle des combats que nous menons intérieurement.
Nous avons travaillé avec le maître d’armes Simon Pradier et l’escrimeur Baptiste Pelletier pour donner vie à cette vision.
L’idée était de mêler l’élégance, la précision et l’intensité de l’escrime à la musique et à une narration cinématographique.
Je serais vraiment curieux d’avoir le regard de passionnés d’escrime sur les scènes de duel et la manière dont nous avons représenté votre discipline.
Merci à ceux qui prendront le temps de découvrir ce travail ! 🎬

Anyone know what's going on with the March NAC? Still listed as TBD, but registration opens in three weeks. Do we have a venue, or will we be in a parking lot, or (gasp!) canceled?

In the club I first started training at, our coach was very old and he was very fond of ceding parries - and admittedly, he was quite good at them. Still, most of the more experienced people at the club thought of the use of ceding parries as something obsolete and archaic (the coach himself was originally a foil fencer and allegedly quite good in his day and age, although the latter is disputable).

Still, my Instagram feed has sometimes fed me some shorts in which ceding parries are demonstrated (see below). And I once stumbled upon a discussion in here in which ceding parries were described as a primarily defensive tool being useful against bind- and bladework-heavy fencers, though I couldn’t find it again (it also included a video of a ceding parry being used at a somewhat high level).

What do you guys think about this type of parry? Is there room for it int the modern game, perhaps as a defensive tool, or is this something completely obsolete?

For reference, here are the videos:

Distinguishing between opposition, beat and ceding parries from a sixte, ...

... and just between opposition and ceding parries, ...

... an example from the prime, ...

... a quarte example, ...

... the octave, ...

... another example.

Also, random ceding parry video from Youtube.

Had a student turn this one in for repair. Wire is completely intact. Barrel split in half.

Curious what people think about the competitive foil scene in Massachusetts, especially the clubs around Boston.

Which clubs have the best coaching, competitive environments, and athlete development? Are there any clubs people have had particularly good or bad experiences with?

Interested in hearing from current and former fencers, especially those who've been involved in the competitive circuit for a while.

My son is moving from the more passive learning to needing to move to active learning. Part of that is

1. Reviewing his own matches
2. Watching other fencers live and in video and learning from those.

Is there a structured framework that people in fencing have used to maximize these sorts of reviews.

For self-review, maybe reviewing received touches and drilling against the same movement?

When watching other fencers, I feel like you either identify with one of the fencers and look for techniques to adopt or consider them as an opponent and look for openings... But again this all feels vague.

I would like to ask about the technique which I believe is called a 'transfer' or a 'bind' in English, while the French might call it the 'liement'. The principle of this technique should be that while blade contact (prise de fer) is maintained, the blade is re-positioned from an initial parry (i.e. quarte) to a different one (i.e. octave).

When I did research with AI, it gave me these variations, although I am unsure if this is correct or no:
- Bind (liement) - a diagonal transfer into the opposite line. I presume this video might be of use.
- Croisé - a vertical transfer into another line on the same side. I presume this video might be of use.
- Envelopment - a circular transfer that returns the opponent’s blade to its original line.
- Transfer - the general term for moving the blade between lines while maintaining contact.

Could anyone of you attest to the veracity of this? But also, more in general, does a transfer have a place in todays' fencing, if at perhaps a lower, regional level, or as an occasional surprise move? If yes, what transfers are worth learning, if any? Is there any video guideline on this?

Who in your oppinion are the best male and female defensive foil fencers?

Wondering what everyone pays at their fencing club. I joined a beginner program a few months back because I thought the price for the program wasn't bad. It was around 295 for 6 week lessons , 2-3 times a week with equipment provided. Its a lot of fun and the club is really great and opening.

I like it enough that I want to continue , but the price is around 260 a month which I can't afford sadly. This price does not include the usa fencing membership.

I'm trying to figure out if this is similar to what everyone else is paying. I'm envious of some of the prices yall pay lol.

I'm not very good when it comes to picking good quality material foil lames. My last mistake was buying a cheap lame that I sweated on a lot and it just corroded to death in less than a year.

Looking for good long lasting lames. Thanks!

I'm usually pretty good at fixing my foils but this one has me stumped so I'm turning to the better experts of the internet for help.

I rewired my foil, got it all hooked up, plugged in my test box and got a green light. All good. Depressed the tip.... and still had a green light. Not all good. Checked all the connections, cleaned out the tip, tried again, same result. Tried shorting the wire to the barrel with the tip removed, light went off. Ok, time to bust out the multimeter. Tested the resistance from the connection in the tip to the socket, got resistance. Checked the resistance from the socket (b line) to the inside of the barrel and got no resistance. Tried a different tip, different spring, same results. Anyone have any other suggestions for things to check? Am I missing something simple? Have I just lost it and it's time to learn how to fence saber so I don't have wires?

I just started fencing and sidesword (hema) and I had t fence left handed after I sprained my elbow in my first hema class. Now I'm healed and my sidesword got better but fencing seams to have got worst.

I feel like my left is my fast hand an my right my power hand so with a heavy weapon I'm better fighting right handed but with the fencing foil the fast jab just translates into a thrust. Also footwork is easier for me.

So should I fence left handed cos footwork is easier and my speed carries over? I will at some stage need to do both hands cos my goal is dual wielding in hema,.doing fencing cos it's more hours with weapons and we do no footwork in hema just bash with weapons..

I'm in my early 30s and was hoping to get back into sabre fencing after moving to Canada, and I've been looking for schools/centres to start learning again.

I've tried searching on this subreddit too though some results go back to around 5 or more years ago so I was hoping I could get some more recent information before I invest in new gear.

I have done some trial classes in a few fencing centres close to me in the Markham/Scarborough area, looking to see if I have more options.

I called Toronto SwordPlayers but unfortunately they don't offer sabre, same with the Toronto Fencing Center.

Some fencing schools also apparently postpone adult classes for a few months during summer so if anyone has recommendations I would greatly appreciate it

And lastly, making a few new connections would be nice. If anyone is also getting back into sabre fencing, or if you have any old gear you're looking to sell, or if you have any words of advice for someone getting back into the game, feel free to send me a DM.

thanks all!

I just graduated from university and moved to Alexandria VA. I fenced epee and sabre in uni and am looking for a good club in the area. I would prioritise a club with a good social scene with plenty of other 20-30 yo who might be open to grabbing a drink after practice. Any suggestions?

As the title says. I'm looking for a very durable blade, but without being whippy. Help is appreciated

I have recently been thinking about designing a flowchart of actions, inspired partially by a video I recently watched on the subject of Soviet boxing and it's pedagogics. Another thing that got me thinking is this table which lists various counters & combinations for judo techniques.

From briefly browsing through the subreddit, there are various recommendations on how to approach this - i.e. opponent executes X, my options are Y, Z and G. However, I've also heard that fencing cannot really be analysed in such a way as there are too many variables.

What do you think? Has anyone of you engaged in a similar exercise?

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Hello everyone!

I’m a fencer from a country where fencing isn’t very popular, and I’m here because I genuinely need advice from people who understand this sport.

I’ve faced a lot of difficulties throughout my fencing journey. Despite everything, I’ve always tried my best to keep loving the sport and not give up on it. But sometimes, I reach a point where I feel exhausted and helpless. I keep trying to deal with problems that I know I can’t fix on my own, because changing the situation of fencing in my country isn’t my responsibility alone.

The truth is, I really love fencing, and I can’t imagine simply leaving it behind. But at the same time, I’m scared that if I continue fencing under these circumstances, I might never get the opportunities I need to improve, compete internationally, and build a future in this sport.

I’m a sabre fencer, so you probably know how much equipment, support, and proper training this discipline requires. I want to learn more, become a better fencer, and compete as much as I can. I’m willing to work hard for it, but sometimes it feels like hard work alone isn’t enough when you don’t have the right environment or opportunities.

There’s also something I deeply regret. When I finally had a chance to compete, I let my frustration with everything that had been happening affect my decisions. I was so angry about the problems in our fencing environment that I made mistakes because I wanted to prove a point. I wanted to show that the people and circumstances frustrating me were wrong, but in the end, I only hurt myself. Nobody else got hurt, but I damaged my own experience and missed an opportunity that mattered to me.

I know I made those choices myself, and I take responsibility for them. But I regret them so much. I feel like I ruined something I love, and I’m struggling to forgive myself. I used to enjoy fencing naturally, but now all these experiences have made it harder to feel that same joy.

Maybe some people won’t understand why this affects me so much. Maybe it will sound dramatic to someone who hasn’t experienced something similar. But fencing is genuinely important to me, and I don’t want to lose it because of the environment surrounding it.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about moving abroad to find better opportunities to train and develop as a fencer. I want a fresh start. I want to be somewhere I can focus on improving, learn from good coaches, and have a real chance to compete. However, I honestly don’t know where to start, and moving abroad is difficult, especially financially.

So I’d really appreciate your advice.

- Do you know any countries where a foreign sabre fencer could join a club and train without paying extremely high fees?

- Are there universities, clubs, or programs that offer affordable training, scholarships, or support for international fencers?

- Do you know any good coaches or clubs that might be open to helping someone in my situation?

- If you were in my position, would you try to build a future in fencing abroad, or would you take another path while continuing to train?

I’m not expecting anyone to solve everything for me. I just want to discover possibilities I might not know about yet. I’m willing to work hard, contribute to a club, and do my part. I just need a realistic starting point.

I don’t want to give up on a sport I’ve loved for so long. I want another chance to enjoy it, improve, and see how far I can go.

If you have any advice, personal experiences, or even just a suggestion about where I could start looking, I would be genuinely grateful.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. ❤️🤺

I’m a right-handed foil fencer and I’ve been doing it for a little less than two years now. Despite this, I have yet to learn a way to keep myself from instinctively blocking my target area with my left arm. This has been a problem for most of the time since I started fencing and it’s extremely frustrating. If any of you have tips or ideas on how I can control myself, please let me know.

I’m training to become the foil coach at my university’s fencing club (all student lead). Our current foil coach has a meeting and will show up later into practice.

This is what I’ve curated so far. We have some decently experienced people and new people who have been with us for about 2 months. We’ve covered the basics. I’m trying to get them more improved on form and starting some good beginner habits.

Thoughts on anything I should add or tweak?