Son has recently tried fencing at the local gym…

He seems to enjoy and is keen to take it up.

Can’t say i know much about it – Is it a sport anyone here is familiar with?

Overlap or featheredge ?

Overlap or featheredge ?

😆

Nah, hot tellies…

Well, this

fencing attracts too much bother from the old bill imo!

Fencing is a great sport to do. I fenced for a few years and have done a little bit of coaching too.
There are three types of sword, foil, epeé and sabre.
Foil tends to be the training sword but is also very popular as a main weapon in the UK. The target area is just the front torso. Epeé is more a classic dueling sword and the whole body is the target (not including the back of the head). Sabre is more a cavalry sword and uses the blade (the other two score with the point). Sabre targets is above the waist.

Fencing clubs tend to be very friendly places and amature competitions are lively. Some of the kit can be quite pricey but a club should be able to have stuff to use.
Fencing is a very tactical sport but you do also need quite a high level of fitness too. There is a lot of training involved and quite a high level of discipline and tradition.

If you need any other info feel free in sending an email.

Thanks Roper.

My son has been to the club four times now – and at 11 came 3rd in an U14 tournament last week…!

He is pretty good at ballet and has found that background very useful in terms of fitness, and for very quickly picking up the footwork / agility side.

Main thing at the mo is to let him enjoy. Looking further forward – he is using club kit now, but presumably there is a point when he woill need to get his own?

Good for him.
It sounds like he is on the right tracks.
Footwork is very important, as well as balance. A dance or gymnastic background will be a great help. If the club is big enough then his own equipment is not essential as they will have most things, though having your own stuff is always good. They will also teach him how to look after and repair swords and probably basic coaching too. He could also do some gradings further down the line if he likes.

I’ve met a lot of nice people through fencing.

I had a couple of lessons years ago. It was quite different from how I thought it would be…very tactical and I found the stance and the lunging quite awkward but I guess you would get used to it pretty quickly.

I think what I really wanted to do was “Swashbuckling” rather than Fencing. 😀

Me.
I fenced to a high enough level to compete . I didnt do very well but used to enjoy it.
You need to start very young and be naturally ‘balanced’ and have quick reactions.
I foiled and was adept at cheeky flick hits to torso and shoulder blade areas.
Fencing improved my balance and reaction speed at the time, and my ability to catch a ball , so timing i guess .
Used to pull my hhamstrings abit as they have always been tight. When fencing twice a week i became more flexible than i ever was as we did a decent warm up and stretching before starting with blades.
You meet a thoroughly decent bunch of people fencing too.