I am there to encourage you, not force you. We come together for practice in order for us to work as a team to make you a better fencer. Contribute to that partnership with a good work ethic and a great attitude.
Take fencing home with you. If you want to get good at fencing, you have to think about it outside the club too. You can practice footwork at home. Watch fencing videos on YouTube. Tell your coaches about a cool fencing scene in a movie you saw.
Talk about fencing with your friends. Also please share things that you have come up with to show your passion for fencing. Fencing Sabre SabreFencing. SabreCat Fencers and Families. Maestro David working with a kid fencer. SabreCoachKate teaching youth fencers on a Saturday morning.
Insights into the world of fencing and thoughts on life. January 1 1 post December 2 2 posts August 1 1 post July 3 3 posts September 1 1 post August 5 5 posts July 2 2 posts June 1 1 post January 1 1 post November 1 1 post October 2 2 posts September 1 1 post.
What does my fencing coach want? Recent Posts See All. Post not marked as liked 1. For me, first and foremost, giving a lesson is about giving the student the skills they need to survive in a competitive environment, and developing our own skills as coaches to that end. This my mean that we, as coaches, have to abandon many of the old ways of thinking that we were taught when fencing. For instance, that a parry "always" looks like so, or that the hand always extends before the foot starts.
At the same time, our sport is full of "fads" and untested ideas, promulgated as fact, and as coaches, we have to winnow out the true from the false. These are not easy choices. As I trained to be a coach I came to several conclusions about coaching instruction in the United States:.
A fencer begins helping the head coach at a club, and over the years, he or she is slowly taught to be a coach.
Instruction is by example and verbal correction as lessons are taught. The "transmission rate" for information is pitifully slow. Master coaches —coaches who have the skills to teach coaching—impact a very small number of coaches every year. The United States Fencing Association's Coaches College probably teaches less than 10 high level coaches a year in all three weapons.
Coaching is not rocket science. While certainly being a good coach is a difficult skill, even advanced concepts necessary to train fencers can be taught to anyone who has done some fencing, has the aptitude to coach, and is willing to work for such low pay. Nothing will replace the beginning coach working at the plastron of a master coach.
But many concepts and ideas that can be spread through written form. Even if these concepts can not be taught by reading, the coach striving to improve their skills needs to be at least aware of traits used by more advanced coaches and trainers in lesson.
Fencing is growing in the United States. Much of that growth is occurring in little clubs all across the United States. Often a group of people in a location begin to meet informally, then begin to hold organized practices, and suddenly a fencing club is born. Often the most experienced fencer is elected as the "coach" of the new club. The fencer means well, and is willing to work hard to teach, but often has no way to teach except to fall back on his or her own past lessons, often taken many years ago.
There is information out there for the beginning coach, but it is not in one place, it is not easily accessible, and is often incorrect. For fencing to grow further in the United States, this needs to change. Many areas have only one fencing coach within easy reach. This coach teaches the competitors and the coaches for the next generation. Sometimes, these coaches are out of the mainstream of modern fencing practices.
They teach actions or rules that are out of date, or simply wrong. For the beginning coach training under such a head coach, there is no outside source of information to help judge the instruction they are getting. For instance, if I'm taking a class on changing a tire, and the teacher tells me that the tire lug nuts must be tightened in a particular pattern, I can look up in any car manual and confirm that this is an acceptable practice.
Fencing coaches do not have this. I have heard some pretty outrageous practices promulgated as fact by fencing coaches. Without some body of literature to help refute an opinion, however, it just comes down to one opinion versus another.
Usually the loudest coach wins. Or the one with the thickest accent. The lack of coaching materials does not allow for information to be cross-checked, validated, or refuted. Eastern Europe is a good example of a knowledgeable approach to fencing, documented and disseminated throughout all levels of coaching. This spreading of knowledge helped to produce excellent results in the old "Eastern Block". Certainly the countries of the old Eastern Block had a large number of dedicated athletes working full time.
Coaches, too, also were focused on training athletes as a profession — unlike American coaches, for whom fencing is rarely a full-time employment. Undoubtedly, the level of effort was a large part of the success of the Eastern European athletes. Bring a water bottle to practice from the very start and get into the habit of drinking regularly during practice. That goes for drinking before and after practice too. A lot of people forget about how important it is to drink! This simple thing will go a long way towards keeping your body healthy and your fencing training going well.
Beginner fencing bonus tip — If you struggle with hydration, get a really cool water bottle try a fencing sticker! This will help you to remember to drink. And make sure you never bring home your water bottle with any water in it. Fencing can be a sport that gets very expensive. Though, in truth, every sport can be expensive if you buy the top of the line equipment.
Yes, the biggest fencers in the world use very high quality, very expensive fencing gear. The gear is not what makes them champions though. What will make you better is practice, patience, and more practice. The pricey equipment is really cool, and the top fencing equipment companies are making high quality equipment that can be well worth the price.
However, more basic equipment is also generally very well made and also worth its price! Beginner fencing bonus tip — Talk to your fellow fencers or your coach what is the right mid-range gear. While it might save you some money in the short term, usually you will end up replacing everything 6 months later. Instead, go for something that is more durable and reliable. Also, if you have friends that outgrew their gear , this might be a good temporary solution as well.
Part of the process of fencing is losing. You will lose often, during practice and then if you decide to compete. Every single fencing bout has a loser! It has a winner too, but someone is going to be on both sides.
Beginner fencing bonus tip — Losing a fencing match is the best place to learn. Every loss is a golden opportunity to improve, much more so that winning a fencing match! This does not matter and it takes away the learning part of the fencing. Not to mention your teammates might think that you are a bit annoying. There is no secret to success in fencing. All you have to do is to show up, practice, and listen.
No magic. If you want to be a successful fencer, right from the very start you have to learn that this is a learning venture. Just coming to practice, every time, is the first step. The next step is to be invested in that practice and to do the work. The third is to listen to the coaches and mentors that you have, learning from your mistakes and improving your thinking and technique along the way. There are lots of other components to learning and growing in fencing, but all of those are built from the foundation of being at practice, putting in the work, and listening to your coach.
These are things that every single successful fencer, in fact every single successful athlete, all have in common. Beginner fencer bonus tip — Every practice is not going to be perfect. Sometimes we all phone it in, even the best athletes. Just getting to practice is a positive thing!
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