Fencing thought of the day: Simplicity, where does it exist? Fencing gives you too much to think about when you first start out doing it. In a lot of ways we have no choice but to throw a lot of info at you all at once, or we risk leaving out something critical to your proper development. It's like we have to give you the overall detailed blueprints, even if you are struggling just building one wall, because you also need to know how your wall works, how it will fit with the other walls, supp...

Fencing Thought of the Day: in several books on the topic, the subject of how to continue improving your game once you understand how to fence and have some skill is often not given a lot of discussion, and that is because it's supposed to be obvious. But in fact it is not; the temptation to always go for the win MUST be put aside for the necessity to experiment in practice. I see students spend money on lessons and then never try to implement what they've been taught. They go off and do the ...

 Fencing thought of the day: Acceleration is a drag. Just kidding, bad obverse punning does not hide the fact that in order to become an effective fencer one must not just master basic footwork but also control of one's own center of gravity. This, btw, for most humans resides on the inside of the lower spine just above your hips in what people refer to as the small of the back. The fencer also needs to understand their own accelerating and braking tendencies, by which I mean are they ze...

 One of the big frustrations and reasons people start and then quit fencing is because they have unrealistic expectations of themselves. You must learn and remind yourself there are four stages to mastery of anything:

 Unconscious incompetence (Bruce Lee said this stage was 'natural' and even 'primitive,' instinct-driven behavior)

Conscious incompetence (this stage is where you begin real training and practice; you're still trying to get all the move and ideas.)

Co...

 Fencing Thought of the Day: some coaches and fencers train certain moves to become the automatic response reaction to a given attack. But you must also train to remove incorrect automatic responses, hopefully molding to something more advantageous eventually.

 Fencing thought of the day: Is it FUN? The place I teach wants me to emphasize "fun" in my lessons, to get people to return and take more lessons. I don't mind trying to do that, but what is fun for me in it may not be what is fun for you. I like a challenge, and I like games of skill, so it's fun. Personally, I don't think I need to "sell" the sport, because like any martial art, the benefits should be self-evident. If you don't "get it" right at the beginning, I am not sure this is th...

Fencing thought of the day: Courtesy and courtliness, good sportsmanship, dignity and nobility, these are all prerequisites for the would-be swordsman. Violent and aggressive sports all have rituals that require a genteel, calm, and friendly demeanor before and after the game, and these traditions go back a very long way in history. If you think about it, this is not only nice and dignified, it is also wise and necessary. You cannot become a champion without learning emotional self-control to...