/r/Fencing

Photograph via snooOG

This is the subreddit for the Olympic Sport of Fencing

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The following rules are enforced on submissions and comments in the /r/fencing subreddit:

0. Threads that are questioned answered by the FAQ will be removed.

1. All users are expected to be civil in their submissions and comments.

2. Any posts that solicit donations will be removed.

3. AMA submissions must adhere to the /r/iama subreddit rules regarding content and verification.

4. Any post soliciting medical advice will be removed. Any post offering medical advice will be removed.

5. The content disregarding the title and superimposed text must be directly related to fencing or fencers. Low effort shitposts will be removed. Especially if you make a riposte/ repost joke. Note that 'fencing' here is interpreted in a narrow sense, an analogy to something related to fencing, feelings/reactions to fencing etc. is not considered sufficient.

Further details and clarifications can be found on the Subreddit Rules page.  

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/r/Fencing

58,683 Subscribers

15

Can someone explain what’s happening to my folo epee blade

It’s like rusting but idk how to explain cause it’s only in the wiring area

5 Comments
2024/12/03
16:41 UTC

5

Which Stance/Hand

Hello all,

VERY new to fencing here (second month) and when starting, despite being right handed in most things except fork use (lol), I opted to fence left-handed due to the stance feeling antithetical to a traditional right-handed stance in most other sports (I.e. boxing which is what I’m familiar with). I have noticed that my aim and control of the blade isn’t the best but not sure if that’s due to me being right eye dominant and right handed predominantly. Both stances are starting to feel natural however and now I can’t decide which stance I want to commit to. Would it be strange to switch up and try right-handed for a while. Any and all opinions are welcome; thanks in advance!

8 Comments
2024/12/03
15:51 UTC

1

FA-05 stop timer from stopping

Hello. At our club we recently got the Favero FA 05. We have figured out how to set it up correctly with the automatic rearmament, but that still requires us to re-start the timer after every hit in order for the automatic scoring to work.

We usually start playing immediately after each hit, and having to resume the timer repeatedly has proven annoying.

Do you peeps know if there is a way to stop the timer from stopping after each hit? Thanks for the help

Edit: if its relevant, we're playing eppe

1 Comment
2024/12/03
14:55 UTC

3

Help regarding FA-05 Operation

Hey guys, I hope this is an okay place to ask. I have a Favero Full-Arm-05 in for repair - it is receiving the new remote I synced (I can see the LED on the display lighting up). Using the buttons on the display it acts as expected. However, whenever I try to use the remote the display does nothing - there are no weapons(?) or data lines plugged in to the back just the power cable. Is this intentional? Will it only operate a game with the other leads plugged in? Otherwise I will have to open it up and have a look at the IR receiver circuit. Thank you!

3 Comments
2024/12/03
11:40 UTC

9

How can my school’s newly established fencing team have team practices when we don’t have a coach + different disciplines?

It’s my first year as fencing team captain and i need some help navigating this. My high school (in CA) has the space and funds for a fencing space. In the team, there are 2 epees (including myself), 1 foil, and 2 sabre fencers. We all want to practice on school campus however because our clubs are a solid hour away from school and we have our athletic department’s full support (in terms of equipment, tournament, space, etc.) The problem is that we don’t have a coach yet and we have 3 different fencing disciplines in one team. How can we practice all together though despite these circumstances? if i must, should i just coach the fencers since i’m an upperclassman with enough knowledge? (but i only know epee)….

16 Comments
2024/12/03
05:15 UTC

0

would vr games benifit fencing skills?

im planning to sign up for sabre very soon, and i was wondering if all my years of playing only gorilla tag comp and beatsaber would actually benifit my parrying skills and reaction speed, i never practice maps i just sight read them, and for gtag i usually freestyle on going from a route to another depending on the taggers position usually giving me no time to react but to purely guess the opponent's next move from last minute.

15 Comments
2024/12/03
01:16 UTC

2

Cleaning a fencing lame

My college club has a moldy lame and I heard you can clean it with vinegar, but the only vinegar I have is cleaning vinegar and not white vinegar. Is it still okay to use cleaning vinegar.

4 Comments
2024/12/02
23:56 UTC

1

How to attack?

I started fencing some times ago let say I at least understand the rules and my footwork is good, my lunge attack too according to the coach also I'm very good at defending and I got good reflex. But as for touching the opponent it's really difficult for me. At my club everyone is +1m70 and I personally am 1m60, maybe height matter too in this? The opponent always manage to push me to the edge of the piste even when I try to counter attack but I think I'm too slow since everytime I get counter attacked instead. I just CAN'T find a moment to attack and I feel like this sounds stupid so I don't dare to ask irl.

I really hope I can change that can someone help me? Thanks...

17 Comments
2024/12/02
22:53 UTC

1

Finding/preventing a tricky epee wiring error

The latest two epees I wired both have the same issue where if I do a hard flicking motion they will light up. Sometimes they might get stuck in the lit up state and continuously light up until I flick again, sometimes it's just the one light up.

I've been trying to remove the tip and removing the wires from the socket in the bell guard but the issue appears to remain. I'm assuming I have to rewire them.

I haven't had this issue before when wiring epees so I'm assuming I'm doing something wrong now. Anyone have any ideas what the issue could be?

18 Comments
2024/12/02
21:46 UTC

0

Grip offset vid

For some reason, some of my posts in the original thread are not showing (been having this issue for about a week now in various threads), while post in other threads are.

Since I was asked about the vid....here it is. It officially publishes Feb 24.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMO0XFJeJA

3 Comments
2024/12/02
18:58 UTC

0

New HEMA book for smallsword - dueling sword fencing lessons

10 Comments
2024/12/02
16:41 UTC

2

Help with lame too small on neck

I bought a lame and cannot return. It fits perfectly everywhere except on the neck. The neck is too small and almost chocks me. Any suggestions on extending the neck so it’s not so small? Would love your help cuz I don’t want to have to buy a new lame 🙏🏻. Thank you!

8 Comments
2024/12/02
15:37 UTC

16

Tips for improvement in middle age

I'm a 53 year old fencer, and I have been fencing for many years. However, despite trying to analyse my game and set targets, I am finding it harder and harder to make any tangible improvement in my game. I tend to get the same results in comps and find the same fencers just as unbeatable as ever!

I'm limited to training just once a week. I do footwork and lungepad exercises at home as well, but to be honest I don't find the homework all that helpful! Should I just accept my glory days are behind me? Any thoughts welcome!!

23 Comments
2024/12/02
13:44 UTC

1

Allstar Guard

Hello I was planning on building my own sabre and I was interested on using the Allstar Guard, however I also wanted to know if it is compatible with blades from other brands or if it is only compatible with its own.

2 Comments
2024/12/02
09:51 UTC

1

Weekly Discussion Thread - December 02, 2024

Welcome to a weekly discussion thread.

Feel free to ask questions or discuss anything about fencing, especially questions that might not warrant their own thread.

Have questions about starting? About shoes? About whether you're too old to start (you're not)? This is the place to ask!

1 Comment
2024/12/02
08:01 UTC

7

Xmas gifts for fencers?

Looking for some advice- My friend participates in fencing and I’d like to get her something adjacent to that for the holiday. I wouldn’t want to get her equipment as I’m sure that is highly personal preference- what would you consider a thoughtful gift? For example, I’m a theatre person, and one year, a coworker got me a playbill binder to keep all the programs in from shows I see. It wasn’t terribly specific to the type of theatre I see or do, but it was one of the most thoughtful gifts I received that year.

22 Comments
2024/12/02
02:37 UTC

0

Yeah...even Helen Keller could see THIS epic fail!

https://preview.redd.it/t13egmytec4e1.jpg?width=216&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36f44c0f175b23ddda9aec008dfeb7532083b078

All fixed now...plus the other 2 bent about as much!

And, naturally, I made a vid out of it.

10 Comments
2024/12/02
02:03 UTC

7

Extra extra large grip

I'm teaching my son to fence, but he has very large hands. My XL viscounti grips are too small for him. Does anyone know where larger grips can be bought or have a pattern for 3D printing a grip?

11 Comments
2024/12/02
01:11 UTC

3

Does anyone have any experiences with unic maraging saber blades

one of my maraging blades just broke and I am thinking about trying a different brand, so if anyone has any experiences with unic UF or FF maraging blades please write them in the comments

5 Comments
2024/12/01
16:15 UTC

20

It's Baaack...

That excellent book, "Make the Cut: Saber Fencing for Adults" by Sydney Saber's John Chow, is available again. For those of you who missed the first printing and are still looking for it.

https://sydneysabre.com/product/make-the-cut-pre-order-edition/

31 Comments
2024/12/01
23:41 UTC

20

Parry 4 or 6?

I've kind of been thinking about this. Why do we choose one or the other?

One answer might be that parry 4 is good for a fast, last minute kind of action because if your opponent is any good they are going to disengage round a slow obvious parry 4.

Perhaps circle 6 might be recommended for that reason: it's more likely to pick up your opponent's blade.

But an experienced fencer could do a "feint parry 4" followed by circle 4 and catch the blade that way.

Circle 6 or perhaps "9" (kind of 6 but with a flatter blade and rising at the same time) seems to be commonly employed for flicks to back, but clearly you can also flick off a parry 4, à la Avola and Foconi.

So how do you guys make your decision as to what parry to use in a bout and if your answer is "it depends on the context", then what contextual clues prompt one or the other?

33 Comments
2024/12/01
22:16 UTC

3

Any recommendations on books/other material on beginner's courses?

I'm a volunteer at our fencing club and have been leading the beginner's course (in foil) for a while now and I've pretty much been winging it. It just now occurred to me that there could very well be quite a bit written on the subject!

Do you know of any material on it? My aim has been pretty much to teach the minimum technique one needs to get on the piste and start fencing. So pretty much footwork, attacking, parries, ripostes and how priority works.

5 Comments
2024/12/01
20:49 UTC

1

PBT free shipping

Hello, those who have ordered directly from PBT to the US, I have heard that they give free shipping offers time to time. I wanted to ask what dates the free shipping offer typically comes around?

Update: the free shipping offer is here for anyone who would like to take advantage: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDGAFyyil1S/?igsh=cDJ6d3JkcHNlOTli

3 Comments
2024/12/01
16:33 UTC

4

How do I fix the elastic strap on my fencing jacket?

4 Comments
2024/12/01
14:59 UTC

5

First epee tournament next week, opinions

Four months after starting Epee, finally the next milestone is coming and I am participating in my first fencing tournament!

It's the first edition and is completely open to anyone so I have no clue the tournament level, though most likely not extremely high since the same day there are some national qualifications (i think?)

After trying to analyze my game, I tried to come up with a simple game plan that takes in account my weaknesses (let's admit it after all, I'm still a beginner!). Simply said, as for my weak points:

  1. I cannot attack in fleche.
  2. I cannot parry riposte, only parry (e.g. opponent attacks in fleche, I can retreat and fourth parry to bind(?) the opponent blade by going corps-a-corps until the referee says halt).
  3. Attacking to the front targets (arm, thigh and foot) is still very difficult, I touch them rather by accident during an attack (opponent parry second my attack in fourth, ending up with my point landing on the thigh)

For the points where I feel more confident:

  1. My en-garde position in sixth with extended arm has saved my many many points against experience fencers (they empale themselves!)
  2. I feel confident in my footwork (doing fencing two/three times a week + going to gym for leg day helped), having my legs constantly bent for a bout and ducking to avoid is no longer a big problem
  3. I feel confident in simple attack moves (lunge, advance-lunge) to the body

Based on these, I came up with a game plan that relies completely on distance with close to no bladework involved (since in this field, most likely my opponent will be more experienced and I will lose at it!), but then I wanted to ask opinions about it.

  1. By only playing with the distance, is it a realistic approach to think that the opponent will not be able to fleche (from what I understand, fleche distance is closer than a lunge)?
  2. Being only a beginner, I will fatigue during the bout. Is it realistic to think that I can rest during a bout? (e.g. retreating a bit, and resting for 5 sec with the epee point pointing downwards...)
12 Comments
2024/12/01
07:34 UTC

10

Epee Hex Nut Issue

I had a weapon brought to me, a new one from Absolute. It is set up with a Belgian grip. The bell was a bit loose. When i went to tighten it i was unable to get a hex wrench into the nut, it was too shallow. It almost looks like the tang was too long and the nut was forced on from the factory. I have attached a photo, admittedly not the greatest, but hopefully it is usable. Any advice is appreciated.

26 Comments
2024/11/30
22:57 UTC

35

Where can I find these shoes (US)?

Even a name for these shoes would be helpful.

11 Comments
2024/11/30
19:02 UTC

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