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)….

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.

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.

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...

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?

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

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!

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!!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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?

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

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/

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?

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.

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

I own a PBT fencing superlight jacket and the elastic strap seems detaching, does anyone know how to repair?

https://preview.redd.it/8iuues3f494e1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7abd22e583d33bbe4d771760690dbbe19c600156

https://preview.redd.it/aw4hyr3f494e1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=067e50eaa30a595532789c7db19df90795460cd8

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...)

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.

Even a name for these shoes would be helpful.

Today was the FIE election and here are the results of each vote:

President:

• Usmanov 120

• Drakenberg 26

Executive Committee (The system was down so they had to do this on paper (very on brand for them) so I don't have vote totals for this one)

• IN: ABU HASSAN Rusni (MAS) F
• OUT: AIYENURO Patricia (GBR) F
• OUT: ALSABBAN Ahmed (KSA) M
• IN: ANTHONY JR Donald (USA) M
• IN: ATALI Murat (TUR) M
• OUT: AZE Erika (LAT) F
• IN: AZZI Paolo (ITA) M
• OUT: CHO Jong Hyung (KOR) M
• IN: ELHUSSEINY Abdelmoneim (EGY) M
• IN: HRISTEVA Velichka (BUL) F
• IN: KATSIADAKIS Emmanouil (GRE) M
• IN: MATEEV Nikolay Ivanov (ISL) M
• OUT: OMNES Philippe (FRA) M
• IN: OTA Yuki (JPN) M
• IN: PERILLIER SCHNEIDER Arno (BRA) M
• IN: PEROVIC Novak (RSA) M
• OUT: PESKOV Oleg (KAZ) M
• OUT: POURSALMANI Alireza (IRI) M
• IN: SAIDOVA Gulnora (UZB) F
• IN: SALHI Ferial Nadira (ALG) F
• IN: TAMAS DR. Henriette B. (HUN) F
• OUT: TULIPANO ILLUECA Maria (PAN) F
• OUT: VALERO-COLLANTES A. (SWE) F
• IN: WANG Haibin (CHN) M

I have vote totals for all others, with top 10 winning the spot in each category. They will be sorted by vote total with italicized names winning the vote

Referee Commission:

• 110: KIM Changgon (KOR) M
• 104: FERJANI Salah (TUN) M
• 99: COJOCARI Olga (MDA) F
• 99: VARGA Katalin (HUN) F
• 96: FLOREA Marius (ROU) M
• 95: KNYSCH Irina (RSA) F
• 90: BADAWI Amgad Elsayed (PUR) M
• 90: SHAMIS Viadislav (RUS) M
• 88: KOVRLIJA BOGDANOVIC Ana (SRB) F
• 86: TOURE Papa Khassoum (SEN) M
• 55: MADR Vilem (CZE) M
• 48: MARTILOTTI Luigi (ITA) M
• 44: GUCLUER lIgin (TUR) F
• 38: AL-RAWI Alaa A Falah (IRQ) M
• 35: DAKOVA lanka (USA) F
• 32: HIROSE Tomoko (JPN) F
• 22: DOUVIS Andreas (GRE) M
• 13: TILENSHIYEV Yerall (KAZ) M
• 12: PEYKARARA Reza (IRI) M

Legal Commission:

• 114: BERNARD Yann (CAN) M
• 113: JACOBS Peter (GBR) M
• 110: CZEGLEDY DR. Edina (HUN) F
• 108: RANDAZZO Maurizio (ITA) M
• 98: AKHMEDSHIN Rinat (UZB) M
• 98: KONDRATEVA Ekaterina (RUS) F
• 97: IONESCU Anca loana I. (ROU) F
• 91: SANTOS Geril (BRA) M
• 90: ABOULEILA Mohamed (EGY) M
• 90: MARCIL Loreen Marie (USA) F
• 39: TOFALIDES Margarot (CYP) F
• 35: TRCIN Antonio (CRO) M
• 34: RAPP Gordon (GER) M
• 34: RIOJA PEREZ Marco A.o (ESP) M
• 33: LELION Adeline (FRA) F
• 30: ILYASHEV Mikhall (UKR) M
• 7: ATALI Murat (TUR) M

Medical Commission:

• 127: FIORE Antonio (ITA) M
• 121: HUZEL Lisa (CAN) F
• 112: HALAIMIA Sabrina Imene (ALG) F
• 108: FERJANI Jameleddine (TUN) M
• 104: KAMUTHY DR. Jeno (HUN) M
• 104: MAKSIMOVA Anastasiia (RUS) F
• 101: SHAFAAT Davood Reza (IRI) M
• 99: ELSHERBINY Hosam (EGY) M
• 94: MICETA Lazar (SRB) M
• 92: CARPIO QUINTANA Victor H. (PER) M
• 52: HORNUS Dominique (FRA) F
• 41: SUMMERS Jeremy (USA) M
• 26: RODRIGUEZ REY Ezequiel R. (PAN) M

PCM Commission:

• 102: BORACK Carl (USA) M
• 101: GUYART Brice (FRA) M
• 98: BADR Doaa (EGY) F
• 97: ALSUNAID Abdullah (KSA) M
• 97: WO Qiuyan (CHN) F
• 96: BENADOUDA Omar (ALG) M
• 94: CHAOUACHI Mohamed S. (TUN) M
• 91: PROSITS Attila (HUN) M
• 88: CHAN Kin Pong Clerebold (HKG) M
• 82: GARCIA GARCIA Angel M. (PER) M
• 56: TOFALIDES Alexander (CYP) M
• 47: ABAJO GOMEZ Jose Luis (ESP) M
• 36: MICHELI Mario (ITA) M
• 31: LAZER Daniel (SWE) M
• 19: JAFARI BAHMAN ABAD Hossein(IRI) M

Rules Commission:

• 109: CAFIERO Gluseppe (ITA) M
• 109: KOEHLER Kelly (USA) F
• 104: LAMMER Hans Dieter (GER) M
• 103: BARLADEANU Roxana M. (ROU) F
• 99: FERIANI Zied (TUN)M
• 93: MAGHAYREH Eyyad (JOR) M
• 90: FARYABI Abbas All (IRI) M
• 90: SINYAVSKAYA Maria (RUS) E
• 85: PAGHIEV Mihall (MDA).M
• 75: RAMIREZ CONCEPCION Juan (PUR)
• 37: GINOUVIER Marjorio (FRA) E
• 33: VALERO-COLLANTES Ana (SWE) E
• 30: CIVIERO-AIVANO Ambre (SUI) F
• 25: ARSLAN Abdussamet (TUR) M
• 21: JUNG Jin Man (KOR) M
• 18: KOVRIJNYKH Andrel (RSA)M
• 17: NABIL Ahmed (EGY) M
• 10: CRUZ GARCIA Alberto (CRC) M
• 1: ABU HASSAN Rusnl (MAS) E
• 0: PERILLIER SCHNEIDER Arno (BRA) M

SEMI Commission:

• 115: VARALLO Gian Domenico (ITA) M
• 106: BIERKOWSKI Jacek (POL)
• 106: ZIMMERMANN Felicia (USA) F
• 94: HOU Zhigang (CHN) M
• 94: SALEEM Zeyad (IRQ) M
• 93: BRANDULE Baiba (LAT) F
• 91: ASSADOURIAN Sarkis (ARM) M
• 91: EBERL Maria (CHI) F
• 90: HASHEM Samer (EGY) M
• 88: LARBI Emir Redouane (ALG) M
• 45: HUGGINS Janet (GBR) F
• 38: WAUTERS Plet (BEL) M
• 29: GROSS Gregory (ISR) M
• 28: GESTSSON Gudjon Ingl (ISL) M
• 24: BJORK Pia (SWE) F

Ethics Commission:

• 106 SZABO Reka Zsofia (GER) F
• 103: LE PRISE Thierry (FRA) M
• 101: BARTON Peter (USA) M
• 99: ZOGHLAMI Dalia (TUN) F
• 96: NAHAS Imad (LBN) M
• 95: SOPRONI-SZABO DR Benedek (HUN) M
• 93: ALMAIDANY Ahmed (EGY) M
• 90: GROLLIOS Christos (GRE) M
• 87: VERGARA Seraio (CHI) M
• 86: POPOV Vladimir (KAZ) M
• 48: CARRARD Olivier (SUI) M

My little couz is into fencing, he is actually really good too! Been winning in all competitions anw (just proud of him) I want to get him a custom t-shirt maybe?! He is 15, any ideas? Should be something he would think is cool/funny to wear or but other advice is welcome too. I appreciate the help 🙏🏼

So, first time trying an anatomical grip and after previous post here decided to order my working foil with a A1 grip (Belgian) and I side ordered an N1 (Italian?) grip (without realising how hard it is to switch themcon a foil 🤦). But I feel there's too much distance between my index and the hand guard and my pinky and finger next to it feel like they are not doing anything. Does this make sense?

Hey, all I was recently at a regional, and the equipment check said that this part of my mask would eventually become a dead spot does anyone know how to fix this? The guy said to use electric thread but I'm not sure what he meant.

This was always going to happen.

The international fencing community has become so unimaginative and stale that we cannot conceive of a world without him. It has become accepted as fact that the FIE only has two possible revenue streams of any significance:

1. The IOC
2. Usmanov

This model is clearly not sustainable or robust.

Fencing's place in the Olympics is not guaranteed for the long term. The IOC itself could be on shaky grounds having lost three of its biggest sponsors after Paris (Toyota, Panasonic and Bridgestone). Additionally we will soon lose the protection of ex-fencer Thomas Bach, whose term as IOC president ends in 2025. As we see popular new sports added to the Olympic program like baseball and cricket, will fencing be able to attract enough viewership to justify its status?

Usmanov will obviously not be around forever, but even in the short term how can we expect to benefit from his money when he faces sanctions from 37 countries of the FIE, including Switzerland where the organisation is based?

Need I remind you that these sanctions were what compelled Usmanov to "suspend" his presidency in 2022. What has changed since then?

Maybe Usmanov brings business expertise. Surely one cannot become so wealthy without knowing how to creatively generate revenues! So why was he unable to do so in his previous terms?

At the last congress "interim-president" Emmanuel Katsiadakis claimed that:

"We are very close to signing a contract with Nike, one of the best and biggest sports companies. Nike is a company that sponsors the International Olympic Committee. Therefore, it is very important for us to have this company working with us."

I can't imagine that a company like Nike, which in the past has attempted to market itself as socially conscious, will be eager to associate itself with the man often said to be "Putin's favourite Oligarch".

As it stands it appears that the FIE doesn't have a single commercial partner. In the 2024 and 2025 FIE budgets the space next to "Sponsoring" is left blank.

This shouldn't be at all surprising when one considers the stagnating viewership of the sport, demonstrated by the fact that the FIE's five most viewed videos on YouTube all date from over 13 years ago!

A prime example of the FIE's failure under Usmanov is the quality of commentary at FIE events, something that fencing fans have moaned about for years. The decision to hire David King as a fencing commentator, a man who displays very little expertise in either fencing or commentary, shows how little the FIE cares about growing its audience.

The Slicer Sabre YouTube channel has garnered more views than that of the FIE in 11 of the last 12 months. I run this channel part time and have absolutely zero media training whilst the FIE has a "Digital content/video/website" budget of over $200,000. Are we really to believe that the FIE is doing its best here?

Undeniably Usmanov's money has had some positive impact on the sport. He should also be applauded for finally assuring fencing's full representation at the Olympics.

But as any football fan knows, simply splurging money is rarely enough to guarantee success- just look at one of Usmanov's other sporting ventures, Everton Football Club, which has languished at the bottom half of the Premier League for the past several seasons. Is the FIE the Everton of sporting federations? A club with a rich history now more often flirting with relegation than with success, to me the comparison seems appropriate.

But history has shown that Usmanov will be more than happy for the FIE to depend on him almost entirely.

So be prepared for more of the same.

The same leadership, the same low resolution livestreams, the same refereeing standards and the same empty seats at world cups. The officials representing our FIE member federations clearly have no qualms about this, so why should you?