FENCING

This is my page devoted to the noble art of Escrime.

I took up fencing while at Edinburgh University and have kept doing it mainly because I enjoy the exercise it provides for both mind and body. I am now more involved with coaching fencing than I am with competing although given the chance I will fight when ever I can.

The club I coach at is:

The Robert Gordon University

Fencing Club

Meets Kepplestone Hall

Queens Road, Aberdeen

Mondays 7-10pm

Thursdays 9-10pm

Contact me

Lesson Plan

Week One

The first week of the new term is always a short day as the “fresher” fencers are a little slow in getting started. As most of the attendees are complete beginners we need to start with the basics:

THE STANCE: One of the most important elements in fencing is the fencer being balanced and at ease in the bout. This starts from the feet and works its way up.

With the feet you have to make the first decision: Given that the feet should be positioned at right angles and about a foot’s length apart the easiest way to introduce this is by getting the fencer to stand with their feet at right angles and their heels together. Then get them to either move their front foot forward or the back foot back. The former is the method I use to use but it has the disadvantage of moving the body weight on to the back leg. I now tend towards getting the pupils to shift their back leg. This produces a forward leaning posture which has it’s own problems.

The forward lean will lead to a more aggressive posture and fighting style. This can be corrected at a later stage particularly with one-on-one coaching. With beginners the concentration must be on getting them moving and fighting. With ladies in particular they have to be encouraged to attack.

The next problem is the legs and Knees. I always over emphasise the angle to which the legs are to be flexed as this is something that the beginner is not used to and so will tend towards reducing the bend. The simple formula I use is TAU (Toes Are Ugly). If you can see you’re toes then you need to bend you’re knees.

Upper body and Arms. Over the years I am tending more and more towards the classical position of fencing for beginners. The back arm is held away from the body with the upper arm parallel to the floor. The Forearm should be almost vertical and the wrist relaxed. This opens up the chest and pulls the back straight. The practice of letting the back arm hang loosely is something I tried one year and all the fencers let their arms slowly move across and cover target.

The forward arm is held with it’s forearm parallel to the floor and the arm a clenched fist’s distance from the hip. One of the most important aspects here is to keep them relaxed. The tendency for all beginners is to let their shoulder tense-up and this will really slow down their ability to move and react.