How to Stop Your Fencing Kit From Smelling
Three layers, no ventilation, and a bag it lives in all week. Here is the actual fix, in order of how much it matters.
Why Your Blade Feels Heavier in the Third Bout of the Night
The weapon does not change weight, but your ability to hold it well does — and the mechanism is grip endurance, not arm strength. Here is what is actually …
Why the Blade Feels Heavier in Your First Sessions Back
It is the same weapon, and it feels different. Here is what actually changed in your hand and forearm over a break, and how long it takes to come back.
Fencing Footwork at Home When You Have Two Metres and a Rug
You cannot lunge down a hallway. You can still do the work that actually transfers to the strip.
Fencing and Body Asymmetry: What to Train Off the Piste
Fencing is one of the most one-sided sports there is, and the asymmetry it builds shows up in your back and hips long before it shows up in your results.
Why Your Fencing Grip Tightens as the Bout Goes On
The blade gets heavier, the point wanders, and your hand is doing something you did not ask it to do. Here is the mechanism and the fix.
What to Wear Under Fencing Gear When the Salle Hits 90 Degrees
The jacket, plastron, and mask do not negotiate with August. What goes underneath them decides whether you survive the summer session or melt in it.
Why Your Parry Works Perfectly in Drills and Vanishes in a Bout
The blade action is not the problem. The timing information you get in a drill is completely absent in a bout, and that is a different skill.
The Fencing Club Etiquette Nobody Explains on Your First Night
Salutes, right of way arguments, borrowing kit, asking for a bout and knowing when to stop. The unwritten rules of a fencing club, explained before you get…
Why Your Distance Judgement Falls Apart Against an Unfamiliar Opponent
You have good distance in club bouts. Then you face someone new and every attack falls short or arrives late. Your distance was never the thing you were me…
Why Your Parries Get Slower Late in a Bout
The hand does not get tired in five touches. What actually degrades is decision speed, and it degrades in a specific and fixable way.
Coming Back to the Piste After a Summer Off: The First Three Sessions
Your distance is gone, your hand is slow, and your legs will tell you about it for two days - here is how to make the return quick instead of miserable.
How to Come Back to Fencing After a Summer Off
Your legs are fine and your distance is gone. Six weeks away hits specific parts of the game much harder than others, and knowing which changes how you use…
Your Off-Hand Is Doing More Fencing Than You Think
It never touches the blade, and it decides half your balance, your lunge recovery, and your tell to the opponent.
How Do Fencers Actually Deal With Nerves Right Before a Bout?
practical mental strategies competitive fencers use to manage pre-bout anxiety, from beginners to tournament level
Why Fencing Bouts Are Won More by Mental Game Than Pure Technique
Two fencers with similar technical skill often have very different bout records. The difference usually comes down to a mental factor most beginners overlook.
Do You Actually Need Fencing-Specific Shoes, or Will Regular Athletic Shoes Work?
Fencing shoes are a real category with real design differences — the question is whether beginners actually need them right away.
Why Fencing Footwork That Looks Clean in Drills Falls Apart in an Actual Bout
You can execute a perfect advance-lunge in an empty gym and then completely lose your footing the moment a real opponent is bearing down on you. Here's why…
The Fencing Lunge Mistake That's Quietly Wrecking Beginners' Knees
Most new fencers lunge with their front knee tracking the wrong way. Here's how to fix it before it becomes a nagging injury.
How Fencers Actually Read an Opponent (It's Not Mind Reading)
Good fencers seem to predict every move. Here's what they're actually watching for, and how a beginner can start reading opponents in weeks, not years.
The Mental Side of Fencing: Reading an Opponent Before You Ever Cross Blades
Fencing technique gets most of the beginner attention, but reading an opponent's tendencies and tempo is often what actually decides close bouts at any level.
Why Elite Fencers Train Their Eyes Separately From Their Footwork
Reaction time in fencing is often treated as pure reflex, but a growing part of competitive training now targets visual tracking specifically — separate fr…
Why Fencers Perform Worse in Their Fourth Bout of the Day Than Their First
Physical conditioning holds up fine, but decision-making noticeably slips a few bouts into a tournament. Here's the real reason and how competitive fencers…
What Actually Happens in Your First Fencing Lesson (No One Tells You This)
Nervous about your first fencing class? Here's exactly what the first lesson involves, what gear you'll use, and the 3 mistakes every beginner makes.
Why Fencers Get Wrist and Forearm Pain — and the Grip Fix That Actually Helps
Sore wrist or forearm after every fencing session? Here's why it happens and the 3 grip and recovery changes that make the biggest difference.
Left-Handed Fencers: Does It Actually Give You an Advantage?
Fencing coaches have long claimed left-handed fencers have a real edge — here's what the numbers and the mechanics actually say, and what it means if you'r…
Why Fencing Builds a Specific Kind of Mental Toughness Other Sports Don't Quite Match
Fencing's reputation as 'physical chess' isn't just a catchy comparison — the specific mental skills it demands under real time pressure are genuinely diff…
Does the Mental Game in Fencing Actually Matter More Than Technical Skill at the Higher Levels?
Fencing coaches often say bouts are won mentally, not physically — that claim holds up better than it might sound once you understand why.
Épée, Foil, or Sabre? The Real Difference for a Beginner Choosing Their First Weapon
A practical breakdown of how épée, foil, and sabre actually feel to fence, so beginners can pick based on style instead of guessing.
The Mental Game Fencing Beginners Underestimate Until Their First Bout
Why fencing is a psychological sport as much as a physical one, and the specific mental skills that separate beginners who improve fast from those who plat…
Why Fencing Reaction Time Feels Impossible to Improve at First (And What Actually Trains It)
Why fencing's split-second decision demands feel like a fixed trait early on, the specific way reaction time in fencing is actually trainable, and the dril…
The Fencing Gear Fit Mistakes That Compromise Safety More Than People Realize
Why ill-fitting fencing gear undermines its actual protective function, the specific fit issues that matter most for safety rather than comfort alone, and …
Fencing Distance and Timing (The Two Things That Decide Every Touch)
Why distance beats speed, how timing works, and the drilling notes.
Fencing Basic Moves and Techniques for Beginners
Why the fundamentals matter, the basic moves to learn first, and the practice-and-progress notes.
Fencing Gear for Beginners: What You Actually Need to Start (and What to Rent)
The gear-can-intimidate reality, the what-you-need breakdown and the buy-vs-rent notes.
Fencing Is a Full-Body Brain Workout: The Surprising Fitness Case
The fencing-as-fitness reality, the physical-and-mental benefits breakdown and the why-try-it notes.
Your First Fencing Competition: The Novice Tournament Survival Guide
The tournament-day logistics, the pool-and-DE format decoded and the nerves-management that keeps your fencing yours.
Fencing Footwork Conditioning: Building the Legs the Blade Rides On
The lunge-and-recovery mechanics, the home footwork drills and the leg conditioning that outlasts three-bout nights.
Fencing as an Adult Beginner: Chess at Lightning Speed
Starting fencing after 25: the three weapons decoded, what an intro class actually looks like and why your legs — not your sword arm — do the real work.
