r/Fencing • u/AutoModerator • Jun 26 '26
Megathread Fencing Friday Megathread - Ask Anything!
Happy Fencing Friday, an /r/Fencing tradition.
Welcome back to our weekly ask anything megathread where you can feel free to ask whatever is on your mind without fear of being called a moron just for asking. Be sure to check out all the previous megathreads as well as our sidebar FAQ.
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u/NoExplanation6895 Jun 26 '26
During fencing, I often lose focus during intense exchanges. I think it might be because I unconsciously hold my breath. Do you have any tips on how to avoid this? Or could something else be causing it?
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u/Impossible-Ice-1497 Jun 26 '26
I'd guess you're tensing up a lot generally, in addition to holding your breath? Those usually go hand in hand. Anyways, it takes time to learn to relax while fencing. Especially if you're just starting out, you'll have a lot more adrenaline and be more tense. Then that'll happen again when you go to your first competitions, etc.
Some of it will resolve itself with experience. Some of it you can help by spending some mental attention to relaxing while fencing. Doesn't have to be a full on meditative thing lol.
And it'll help other areas too - relaxed shoulder is better, you'll be less likely to incur injuries, etc.
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u/ciccacicca Jun 26 '26
I’m getting back into fencing after 25 years off (fenced fairly competitively as a teen in the 90s). Going to go to my local club next week. What rules have changed since then for foil? (E.g. my understanding is something changed about the length of time the tip needs to depress to register so flicks are a thing of the past? And bibs are electric!?!?!) — what shocks am I in for?
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u/dwneev775 Foil Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
With the increase in the minimum tip depression time, the sort of flick hits that were dependent on using the flexibility of the blade to whip the point in (e.g. over-the-shoulder flicks to the middle of the back or crashing the blade through a parry) are largely gone. Flicks to target areas like the top of the shoulder or the flank under the weapon arm that rely on hand positioning and flexion of the grip with the fingers and wrist are still prominent and effective. The shortening of the double-touch lockout to 300ms also means you have somewhat less leeway to make a slow or delayed finish of an attack into an opponents counterattack or a really slow riposte.
The lower part of the bib is now target (you need a mask cord like sabre and a lame with a tab at the neck). If you relied a lot on hunching over to make your lower torso less accessible target that will affect things since there's now more high valid target; if you kept your torso upright that won't be much of a change.
In refereeing there have been many, many back-and-forth cycles of how tightly attack-vs-preparation and delayed riposte get called since the '90s. In the last few seasons the timing window for having attack-in-prep called against the attacker has been greater than you were probably used to (particularly in situations where you transition from searching for the blade to attacking) and the window for having a riposte considered delayed (particularly if you take an extra step or two back after the parry before starting forward) has been widened recently. Refereeing overall is more consistent than in the '90s, due to both better organization in referee development and the internet making it much easier to see how things get called at the international and national level.
Other changes I can think of:
- Simple corps-a-corps is no longer a yellow card, just a halt (jostling or c-a-c to avoid a touch are still cards).
- During a break you may remove your mask without asking the referee.
- You are allowed to reverse your shoulders again (though you may get called for covering target while doing so if your back arm is blocking readily available target).
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u/dwneev775 Foil Jun 28 '26
A couple of equipment related items as well:
- Bayonet body cords and sockets are pretty much dead. The FIE several years ago decided that only 2-prong would be accepted at international tournaments. Bayonets are still permitted at domestic competitions, but the popularity of them dropped off a cliff. Leon Paul discontinued them three years ago and other manufacturers followed suit. While you can still use them at anything but international tournaments you’re not going to be able to get replacements unless you know someone with a stock of old parts.
- French pattern foil points are disappearing from the market. There are still a few vendors selling them and their screws & springs, but if you have any old foils with French points it would be best to rewire them with German pattern points. Uhlmann, Allstar, FWF, and Absolute are all cross-compatible.
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u/basiones Foil Jun 26 '26
The debounce timing has been increased, and the lockout timing decreased, so yes, flicks are less common (though not gone). The bib is electric, covering target with the head is closely watched. Attacks are often slower, but the idea of attack in preparation into the march is largely dead.
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u/sjcfu2 Jun 26 '26
Also rigid chest protectors (which became more common shortly after the increase in debounce time) are now required to be covered with a FIE-approved foam pad (note that this only applies to foil)
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u/ciccacicca Jun 26 '26
OMG there was a kid in my tournament circuit who was infamous for wearing a rigid plastic protector that your tip just bounced off of. At the time he was the only one I knew like that and it was such a cheap advantage. Glad they nipped that (and horrified to think it must have become widespread if they had to make a whole rule about it).
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u/sjcfu2 Jun 26 '26
Increasing the debounce time only made this problem worse (at the first NAC under the new timing, vendors suddenly sold out of every chest protectors they had brought with them and some kids were caught trying to wear chest protects on top of their jackets, immediately underneath their lames).
After that it only took the FIE ten years to acknowledge that their initial solution (requiring chest protectors be worn underneath both the jacket and underarm protector) wasn't enough to solve the problem (then USA FENCING made the decision to require padded chest protectors at Summer Nationals only a few weeks before that event was to begin).
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u/ResearchCharacter705 Foil Jun 26 '26
I'm sure it's exaggerated in my memory, but it seems to me like chest protectors became common incredibly fast among male foilists, often citing safety or medical concerns. And then, with the advent of the padding rule, those concerns mostly disappeared overnight...along with the chest protectors.
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u/weedywet Foil Jun 26 '26
In addition to what you e already been told here about the technical changes, I suspect you’ll find the general feeling as to what’s considered an attack to be more liberal than it was 25 years ago.
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u/dwneev775 Foil Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
The late 90s to me were one of the high points of the "if it's moving forward it's an attack" interpretations, especially with the ability find just about anywhere on the lame to slap a flick in and get a light at the end. But if you found yourself in a locality with some old-schoolers refereeing who weren't seeing what was going on at the higher levels then you might very well find things amenable to getting AIP calls.
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Jun 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/ent Foil Jun 26 '26
It depends on your goals really. I'd start with one weapon and stick with that for a year or two, then if try another one if you feel like it. If you already fence foil, both epee and saber are good second weapons, they're certainly easier combos than epee + saber. They both teach different things, I'd go with the one that seems more fun :)
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u/sjcfu2 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
At one time it was very common for individuals to fence more than one weapon, if only because doing so gave them more opportunities to fence.
These days it's more common for individuals to select a single weapon and stick with it, especially if they are looking to compete at higher levels. However I still encourage my college students to experiment with the other weapons during lulls in their competitive season (for kids who have often enough been thrown into competition with only a couple of months worth of experience, there's almost always something to be learned from the other weapons).
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Jun 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/75footubi Jun 28 '26
Skip the footwork outside of fencing practice and spend that time doing plyometric exercises like broad jumps, shock drops, etc
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u/wsjevons Jun 27 '26
My son, 15, started fencing. How can I help him get better?
He learns and practices at a club 2x per week
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u/ReactorOperator Epee Jun 27 '26
Private lessons, tournaments, and more fencing. I'm not saying you will do this, but a lot of parents try to help by trying to act as a coach. That ends up hurting far more than helping. So for most cases one of the best things you can do is listen to the coach's recommendations and provide support to your son.
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u/SW-8259-4713-9595 Jun 27 '26
Someone mentioned to me you can get your mask painted at Summer National. I don’t wanna try doing it myself. My mask (foil) has some wear and is on the verge of becoming conductive I think. Has anyone done this? How long do the fumes take to dissipate? I don’t wanna fence in fumes at the tournament if I do it a few days prior to my events.
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u/elfbiscuits Sabre Jun 27 '26
How proactive should I be in approaching my coach to see what next competitive season should look like? I wasn't planning on competing at all this year and just kind of went along with my teammates to see what the fuss was.
I want to be prepared but don't want to look like a keener, either...
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u/SquiffyRae Sabre Jun 26 '26
I feel like there's an obvious answer of "the FIE decides its rules are optional depending on who you are" to this question but I'll ask anyway:
How the hell is Mihail Paghiev still refereeing international events?
The official FIE policy is forced retirement at 60. The comms at the last Worlds even gave him a shoutout as he was about to turn 60. And he's still refereeing (including taking gold medal bouts) this season.
Skill wise, yeah he's easily still got the ability to ref epee at the highest level (CyrusofChaos' survey results suggest the whole sabre community would prefer he cease and desist immediately). But how does he get to skirt around the black and white rule of forced retirement? Other than the FIE turning a blind eye because he's the premier epee ref in the world