Why Trying Out Different Coaches Can Only Help Your Fencing

Not every coach was a world champion. Not every coach was even a high-level fencer. 

But EVERY coach has experience in this sport that you don’t have! And every individual has experience to share which could mean the difference in securing touches, understanding an opponent’s tactics, or even winning entire bouts. Learning from multiple coaches’ experiences is CRITICAL to high-level fencing.

With the multitude of fencing hotspots in the world, there is no single dominating style. From the specialized technical Hungarian form to the brutally physical Korean approach, each variation has its strengths and weaknesses to offer. The advantage of being in the USA and at Tim Morehouse Fencing Club is the wide spectrum of styles exposed to you. This means you can pick and choose certain aspects which suit YOUR genre of fencing. 

Additionally, if you can identify your opponents’ school, you have a HUGE advantage fencing them! 

Strip Coaching

Your coach won’t be with you at every tournament. Working with multiple coaches increases the odds that one will be at your event and has a good handle on what you are and are not capable of as a fencer. 

In terms of style, some fencers THRIVE off a high-energy strip coaching presence with continuous cheering and yelling. Others require a calming coach to keep them level-headed. Your personality type and your coach’s might mesh well in lessons but conflict during tournaments when pressure and anxiety are at peak levels.  You need to find the best approach on both the lesson strip and the real strip.

Ideas

Coaches can have personal preferences on how to execute technical actions. There is no “perfect” way to parry, attack, counterattack, etc. Even if a coach gives you a technical correction you might not agree with, just having this change in your arsenal is invaluable. For example, one coach might teach a shallow and efficient method of parry which will just barely keep the opponent’s blade off target to minimize excess movement. While this might work for some adversaries, you will need to adjust your defense a little against that 6’6” fencer. Be versatile!

Expression of ideas is also a benefit from multiple coaches. Each student learns differently, and one coach might be able to explain a fencing method better than another. My first coach always told me to use my fingers more when attacking, but I didn’t understand what that meant physically (and proceeded to keep using my entire arm to attack.. because fingers are part of the arm, right?). It wasn’t until I had a much more eloquent coach demonstrate in-depth that I finally understood it years later.

While you eventually will need a main coach, learn what you can now from everyone! Be hungry for knowledge. Expand your fencing experience and repertoire by trying out different coaches. Find the ideal one who fits YOUR style the best to accelerate your fencing level! 

Video Replay: What You Need to Know!

Fencers might not be familiar with video replay on the local or regional level, but we are fortunate enough in the USFA to have this system in place at every NAC. 

Having a second referee (and usually, a crowd) on your strip can be intimidating and overwhelming. Here are the basics you’ll need to know about video replay and the rules that go with it so you can be prepared going in!

When You Will See Video Replay:

In points events (Div 1, Junior, Cadet), video replay ALWAYS starts in the top 16. In the younger age categories (Y14, Y12, Y10), they will at least be in the top 8 bouts. 

Ranking events (Div 2, Div 3, Div 1A) typically do not see video until top 4, though recently this has expanded in some events to top 8 (for Div 1A) given strip availability.  

Video replay is used in 15 touch DE bouts (or 10 for Veterans/Y10 fencers) and never in 5 touch bouts with exceptions for college championships (NCAAs, Ivy League, ACCs). It is also used in 45 touch team finals. 

The Rules:

You are given 2 WRONG video challenges in the bout. If you challenge a call and it gets changed, you KEEP your challenge. This means you could theoretically have 100 video challenges if the bout is incredibly difficult or the referee struggles. Team matches allow one wrong challenge per each of the 9 matchups.

The referee is allowed to look at the video replay on his/her own with no penalty to either fencer. They may do this as much as they want as it is in everyone’s interest to make the correct call, but obviously the athletes’ and coaches’ confidence in the referee’s ability wanes with the number of times it is checked. 

At the deciding point (14-14, 9-9, 44-44, or in tied priority overtime) the referee MUST look at the video before making the call. This applies to both two light AND one light calls in case there was a penalty like covering / crossing feet in saber, or one fencer was off the strip. 

After the Bout:

The fencers and coaches may not look at the video replay DURING the bout, but after the match is over (provided there is not another one starting), you may go back and peruse the touches at your leisure. I HIGHLY recommend this, whether you win or lose, because it is immensely developmental and helpful. 

The replay ONLY records the few seconds before a light goes off, so the endless bouncing around in between epee and foil touches is condensed to just when the action happens. If you have a USB, with permission, you may download the touches for your own viewing. 

Now…

Now that you are familiar with the basics of video replay, you’ll be better able to handle the responsibility! Keep practicing so you can make it into those video rounds and use your newfound knowledge!

Self-Analyzing Your Bouts on Video

With the current dearth of competitions, you may feel like your improvement level has plateaued. Hopefully you’ve been keeping up physically (as enticing as your couch with all its cushions may be), but how do you advance yourself (figuratively) mentally? 

One way is to examine your actions in a real bout. If you have video of yourself fencing in a tournament (thank you, loving parents!) then you can do this for any pool or DE match. If that’s not accessible, you can always set up a camera or recruit a cameraperson during a practice bout! 

Here are the things you should look for:

1. What was your best / worst move?

Pick a match and track both yours and your opponents’ points. Keep a tally: how many attacks did you land? Where? How many parries? How many did your opponent hit? This is a very simple way to explicitly recognize your strongest and weakest actions. 

2. Mistakes: tactical or technical?

Almost every point against you can be classified as either a tactical or a technical mistake (unless it was by pure luck, in which case the opponent might be practicing voodoo to get that one light). 

On the tactical side, fencing is like a hyper-complex version of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Every action has something it’s strong and weak against. Did you perform a good action, but your opponent just played the counter? This is a tactical error. Wrong action, wrong moment.

The technical side is how you execute your action. Did you read the right parry and it was insufficient? Did your attack keep missing by inches? These are technical errors. Keep your hand higher on the parries or take one more step to stretch your attack! Plan how to correct the technical issues early rather than train the same mistakes over and over again. 

Establish why your action didn’t work! Note your needed adjustments!

3. Analyze any “tells” on your actions

This is one that’s VERY difficult to perceive on the strip but easy to view on video. Did one of your attacks get repeatedly parried by that opponent? Did you get counterattacked to the wrist a dozen times? (Note: not as effective in foil) 

Since you KNOW what’s going to happen, watch the touch in slow motion (unless you’re a vet fencer… then maybe you can watch it in normal speed). What did your opponent see you do that made them decide on that action? Did you move your body before your hand? Show your parry too early? Look at the bout from your opponent’s point of view.

Analyzing your own video bouts gives a new perspective on your fencing that you would never be able to see otherwise. If you inspect your independent actions and note what you did well and what you need to sharpen, you’ll form a stronger mental plan for your next fencing bout. Deeply scrutinize your actions to improve your long-term bouting game tenfold! 

Coach Fati Demonstrates Some of the Best Stretching Exercises For Fencing

Coach Fati demonstrating some great stretches to improve flexibility and mobility. These exercises are great for all fencers!

You can book private online fencing workouts, stretching and conditioning exercises with Coach Fati at:

https://www.timmorehousefencing.com/fati-largaespada-fencing-lessons

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