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!

How and why to study bouts on Youtube

Almost a year ago, as we were all finding new routines of a summer in lockdown, instead of baking bread, making a jungle of houseplants, or going on long relaxing walks, I found myself watching tones of Youtube videos.  Being ever mindful of my father’s admonition that “screens will melt your brains,” I justified my binging by watching, not aimless content, but World Cup finals of my favorite fencers.  Now, I’m going to share a few pieces of advice that I wish I had at the start of last year.  

First piece of advice: watch on a computer with a screen larger than your cell phone.  It’s important to get as many of the details as possible, and watching on a phone just doesn’t cut it.  Additionally, the Youtube phone app skips forwards or backwards in ten second increments as opposed to five seconds.  While that may seem trivial, those five seconds can mean the difference between skipping through the dead space of fencers resetting or skipping into the middle of an action and losing all context.  

There are a ton of channels on Youtube.  I’d recommend starting with fan favorite channel “Cyrus of Chaos,” then move into the FIE Fencing Channel (Their bouts are less well organized, but they have more of them, and commentary besides), and Fencing Vision.  There are a few channels specific to each country – channels from France, Russia, and the Asia-Pacific, although these channels have the draw backs of often being untranslated or in different alphabets.  

There are a few important hotkeys to remember.  Spacebar is the pause button.  Period is the command for “one frame at a time FORWARD,” and comma is the command for “one frame at a time BACKWARD.”  Using period and comma in conjunction with spacebar will allow you to really zero in on the exact moment a fencer starts their attack, or the precise technique they use to execute their motion.  Many videos from the FIE channel will already have high frame rate slow motion replay, although the replay doesn’t always start at the right time or have the right angle to really understand what’s happening.  We also have the arrow keys: right arrow will skip forwards 5 seconds, left arrow skips back 5 seconds.  I’ve found that skipping forwards in 5 second increments will often cut out all the dead space in a bout, letting me watch the best parts of a match.

As a fencer myself, I can say that just by watching high level fencers I was often inspired by their tactics, their execution, their form and ability.  I clearly remember the first moment that I saw 2x World Champion Sofia Velikaya deliver an incredible low-line attack that inspired me to mimic her for years afterwards.  High level fencers are all the time watching and learning from their rivals, their teammates, and from youtube itself.  Now, you can too, with just these few simple hints to get you started.