Fencing

My two older boys have been participating in a fencing class this fall and absolutely loving it. They begin each lesson with a variety of games revolving around a fencing skill. They have been introduced and used different types of equipment and swords. They have had the opportunity to dual the different members of the class ranging in age from 9 to 13 years old, both boys and girls, ranging greatly in height.

At first it was a little intimidating to challenge an opponent, following through with the sword. I think because they didn't know their classmates well enough at that point. It wasn't long before they were taking charge on the court. They practiced their skills at home and while sword fighting is no where near a new activity in the house, the foot work, the set of rules that fencing has introduced has brought it to a new level.

This week was their last class. It ended with a two hour tournament session. Each of the kids dueled each other, but points went towards a team score. The two people who were fencing wore their regular fencing gear; helmet, glove, protective padded shirt and then jacket. For this tournament they also wore a electric jacket and had a foil which had a tether connected to a computerized scoring machine. It allowed the kids to move all over the court freely but let the referee know who was hit first and whether it was a valid hit. There were lots of rules I learned just watching.

Despite being the smallest and youngest Ben came out of the tournament having earned the most points by hits. Elias was second. They attribute their years of sword fighting to their success! They even got the chance to have a match against each other, each getting five points on the other. I have a feeling fencing foils might be in the making soon!

Female sabre fencing champion

olympic fencing

Canadian Fencing Federation

fencing equipement