Okay, big word warning – synchronicity is the state of being synchronous … in other words, occurring in the same time period. I am using the term in the context of synchronized, events happening in an arranged manner in the same time period. If you are confused as to why…
Salle Green will be running a Classical Academy of Arms Classical Fencing Apprentice Instructor course, starting 29 April. If you are interested in exploring whether training fencers is a possible path for you, contact Maitre Green for details on this combined self-study and practical teaching course.
Recently in a conversation with a colleague the question was asked “how do we motivate our fencers to work harder and get better?” That question stemmed from a triad of behaviors observed in practice: (1) Fencers who could not answer the simple question “name a simple attack.” [Just for grins…
We tend to think of things that are simple as, well … simple. They are easy to do. They do not require much thought. Anyone can do them. No assembly (translate as training and practice) is necessary. After all, you learn them in a beginner class, so how hard can…
In fencing when someone says “drill,” we all know what that means – boring stuff where lines of fencers poke at each other, some halfheartedly going through the motions, some working with determination to get better, some completely confused by the idea that an attack in 6th or 3rd is…
Do you want to be a better fencer? This is not just a question for the sake of a question to start a blog post. It is a core question about why you fence. People fence for a variety of reasons: (a) for social contact with others, (b) for recreation,…
This is a topic we have addressed before, in fact several times, in the Salle Blog. But it is an important enough topic that it needs to be addressed every 6 to 9 months because in that amount of time it is easy to forget that there is only one…
I have been reading a very interesting book by a poker player (Annie Duke’s Thinking in Bets) that has significant insights that apply to fencing. A poker player? What could someone who plays with cards know about fencing, an athletic endeavor? Besides, we are physical chess, not a silly card…
Fencing demands that you place a small point or blade edge on a target. When we say small, the diameter of the scoring tip in foil is from 5.5 to 7.0 millimeters (rule m.11 subparagraph 1), in epee the diameter is 7.95 to 8.05 millimeters (rule m.20 subparagraph 4.b), and…
This seems like a silly question. After all, modern fencing weapons (foils, sabres, and epees) don’t have pointy ends, just blunt tips. But our modern weapons are of some antiquity in their design, designs that come from fully functional weapons built to inflict puncture wounds. And our rules in two…