All sports facilities are currently closed, and we don’t know how long it will last. Here are some training ideas to keep you in fencing shape while at home.

We are sharing these on our Facebook page, and will add links here as we go.

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How are we all going with our enforced rest break?
As promised, we’re going to share some stuff with you to help keep you in shape at home.

Today we’ll kick off with some Fencers Edge videos.
First, physical conditioning with some balance work!

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As some of you know, when you ask the coach what you can practice at home the first thing she says is “Footwork!”
Coach has also been known to say that there is no point practicing your footwork badly.

So, before we start footworking, here is a quick review of common mistakes and how to correct them. You will probably find a lot of this very familiar as well!

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Last one for today, this one courtesy of Gryphon Fencing Club.
Think of this as a “my first fencing footwork drill”.

More physical conditioning with Fencer’s Edge. Today it’s squats and push-ups!
https://youtu.be/zp554iiqAbU

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Thursday would normally be epee at Olinda. Here is something fun for the epeeists.

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A bit of upper body work today, with Enrico Di Ciolo – the Italian coach some of you would have met at the UFC earlier this year.
You should be able to get the general idea without understanding Italian 🙂

www.facebook.com/clubschermapisa/videos/

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And now some tips to improve your retreat.

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Welcome to the weekend!
We’re using the sunny morning to clean and dry fencing equipment.
For you, we present the Beginner Fencing Workout. (Pace yourself, we’ve probably got weeks of this 😉🤺 )

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It’s a rest day, take a break.
https://youtu.be/ezoZfZK75zA

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Welcome to week two of training at home!
Let’s get those shoulders to loosen up a bit before we start using blades.

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Now might also be a good time to think about practice targets. Here is one option, you could add a mask to the top.
Alternatively, if you have some big cardboard boxes around you might like to find them before tomorrow.

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Your sense of humour may vary, but lots of ideas here, and the key point that you can make up your own drills!
He’s using a foil, but you can use an epee or sabre just as easily

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Something a little different today. Let’s talk about Tempo.
Then you can start playing with it in your basic footwork drills!

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Today we have some more physical training exercises, this time from the London Fencing Club.

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And let’s add some variety to your attack drills!

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Time to share something from closer to home, this one from Sydney Sabre.

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Something fun to watch on a wet weekend.

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There’s no way around it, the key to consistency and control is lots and lots of repetition.

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The “slide, jump, lunge”, which I learned as “half jump, lunge”, probably short for “half-step, jump, lunge”, which is what it actually is.
Whatever you call it, it’s particularly handy for short people, which is why I use it too much.

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Have a happy and safe Easter everyone!

Since we’re all staying home, let’s talk about Feints.

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For those who questioned the inclusion of bouncing in the Footwork of Doom sessions, let’s see some sabreurs bounce.

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Speaking of the Footwork of Doom sessions, this is where we stole it from:

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You can all have some fun with this one.
Drill starts 30 seconds in.

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Simple but effective.

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Been wondering how to practice distance at home?

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As with all these notices, this is subject to change depending on current circumstances, etc.

 

Training is now cancelled until further notice.
All sports clubs and facilities have been asked to close, so we are no longer able to fence.  Normal training will resume when we are allowed to do so.

 

All Training during the school holidays is cancelled. 
Public activities including This Girl Can and Active April are cancelled.

The club committee will assess the situation at the end of the school holidays and advise members with regard to Term 2 training.

Risk Reduction

Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands regularly, we have soap&water in the bathrooms, and hand sanitiser on the admin table. Bring your own if you can.

You do not need to shake hands. At the end of matches simply salute.

We will be avoiding warm-up games and activities that involve close contact.

Shared equipment is probably the greatest transmission risk at fencing, so we need to ensure one person to one set of kit per clean. We will do our best to provide this for those who need it, but it means our capacity to bring in new members is significantly reduced.

So, now is a really good time to buy your own kit. Especially masks and gloves. We will facilitate orders for term 2 – check for e-mail on the subject.

Please make sure you only pick up your mask to fence with, pay attention.

If you are sick please stay home. We will try to arrange make-up sessions/lessons for you when you are well.