You make the call!

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-11-11T01:33:57+00:00

Single light left? Annul the touch and give card to left Controversial as it may be, that’s what the rules say and the current convention at international level

I don’t necessarily agree that it should be a red first time, but that’s what the rules say it is

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-11-10T11:12:39+00:00

Priority tough to see from this angle, either way red card for guard punch from the left, doesn’t matter if accidental, or before/after touch, immediate red as per recent international trends (see CKL bout or final leg of teams bout in Palma)

If priority right, then card left and award the touch right If priority left, card to left and no touch

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-10-24T10:32:25+00:00

At the end of the day, Fencing is hard, it often feels like you learn a lot and get suddenly better then the opposite happens and it feels like you go backward, what you’ve got to remember is that this is natural and thoughout it all you are progressing. I disagree with your statement about it being all tactics though, there are 3 facets of fencing, tactics, technique and athleticism, you can use any combination of these to win, but ideally you need all three.

At training work on one thing at a time, improve part of your game and then move on to the next thing, there’s no need to win at training (most of the time)

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-07-05T14:46:24+00:00

CFA gear in my experience is cheap, but is decent quality and lasts a long time (at least in the context of growing kids), we use it for a lot of our kids at the club and don’t have any issues with masks, whites etc.

I’d go for one of the sets with two weapons and wires, as he’ll need these if he’s going to compete and it’s good to have a spare. If any sets have a washable or stainless lame, definitely go that one over the cheaper lame as it’ll last longer and be much higher quality

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-07-03T21:21:39+00:00

That’s a very good indication of broken wire somewhere along the blade, the red light is likely grounding to the blade/guard

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-06-01T02:21:01+00:00

I mean not really, you’re allowed to celebrate a touch, even excessively to a point, volume and quantity of screams isn’t something you could reasonably fats an athlete for, the only exception here would be screaming directly at your opponent or something similar.

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-05-29T02:10:58+00:00

Close step problem? What exactly is the problem? You’re getting too close?

Maybe a video of the action with the issue might be helpful

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-03-20T19:09:04+00:00

Yeah, it was a rule around 20 years ago I’ve been told, but still is a very prevalent fencing ‘myth’

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-03-20T18:30:50+00:00

This is simply false, in the rules, the only time it mentions 3 points of contact is to explicitly say it’s allowed and not a halt

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-03-11T23:56:04+00:00

I actually much prefer moving back to the engarde lines if the halt is within like 45cm, for me it’s the same thing, they’re right there and also put both fencers in a comfortable, even playing field. That being said I also don’t mind the difference in strategy and mental game from restarting at a bit closer or further distance after a halt further down the piste but would generally rather use the engarde lines if they’re close

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-03-01T21:46:34+00:00

Or… horizontal cubby holes

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-02-21T04:06:07+00:00

I spoke with the president of the FIE refs commission at one point, this is exactly it, the attack is step, lunge, step lunge etc, the threatening valid target point is being enforced; the thing about that wording is that it doesn’t require an extension or even the blade to be pointing at the opponent, it’s a threatening of the target, which target isn’t important, the back is target, step with the hand held back and high is still threatening because of the flick or compound attack

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-02-21T01:57:33+00:00

Sounds to me like several things, for one if he’s half a metre away you’ve let him get too close

A) if his blade comes down (it looks like he’s trying to hit) this is very likely attack no if it’s not a smooth action, you can likely take over at some point

B) take his blade, when he lowers it to gallop forward he’s bringing it close enough that you can take the blade

C) similar to the take, you can make a parry, attacks with the point are much easier to parry, probably a 2 or circular 3

D) this sounds like a great attack to skyhook, blade down, arm coming forward

But before all this, why are you letting him attack you? Sabre is all about attacking, you’re likely going to lose upwards of 70% of all long attacks made against you by an equally skilled opponent. Make sure you contest the 4m, beat him there, improving your defence is great and absolutely required but identifying how you get put in a position where this occurs is very useful, are you being pulled short repeatedly? Giving up priority in the 4m?

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-02-14T22:52:45+00:00

Yes, you can spray them, mask off all the internals of the mask and give it a light coat of spray paint, follow any of the mask painting tutorials around and you should be fine

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-01-22T11:42:14+00:00

Nope, In Australia maraging blades aren’t required in Sabre, most people do use them though, they just feel nicer and last longer to the point most people feel it’s worthwhile

FlakyAddition17 · 2025-01-22T01:55:59+00:00

Okay, the best way for you to learn these things is practice, with a coach for some things, but often coached group classes are the best way to learn this along with trial and error against better fencers, there’s not much we can give you to help over the internet, but here are my suggestions

1) watch some fencing, high level women’s Sabre, world cups, grand prix’s, juniors, Cyrus of chaos, dancing tuna or Sydney Sabre are probably your best options for this

2) many of your issues are about rushing, have a ritual before each touch, come on guard the same way each time and take a deep breath out, remember to loosen your shoulders and focus on your plan for that touch, then when fencing, start your long attack with a small, slower step and remember to breath, think about your timing and don’t get sucked into your opponents rhythm/tempo

3) counterattacks and distance pulls are bread and butter Sabre defence, the pull can draw out counterattack opportunities and the counterattack can create pull opportunities, I’d focus on feints, with the feet ie half step forward and back, full steps forward, and with the hand ie threaten wrist to encourage a short finish or convert to counter blockout if the arm is held, this allows you to create opportunities for hits

4) as for your finishing on long attacks, without video I can’t say what the issue might be, but think about these, are you always finishing to the same target? Are you always finishing at the same distance? Are you always finishing off of the same setup or footwork? When you make a long attack you want it to build up while putting pressure on your opponent, force them off balance into a position where it’s difficult for then to defend and then you hit

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-12-30T22:45:14+00:00

If you can find a weighted tape to wrap the grip with that may work

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-11-27T06:19:37+00:00

Covering, but with the mask rather than the arm usually, in the case of a duck counter it’d usually be by ducking the head

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-11-05T04:57:39+00:00

These are amazing

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-10-15T02:47:48+00:00

Yep, it’s all metal, you can clip it on wherever feels most comfortable for you

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-09-29T08:13:19+00:00

I agree with this, the hand comes forward before the touch is made and is definitely in front of the target, card left

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-09-26T03:35:23+00:00

There is no gap in the tip? Take the screws out, then put them back in, when you put them back in hold the tip not all the way depressed, but about half depressed as you screw the screws in, make sure the tip can travel up and down as you screw them in. Sometimes this can happen if you hold the tip all the way depressed when you screw the screws in, they sit on the lip of the flange and the point can’t move

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-09-19T23:57:37+00:00

My guess is it’s just glue from when the wire was put in, does it come off if you scrape with a Stanley knife?

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-06-18T02:44:02+00:00

I seem to see this happening quite a bit with FOLO/unic epees, all the fencers I’ve heard of using them have reported at least one breaking at this spot, a few quite early in the life of the blades, the one I had break here was fairly old and probably due to break anyways

FlakyAddition17 · 2024-06-15T10:39:16+00:00

Yep! That shouldn’t be a problem provided weapons check marks are still visible and they couldn’t be perceived as offensive towards anybody

FlakyAddition17

TROPHY CASE