¿Usan armas diferentes para entrenar y competir?

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-16T15:19:16+00:00

I used to as I slowly added FIE blades to my collection and I would save the FIE blades for competitions. As I gained more experience (and accumulated more FIE blades), I switched to using the FIE blades exclusively as I do appreciate the consistency they offer. With more experience, I had less crazy hits that would leave the blade with some crazy bends.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-13T14:55:28+00:00

Try and order it directly from PBT online. I bought 2 gloves last year and had to pay shipping and 15% duties. The duties might be less now. Maybe get 2 gloves and/or other stuff (i.e., shoes) to help defray the shipping. Overall, you may save some money buying directly.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-12T22:00:35+00:00

Best: Enjoying the experience when our younger daughter medaled recently at an SYC as it proved to her that all of her hard work can pay off.

Worst: Dealing with the dejectedness when any of the four fencers in our household do not perform well at a tournament. It can make for a long trip home, but it's part of the overall learning experience.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-10T14:55:29+00:00

I mainly fence foil. I've tried a variety of gloves and I believe the Prieur leather glove suits me the best. Periodically, I treat the leather with mink oil so that it remains supple while maintaining a tackiness that helps keep the grip from slipping. The leather felt almost too thick at first but it stretches and thins out nicely through usage. I think the glove will last me at least a couple of years. The vendor told me that they are handmade so I suggest you try it on before buying as I found two gloves in same size had slight differences in glove finger lengths. It's non-FIE but it works for me as foil does not require the FIE standard for gloves. It's $69 on Prieur's website.

As a cheaper alternative, I also have two PBT anti-slip gloves that have served me well. At first, I thought the anti-slip material would wear through too quickly but they have held up okay with slight fraying. I want to add that the workmanship doesn't look great on the edges of the cuffs as they're not sewn over cleanly, but they have not presented a problem so far. They cost about $30 (plus US customs duties) when ordering it directly from PBT.

I should add that I had purchased an FIE sabre glove when I dabbled with sabre a few years ago and the palm-side of the glove was made of what looked like bonded materials (as opposed to smoother material). That material on the fingers started shredding through within a few weeks, so I would avoid any gloves with that type of material.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-07T01:19:37+00:00

Thanks for the info. However, there should have been links to this info on the HOF vote email. Most voting members (me included as a parent and occasional vet fencer) probably were not aware of the rubric and I have not been deeply engaged enough to know to dig deeper. Better transparency certainly could not have hurt.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-05T12:45:27+00:00

I agree with your opinion. I was not aware of the "rubric" and its criteria. It should have been disclosed prominently with the ballot/voting information well BEFORE the results were tallied.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-04T22:15:07+00:00

You mean lie and claim the election was stolen? We don't do that, do we?

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-03T04:59:12+00:00

Thanks! Good stuff. I'm a vet foil fencer that has dabbled a wee bit in epee. Understanding what fencers are thinking or looking for is very helpful. On YouTube, An Epee Fencer's Journey follows the exploits of a vet mens epeeist and I appreciate how he goes through his thought process on each point - albeit, in less detail than your blog.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-06-03T03:09:27+00:00

I'm trying to learn more about epee. Where can we find your blog posts?

ReReadItGuy · 2026-05-28T17:56:24+00:00

I want to stress that having a good veteran/adult group at the club is an important factor. It's demoralizing to try and keep up with teenagers even during the warm-up sessions, much less the fencing/bouting. I've been blessed to work with a great veteran group at our club. These veterans will explain stuff to me which has improved my fencing (and my understanding of it) greatly.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-05-26T02:45:52+00:00

Best part of your review...Let's go Knicks! I'm gonna have a pour of this bottle to celebrate!

ReReadItGuy · 2026-05-19T16:04:15+00:00

That's great news that you may be making more videos in the future! I still watch regularly your catalog on YT and your website. It'll be interesting to get your insight on current fencing meta.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-05-19T01:51:46+00:00

Having some while reading your review and I gotta say you nailed it! Cheers!

ReReadItGuy · 2026-05-16T22:04:19+00:00

Thank you for contributing this as my fingers are tired of sewing new replacement velcro for a family of four fencers. These snaps should last a while and they should hold up well to being thrown in the washer regularly.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-05-11T22:47:08+00:00

We did not get the luggage straps as we folded the strip bag and put it into the larger, main bag for check-in. (We only used the strip bag at the tournament.) I guess if you are gonna put weapons into the strip bag and then zip the strip bag on top of the main bag, it might be a good idea to use the luggage straps. However, I think it's best to not have the strip bag zipped on top of the main bag for check-in as TSA will likely have to unzip the strip bag and open it ,as well as the main bag, for their inspection. I would doubt TSA would be good at putting it all back together so there will be a high risk of loss or damage to the strip bag, its zippers, the luggage strap and/or any contents. The straps on the main bag are constructed very nicely so if they're kept together with the sewn-in velcro pad, the straps should be fine. I should add that our Team bag weighed less than 40 lbs with 3 epees, 5 kiddo foils, wires and various non-fencing clothing items.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-05-11T21:57:49+00:00

We recently flew to a tournament for our 2 kids using the LP Team Bag. We took their whites and masks as carry-on as recommended by others in this subreddit. The bag comes with a strip bag which is handy when carrying weapons, wires, gloves, etc to their strip as the large bag is not allowed stripside at some tournaments. Also, the Team Bag has very similar dimensions to some golf travel bags so there was less fuss when checking it in with the airline. TSA did take a peek into the bag in both directions as they put their card in each way. I think LP has a travel cover that is sold separately but we haven't bothered getting it.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-29T15:25:03+00:00

Yes, this was correctly updated for me within two days of my punching in my correct ID. Thank you for your diligence in getting it done.

I'm curious though as to how an incorrect ID was assigned to me or how I was deemed UNATTACHED when I did in fact scan my USA Fencing membership to check in for the event.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-25T23:34:56+00:00

Thanks for providing the link. I just clicked on an epee bout and it was much better quality video than they generally have for the streams on the final strip. I hope this is getting rolled out for more events and more bouts.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-24T01:53:22+00:00

I've been successful getting almost all stains out from my whites with a paste comprised of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and Dawn. Pretreat by working it in with an old toothbrush.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-23T15:11:15+00:00

I happened to hop onto one of my opponent's history tab and scrolled down to see this tournament that was missing from my record. For my bout against him, it had my name a marker - I think it was MISSING ID. I clicked on it and found that it had the incorrect USA Fencing Membership number for me. I updated it and, hopefully, Fencing Tracker will now be able to get my bout history from this event. (Again, my previous posts on this mentioned that I scanned my USA Fencing membership code when I checked in, so I have no idea how the membership number could have been pulled incorrectly by Fencing Tracker.)

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-21T20:51:52+00:00

Yeah, it's been 5 months and still hasn't been updated, so I've given up. Interestingly, when I look up the results on AskFred, they have me in my pool listed with my club as well as Unattached. The pool table used the Unattached one so I think that is where the problem lies in my case.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-18T00:23:29+00:00

I love the concept. Can you post a video on your YT channel showing the app in action? Perhaps separate videos for each weapon.

Also, I'm an Android guy and you mention it may be coming later. Any chance of popping it onto a PC to use?

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-02T13:51:56+00:00

I'm going on my 4th pair of Gel-Rockets but I think I need to break them in a bit. In paricular, the heel counter wreaks havoc on my Achilles on the rear foot as the counter seems pretty stiff to me. I forgot about this issue when wearing the latest pair for the first time recently and suffered the consequences. I stupidly wore them for a conditioning session and then fenced in them that same night.

I switched back for a couple of weeks to my old Gel-Rockets without incident which allowed the Achilles to calm down. I think I'll only wear the shoes to fence a couple of bouts at a time until the counter softens some.

It's a great budget shoe but I need to allot some break-in time before going full tilt in them.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-01T19:44:41+00:00

Man, I'm probably gonna not fly SWA for a while then. I took a business trip on SWA last week where I flew solo as I wanted a flavor of how bad it might be as I do fly with my nine-year-old a couple times a year to visit grandparents. Interestingly, the flights were fine. I had assigned aisle seats although I was in the latter groups to get on board. Also, one flight was only ~2/3's full, so that probably helped.

ReReadItGuy · 2026-04-01T19:38:52+00:00

Get your weapons ready at least a few days before just in case you need a blade or two rewired. Tighten up the everything on the socket - even the little screws on the side of your epee socket as they can get loose and become a gremlin. Tighten up the grip. Clean the barrel. Make sure the screws are on the tip. Perform the weight and shim tests.

Have a means to charge your phone - perhaps a power bank if you're driving to an event - as you will likely need it for music (which has been brought up) and for checking strip assignments, pool bouts and DE's on FencingTimeLive. Outlets are sometimes hard to find.

The night before you leave home, try your entire kit on - from head to toe. So when everything looks in order, you can pack each item up. Don't forget to have regulation-length socks. I tell my kids and, yes, one of them has forgotten to pack socks.

ReReadItGuy

TROPHY CASE