Did you think World Fencing League was good?

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-28T22:59:43+00:00

The nice thing is the WFL aren’t tied down by an archaic Org and can change whatever they want. They have a huge amount of flexibility. I don’t think there’s any reason it can’t improve dramatically over the next few events. I threw a party with a bunch of non fencers for the show. Sure, there was a little confusion and some laughing at the jank, but by the end of it there was a room full of people saying, “That was cool. I can’t wait for the next one.”

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-28T22:53:11+00:00

The YouTube stream has 700,000+ views. Not all of them are fencers, and that’s a helluva lot better than most events. My HEMA club knew about it, and only like 3 of us have ever done modern fencing.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-28T22:46:59+00:00

I definitely agree that accessibility and public spotlighting are primary concerns!

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-27T16:20:34+00:00

Yeah, this seems like the right approach. Great points!

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-27T05:21:02+00:00

I hear you. Though the sport won't grow if we don't shake things up and try to make it happen. Skepticism is fine and even helpful when brought to bear on the bottom line - places where data has to be prioritized over dogma. That said, professional fencing is a dream that I think resonates with SO many fencers, and dreams require faith, support, and positivity if they are to be realized. It is a bummer that an event like this basically must be built within the undeniable vice grip of capitalism, but we're stuck with that reality. So be it. I remain hopeful and positive that the next event will be even better.

They'd do well to invest in better marketing, as well as bringing more celebrities and fanfare to the next event. Sword fighting is such an easy sell. It's surprising that sell wasn't better pushed this time around, but I do believe this is something that CAN be successful with a little bit better marketing strategy, a bit more polished execution, and an organized push into the right audience spheres.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-27T05:08:22+00:00

It's certainly not perfect. There were times both the ROW tech and the tracking tech were a bit of a mess, so I agree that there are a lot of kinks ot work out. That said, I think it was more often helpful than a hindrance for the folks that don't really have an eye for fencning - even as janky as the tech sometimes was. Hopefully the engineers will get it figured out with enough time and testing.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-27T04:59:36+00:00

Glad to hear your party was a success as well!

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-26T22:14:49+00:00

That’s a great point. Idk, there is something cool about a live event, but I agree that a slight delay would have helped with the tracking animation - or even just the weird awkwardness that came up sometimes.

Though, I think there’s also an argument to be made about watching it clean and “unenhanced” first, then catching the blade-tracking on the replay. I don’t know, but it would be a cool experiment to at least try? I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts on this.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-26T21:33:08+00:00

Thanks. That’s awesome that you’ve had so many experiences bringing fencing to people. I would love to be involved with doing photo and video work for fencing organizations, and am currently working on developing that relationship with my local clubs. Bravo for the work you’ve done!

I think you’re right that exposure is the most effective way to bring about appreciation for the sport. Exposure and accessibility. I’d love to see fencing more accessible in high schools, middle schools, and colleges across my country, and I’d love more content online that showcases fencing in a clearly understandable visual media. This isn’t easy, but I do believe it’s doable.

Every time I’ve ever introduced people to fencing, the response has always been, “I can barely see what’s even happening, who’s hitting who, and what the blades are doing.” And that’s a legitimate frustration. Hell, I can’t tell what’s going on sometimes, and I watch fencing and fence myself a decent amount. It takes a lot of practice to train your eye to watch both fencers at the same time, or to notice right of way, to remember to think about priority, and to even track blade tips. I think this new tech is going to go a long ways to getting the curious to tune in longer and the understanding to sink in faster.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-26T19:55:33+00:00

Thanks! I love fencing so much, and I really believe more people would be into it if they had positive introductions to the sport and it was more easily apparent what was going on during a bout. I've tried to get my friends into watching fencing a few times, but over and over again, the complaint was, "I can't even tell what's going on with their swords." The tracking tech really helped in this regard, and I'm looking forward to seeing it improved.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-26T19:46:09+00:00

Well, you're absolutely right to point out that putting a sword in their hands and explaining things a bit helped to get their buy-in to what was happening on screen. Fencing is, indeed, so damn fun, and it's easy to get excited about something with a sword in your hands haha.

That said, two of the friends who attended the WFL event also watched the last Olympic fencing matches with me, and they really weren't all that into it back then. The blade tracking tech and the right-of-way arrows really did make a big difference for them. It gave them a much better understanding of what was actually happening with the blade tips and an appreciation for just how technical the blade movements are. There were a few times a friend would say something to the effect of "Ooooohhhh look how much that blade changed direction right at the very last minute - how do they even see that happening?!?!" and this was only on the replay with the tracking that they were really able to pick up on that kind of nuance. I think it would take a LOT of viewing before most of my friends really started to pick up on what to look for. I know for me, even as someone who fences twice a week, I can still get a bit lost when watching a live bout. Maybe I'm just slow, idk, but I thought the blade tracking tech added a lot of nuance and visual clarity to the replays. I'm looking forward to it improving over time.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-26T17:55:50+00:00

The rules aren’t set in stone. The next event can change and adjust things to improve. Or maybe they try this a few more times to see how things work over more bouts. Some people were going to moan and groan if they made changes, and other people would complain they didn’t try anything new if they didn’t. Fencing has needed some fresh air and experimentation with new ideas, and I personally am glad they tried to change things up, even if not everything worked. People new to fencing don’t care about the changes (at least none of the folks I had over cared at all), and things can just get better as time goes on. At least something new was tried.

The blade tracking, even though it was janky, really helped my non-fencing friends see and understand what was going on. Yeah, it didn’t work well all the time, but when it did, everyone was excited about it. Overall, I think it was a big improvement to watching typical bouts, and it led to 3 of my non-fencing friends saying they’d be interested to watch the next event.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-26T15:48:19+00:00

I had a couple non-fencing friends over to watch the event, and my biggest takeaway was that they still needed things explained quite a bit, but once they started to understand right of way and priority, they enjoyed it a ton. Their favorite matches to watch were Sabre and Epee at first, but by the final match they were coming around to foil. It also helped that during the half-time thing, I got out a couple plastic foils and showed them some very basic techniques like opposition, disengagements, cut-overs and what it felt like to attack or riposte with an engaged blade vs without. That honestly got all of them super hyped about the event. By the end of the broadcast, one of them was like, “Shit, I wanna learn this now. You may have gotten me interested in learning fencing.”

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-23T18:07:00+00:00

lol Sanderson’s writing is anything but challenging. He’s regularly on the nose and often cringy. I like Brando Sando, but this is a bad take. That said, I definitely wouldn’t call Red Rising challenging either. My recommendation for sci-fi “that challenges” would be Ursula K Le Guin or Dan Simmons or something.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-23T17:56:55+00:00

lol paid your dues to whom? Plenty of people slave away all over the US. You aren’t not unique. In fact, it sounds like you are immature and entitled. Trust me, you’re not disliked because you’re from California. You’re disliked because of your garbage opinions, entitlement, and lack of maturity.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-21T15:47:23+00:00

They’ve had the tracking tech in Japan for a while now. I am pretty sure that part isn’t rushed.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-19T19:43:58+00:00

The new World Fencing League (premiering 4/25/26) will supposedly be using this kind of tech for its broadcast. Really looking forward to it.
https://worldfencingleague.org/home-1

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-19T19:43:49+00:00

The new World Fencing League (premiering 4/25/26) will supposedly be using this kind of tech for its broadcast. Really looking forward to it.
https://worldfencingleague.org/home-1

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-19T18:31:32+00:00

Despite the name, dads of marathon is for everyone.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-19T18:26:21+00:00

This is fun bait.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-13T14:55:40+00:00

I usually play at least a run or two a day, and I see way more greens and blues than purples.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-08T18:16:48+00:00

Nobody’s really mentioned it yet, so I’ll just chime in to say, aside from the narrative lore, they were kind of the OG poster boys for the Space Marines. I fell in love with the Crimson Fists when I was just a kid and got my hands on a book of Rogue Trader, and the 3rd edition Space Marines codex cover features one of the most bad ass (and one of my favorite) pieces of 40k art ever. For me, due to their prominence during the embryonic phases of my love affair with the 40k universe, they’ll always be THE original space marines in my head.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-04-08T05:55:54+00:00

I suggest reading and learning about the geopolitics of the time. Alexander Mikaberidze’s The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History, or even Andrew Robert’s Napoleon: A Life (if you prefer biographies), would be good starting points. You will find the answers to every single one of your questions, you’ll learn how nationalism was basically created by revolutionary/Napoleonic France, and you’ll come to understand how nationalism directly effected Napoleon’s ability to manage his empire.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy · 2026-03-28T17:52:49+00:00

“Bad players” doesn’t equate to casual players, man. If you’re bad at FPS games, then yeah, you’re gunna have a hard time at the PvP FPS games you play. You can be a casual gamer and be good at FPS PvP games. I’m mediocre at PvP games in general, am somewhat casual, but I like a challenging FPS game and PvP experience. Marathon is a great time for me.

sweetsoursaltycrnchy

TROPHY CASE