Dear Absolute Fencing Gear, Starter sets should definitely be on the landing page, but dear, oh, dear... How many things are wrong with this picture?

I can never anticipate when an attack is going for my flank. I’m pretty good at seeing if an attack is going for my outside line, rather than my inside line. But I can’t differentiate between high outside and low outside attacks until it’s too late. My first reaction is always to parry 6 if I see it going to my outside line. By the time I see its a low outside line attack to my flank, I’ve usually already been hit. Is there body language or other clues I can focus on to help anticipate a flank attack instead of a shoulder attack?

I'm not asking so much about where to buy gear, it's more about if they should be buying gear so quickly.
Do you think it makes more sense to have them wait a little longer?
Stagger their purchases? i.e., a blade and a glove, then later a mask and jacket
Or do you just indulge them and let them purchase full gear straight away?
(and if so, and they want to "go Cadillac" and get LP gear to you steer them towards Absolute, or just let them spend $$$$ right out the gate)
I'm just curious about how you manage expectations given how fickle people can be, if that's even an issue at all.

My fencing club has a library in its lobby, so I'm always looking for fencing or fencing-related books, both fiction and nonfiction. When the Instagram algorithm recommended En Garde by Keelin Schafer to me pre-release, I knew I had to get a copy. In the interim between learning about it and the book releasing, fencingtuna shitposted about it, and other fencers seemed turned off by the premise without giving it a try.

So here I am, volunteering as tribute, a saber coach reading a YA contemporary romance about saber fencing.

The Official Plot Summary:

When Zahra Mandel is given an ultimatum by her mother, she has no choice but to throw herself completely into the sport she’s grown up in, even as the unexplainable pain she lives with grows worse. If she doesn’t win state regionals, she has to quit competitive fencing. Her situation goes from bad to unbearable when Trid Chang, the boy who stole her gold medal at the last tournament, becomes her new assistant coach. Suddenly, Zahra’s forced to train under the one person she’s determined to beat. Trid is charming, infuriating, and relentless about staying on top. So relentless that he starts flirting with Zahra, threatening her focus in ways she can’t afford. As regionals approach, Zahra must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to win. And Trid must decide if his heart is really in it, or if it’s been captured by something—or someone—else.

The Unofficial Fencing Backlash:

The author, Ms. Schafer, revealed in comments that Trid and Zahra are in competition for a spot at Notre Dame. A NAC is coming to Las Vegas where they live, and a mixed gender demonstration tournament is where the Notre Dame saber coach is going to go observe to pick the fencer to come to campus. Also, you know, they're described as vying for being the strongest fencer in Nevada.....which doesn't exactly have the same fencing scene as, say, New York.

(Which meant that the fencing community had to feel superior and say how she was doing everything wrong and this would be such a lame book because obviously a fiction book can't break any realism.)

My Thoughts on the Fencing

Heading into it, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was hooked from the first chapter. Schafer describes a tournament venue in such a way that I could picture the tons of local and regional tournaments that I've been to where bags are haphazardly spread around. She describes the smells such as the stale sweat of gear, sounds of the tournament, etc in such a way that I felt like she had been there before. Hell, she even describes walking back the reel cord after unhooking, and at one point, a character lets go of it in anger knowing they aren't supposed to.

There are some details that Schafer gets wrong. At one point she describes a fencing bout as being 3 three minute periods with breaks, which doesn't apply to saber, yet in all of the fencing scenes for saber she gets it right by only having one break and no mentions of a clock running. She also consistently calls masks "helmets" and sabers "swords", but that doesn't bother me so much because the amount of times I have to correct fencers on that is too damn high. However, Schafer gets so much more right than she gets wrong when it comes to fencing. The gear descriptions are spot on. Schafer's bout descriptions were a little weak, but it sounds like she competed a significant time ago in her life. (I don't fault her for that.)

One thing she excels at in this book is presenting characters that we see everyday in the fencing community. There's the old Olympian father/coach who is living vicariously through his fencer/son, Trid. Zahra's motivations of wanting the be the best and refusing to admit she needs help through some medical issues hit home for me. (When I started fencing, it coincided with mysterious medical issues that prevented me from fencing.) Trid's fear of disappointing his dad? Zahra's mom concerned she's taking the sport too seriously at the cost of everything else? Pretty realistic.

Of course liberties are taken with the plot, and you have to laugh and just go along with the fiction. Overall, it's great representation of our sport and if it inspires someone to pick up fencing, that's wonderful!

My Thoughts on the Characters and Plot

Disclaimer: I haven't read YA romance in like....years. Like since I was a teen. I mostly read magical realism, fantasy, nonfiction, and occasional fantasy romance nowadays at a rate of approximately one book a month. (I DNF liberally because my time is precious and I don't want to spend time reading something I am not enjoying - so if I truly hated this book, I would not have finished it!)

I think the age of the characters as high schoolers was perfect for the plot. Tropes that would usually annoy me, such as miscommunication, make more sense at the characters' ages and with their motivations. The enemies to lovers angle was executed excellently - it doesn't happen overnight. The dialogue is witty, the writing is strong, and the story moves quickly enough that I did not get bored. I actually read the book in two sittings (albeit a month and a half apart) when I coudl set aside a few hours of free time.

Of the characters, I thought Schafer did a fantastic job at having a diverse cast of characters with distinct personalities and motivations. I liked the other fencers and family members.

There is also great representation of chronic illness and issues women face with getting diagnosed or being taken seriously by medical professionals.

I was happy this was a standalone novel and not the start of a series, so the ending was a proper ending.

Final Review

Final review for me was 4.75/5. It's not perfect, but its pretty damn good for YA contemporary romance and better than some other things I've read this past year.

I’d recommend this to anyone who likes YA romance, good banter, a mix of fun characters beyond the mains, and has ever day dreamed of fighting with a sword or enjoys fencing

So, I just read a post about the behavior of some of the coaches/parents when interacting with their fencer(s). In fact, I knew a coach who treated his fencers very poorly (most of them have since left that club and have come to mine) I want to become a ref soon and was wondering if it would be okay to speak up for the kid when their coach/parent is yelling at them? Or even if I'm just passing by (as a fencer competing)? I know most people are going to say that morally that is the right thing to do, my only problem is some coaches have a lot of power in the fencing community and can make your life a living hell if they remember you.

Just wondering your thoughts, thanks.

it doesn't have to be competition level accurate, just good enough for training and club fencing. I'd also love to spend less than 1k on the whole system, so basically wondering what folks have tried, and what is the best bang for the buck

Was supposed to open today at 12pm EST... I assume it's delayed

October 29-November 1

[and we still don't know where the March NAC will be]

Hi everyone, I hope this is not a wild idea. I wonder if anyone has experienced of converting/re-tailoring a sabre lame into a foil lame? Is it allowed for tournament? How about regular practice ?

I read the rules of the subreddit and i dont think there is anything against it, so...
i'm an italian guy, with a big, BIG head, mesaured from ear passing below the chin and up to the other ear and around and i mesure 80 cm, the forehead is 67 cm, i'm in need of a level 2 fencing mask, the one it goes up to 1600 nw.
i literally cannot find anything, i'm desperate if any of you guys can help i would be glad.
thank you in advance.

Thoughts, comments, concerns?

I'm traveling to Phnom Penh for a week during the summer, are there any clubs to fence sabre at? I saw CamEd has a fencing club and I'll contact them, but it's hard to get info on other clubs there because lack of websites, and I want a backup option in case I'm not able to fence at CamEd.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1KywiMbZpB/

Hi!
Last 2-3 mm of threaded part of epee blade broke off and is stuck in the point. I can't unscrew it for now. My question is: can I somehow cut a new thread on the remaining part of the blade? Or what are my options to save it?
Thanks!

Okay so I went down a rabbit hole on the USA Fencing Ineligible/Suspended List and now I need to talk about it 😅

I counted the entries by decision date and 2026 is wild:

• Most years: around 1–3 entries
• Biggest year before this one: 5 (2018)
• 2026 so far: 11 👀, and 7 of them are from July onward. One was literally posted today.

And real talk, I’ve seen some full-on meltdowns at NACs 😬 Screaming at refs, throwing gear, parents and coaches losing it on the side of the strip... So part of me is like, yeah, maybe it’s about time someone stepped in.

So I’m curious what you all think:

1. Is USA Fencing actually cracking down harder, like moving faster on interim suspensions instead of waiting?
2. Is it new leadership, new policies, or pressure after some high-profile cases?
3. Or were people always getting suspended and it just wasn’t posted as openly?
4. Club owners, coaches, and refs: are you seeing a difference on the ground? Have the NAC meltdowns gotten better or worse? 💬

Honestly I’m here for it if it means safer clubs and calmer tournaments 🙌 but I’d love to hear from people closer to the governance side. Is this a real shift, or am I reading too much into one webpage? 😂
Side note, because I NEED to know: what’s up with people saving whole rows of chairs for their fencing bags and water bottles?? 😤 I’ve watched parents stand along the wall for hours while a Hydro Flask gets its own seat 🙃 Is there an unwritten rule I missed, or are we all just pretending this is fine? 🪑💧

I've got a tournament next week and I'm my university club's armourer. I am fine with assembling and rewiring foils, but for some reason I can never get épées to work maybe 50% of the time and end up wasting time and resources.

If I could be pointed to a guide that covers legitimately everything (basics included) or given handy tips you figured out through trial and error, I'd love that. I need just about anything, it's basically endless frustration when it comes to épées and me.

Hello,
I’m headed off to college in a few months and I want to fence. There’s not an official club at the college I’m attending (BYUI), despite there being some intramural stuff. I was curious if anyone had tips on getting a club started or finding people to practice with outside of the assigned days. I fence Sabre, but I’m willing to try and work with other weapons if that’s what it takes.

Thanks

I’m an artist, i make fencing drawings occasionally. This one is meant to look dynamic as you look back and forth as though you are seeing a live match. It could be called “2 Pair”, I’m open to suggestions of a title for it.

When bending a tang for an epee, do we bend at where the tang meets the forte or a little further down? Trying to get the forte to sit flush on the bellguard. Thanks in advance.

Or should I paint it white again?

I fenced using a different lighting machine than usual, I forget the name but a sticker said fie 2016 but for some reason all my flicks registered, when I think I flated, the light went off, and any small tap or pressure would set of the lights but then I when I fenced again using a different machine, half my attacks didn’t register even when the blade bent and me and my opponent kept arguing with each other about how none of our attacks are going off, and none of my flicks were registering.

Is there different sensitivities between brands?

Saw a ref call out a saber fencer in D1 this weekend for not having an adequately long jacket. Armory was called in and they eventually let him fence with it.

Call out to fencers & parents - make sure that jacket contact area covers the hip bone.