This June holiday, we have been trying to train a little fencer in the family with Noey taking part in the Holiday Young Musketeers programme at Absolute Fencing.
He has always been keen to pick up the art of swordplay, and our family fencing session only fuelled his interest further, so I thought this was a good opportunity for him to really get a taste of what fencing entails. My husband and I were keen for him to try this out as, if you know my son, you'll know that balance and hand-eye-coordination are not his strong suits. Of the many things he inherited from me, the uncanny ability to fall over his own feet was one of them. When we discussed some of the ways we could help him some time back, fencing was one of the sports that we identified. It seemed a good fit. From what I know of fencing, it:
- Work on overall body coordination
- Trains the reflexes
- Requires one to think quickly on his feet
- Improves fitness and flexibility (from all that lunging!)
- Is fun!
So for an hour twice a week this June, Noey has been learning the basics of fencing under the tutelage of Coach Wenying at Absolute Fencing. He couldn't have asked for a better coach. On top of being an extremely competent medal-winning fencer, Coach Wenying is experienced with dealing with young budding fencers, having started and trained many school fencing teams. On top of that, she's a left-hander, just like him.
Noey was surprised during the first lesson to find that he didn't get to touch the foil at all. He certainly had much to learn before he'd get near the weapon! The kids first started out with fitness and footwork drills and were schooled in basic footwork. It was definitely good exercise and Noey learnt a new skill -- skipping.
En-garde!
it was more footwork for Noey before he got to hold the foil. From there the children were taught how to hold it in en-grade position, how to advance, retreat and of course, lunge!
Getting moving during warm-up drills
En-garde with the dummy
Attack!
Over the next couple of weeks, the kids were taught how to salute each other at the start of a bout, the mechanics of the right of way, simple offensive movements, and how to parry in defence, the latter being more complicated than I realised.
Learning how to parry and attack
After 3 weeks, I could see that Noey was getting the hang of it and getting more confident with his movements. Well, he'd better be because next up would be some real sparring! We'll be heading down for one of the regular kids' training sessions for him to be able to fence with others his own age and size this coming weekend, and I really hope he remembers what he's been learning! I'll be back with an update on how that goes!
Absolute Fencing
18 Boon Lay Way
#01-127
18@TradeHub 21
E-mail: administrator@absolutefencing.com.sg
Web: www.absolutefencing.com.sg
(Click here for further driving directions and information on public transport)
*This is Part 1 of a series of posts on Noey's fencing experience with Absolute Fencing. Noey was invited by Absolute Fencing to participate in their Holiday Musketeers programme for the purposes of this review and all opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.
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