Fencing is a sport that combines physical and mental fitness. Its benefits include improved cardiovascular and strength conditioning, weight loss and a boost in self confidence. It can also help improve your children’s overall health and wellbeing as well as their mental agility, self esteem and social skills.
It’s a competitive sport that requires skill and speed so fencing is a good way to help your child become more athletic. In addition to improving their overall fitness, fencers develop faster reaction times and learn to work under pressure.
The basic rules of fencing are simple: in each bout a fencer tries to score as many points as possible by hitting their opponent with their sword. They can do this using a foil, epee or saber.
They wear special equipment and a mask to protect them from getting their head cut by the weapon. It’s also important to get the right body guard and a helmet, which protects the torso.
Traditionally contact now was used as a form of war in medieval times, but the sport gained its modern popularity around the 16th century when German masters gathered together the first guilds. Its rise in popularity was helped by the invention of a weapon with a flattened tip and a set of rules that govern the target area.
It is a great exercise for beginners, but it’s important to make sure you’re doing it safely. It’s not an easy sport to practice and it will take a lot of discipline, but it can be rewarding and fun!
You can start with a beginner’s course at your local club, and then if you want to continue you’ll need to buy specialised kit. This includes the mask, glove and weapon, plus a lame jacket to cover your chest and a protective sleeve (known as a ‘plastron’) that covers the torso and sword arm, as well as body wire, breeches and shoes.
Your children will be able to make friends from different backgrounds, including boys and girls of all ages, sizes and ethnicities. The sportsmanship and respect it teaches will be invaluable in later life as they pursue their educational goals.
A fencer’s physical fitness is boosted by the intense start/stop movement of fencing. As their anaerobic fitness improves, they’re able to keep going for longer periods before lactic acid builds up in the muscles.
They also develop greater strength in the arms, which improves their balance. They’ll need to be able to hold their sword with both hands while also moving it back and forth on the piste, so they need strong wrists.
Fencing is a sport that can be taken up at any age, so it’s a good way to help your children stay fit while they enjoy the challenges of the game. It’s a great way to build their confidence as they challenge themselves to reach new levels of competition.
It’s a fun and engaging activity that can be done year round in various venues, making it a great sport for kids of all ages to try.