Fencing Target Practice at Home

March 28, 2020July 19, 2021

Fencing target practice at home helps perfect basic and complex actions to stay in top shape for class and assaults. Our practice targets can be used by all levels of fencers to practice a variety of techniques and actions.

Below are sample drills for all our targets starting with our Foil Practice Target for practicing structure and attacks at your own pace. The Hanging Practice Ball adds a moving target and timing and is especially valuable for epee fencers. The most versatile is the Target & Ball combo that allows for all previous drills and some of the more complex exercises.

Remember, it’s up to you to deliberately practice the skills you’ve learned in class such as complete extensions, exact hand positions, and flawless lunges. Take your time; this practice is for you.

Wall Target

Our Foil Practice Target features a felt-covered wood backboard with 2″ upholstery foam to cushion the impact of your strikes. The target has a center bulls-eye and horizontal, vertical, and diagonal target rails. The vertical and horizontal rails divide the target into four quadrants representing the four lines of attack. The diagonal rails represent the “bull’s eye” for each quadrant.

Fencers may first warm up by practicing on the center bulls-eye and then start specifically targeting each diagonal rail with the corresponding hand position.

Drills

Accuracy

Measure your lunge distance to the target and practice hitting the exact center. Carefully practice fully extending your arm before lunging, the position of your hands, shoulders, knees, and recovering to a proper guard.

fencing target practice at home on the bulls eye

Quadrants

Extend and lunge at each diagonal rail with the corresponding hand position (French school’s 6, 4, 7, 8, for example). These quadrants represent the four lines of attack.

Advanced: Practice less common hand positions, such as the French school’s 1, 2, and 3 positions.

attacking four quadrants on the fencing wall target

Compound Attacks

While in full extension practice compound attacks by feinting at various diagonal rails. Practice any and all compound attacks you’ve learned in class.

Reposts

Measure extension distance to the target and set yourself on guard in any hand position. Repost at this close range to the direct line corresponding to your hand position. The difference of this drill to the “Quadrants” drill is being in extension distance rather than lunge distance, therefore simulating a repost after a parry.

Advanced Variation: Same as above, but repost while holding a lunge at lunge distance to practice counter-reposts.

Advanced Variation: Instead of reposting in the direct, straight line, repost off-line (diagonally or laterally).

reposting from extension distance for fencing target practice at home

Hanging Ball

Most fencers have seen or heard of practicing with a hanging ball like in the photo below. Our hanging ball is wall-mounted on a shorter string (shorter than from the ceiling, for instance) so that the pendulum tempo can be more representative of an adversary’s weapon in motion.

The hanging ball does not resist your strike like a wall target does, so practice on the ball removes the expectation of resistance upon a hit and therefore encourages your attacks to be exact and controlled.

From *Modern Fencing* (1973 ed.) by Clovis Deladrier, former Maitre d’Armes of the Belgian Army (1906-26) and Head Fencing Master at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1927 until his death in 1947. See More Images.

Drills

Hitting a Moving Target

Take your extension distance to the ball and practice hitting the ball in motion. Don’t wait for the ball to be completely stationary to attack again. Practice in all hand positions and be mindful to return to a complete guard before the next attack.

Advanced Variation: Expand the distance to demi-lunge, lunge, or advance-lunge distance.

Deception

The swinging ball can represent your opponent’s attempt to take your blade. Position yourself on guard at a close enough distance so that the point of your weapon is one inch past the ball. Set the ball swinging side to side and practice deceiving around the ball into finished hand positions.

deceiving a swinging ball for fencing target practice at home

Stop Thrust

Set yourself on guard at extension distance to the ball and set it swinging lightly front to back. Hit the ball as it swings back towards you with a stop thrust.

Advanced Variation: The same as above but with a lunge-back in a variety of hand positions.

Target & Ball

The two of these targets together gives fencers the most drill variety for fencing target practice at home with all the above exercises as well as a few that are unique to having both targets together.

The hanging ball can be raised or lowered to swing in front of (and protect) the wall target’s high or low quadrants.

Note: If you already have one of our wall targets you can easily suspend it from the hook incorporated into our hanging ball’s mounting plate.

Drills

Attacking Around the Ball

Position yourself at lunge distance to the wall target and set the ball swinging side to side. As the ball reaches it’s apex on one side, and starting from any hand position, fully extend and lunge to one of the two quadrants protected by the ball. Set the ball high to protect high-line quadrants and low for low-line quadrants.

Note: In the French school, if the hand is properly angled (thumb at 1 o’clock or 11 o’clock) the blade will bend around the hanging cord.

fencing target practice at home with wall target and ball

Compound Attacks Around the Ball

Position yourself at lunge distance to the wall target and set the ball in a low position swinging side to side. As the ball reaches its apex on each side, feint with full extensions to the opposite lateral or diagonal lines. Lunge after one, two, or three consecutive feints.

More Variations

There’s lots more fencing target practice at home than what we can include in this blog. Ask your instructor for more drills and they’ll surely provide you with more and likely with some tuned to your specific training needs.

Shorter or Taller Adversaries: The wall target should be set so that the bull’s eye is at the height of your sternum. Advanced fencers can raise or lower the target to simulate shorter or taller opponents. The hanging ball can be adjusted similarly.

Add Footwork: Set yourself farther away from the target and practice additional footwork with your attacks such as advance-lunge or pass-forward lunge. Advanced fencers can incorporate a swinging ball to practice their own footwork and bladework against an opposing tempo.

Mounting and Adjusting

Our wall targets and hanging balls include all necessary mounting hardware. We recommend mounting both at 62″ from the floor regardless of your own height.

Adjusting for Height

Once mounted, all our targets can be raised or lowered with the cord to adjust to any fencer’s height. We recommend setting the wall target’s bull’s eye at the height of your sternum.

Mounting Instructions

Mounting instructions for each target can be found on the following pages:

How to Clean a Fencing Mask

April 4, 2017July 19, 2021

It’s easy to clean a fencing mask! We’ve detailed our methods for keeping your mask in it’s best, lustrous condition. Remember that regular cleaning will make future cleanings fast and efficient.

How to Clean a Fencing Mask

Warnings: Manufacturers of fencing masks know the specifics of maintenance more than can be detailed here. Check for manufacturer cleaning instructions before considering any advice given here. It’s very important to never use bleach on fencing masks and bibs. Bleach will deteriorate the bib’s puncture resistance.

Washing: Use a large, clean bucket immerse the mask in warm water with a few capfuls of Rit Whitener & Brightener and a laundry detergent of your choice. Don’t use OxiClean as it will cause any exposed metal to instantly rust! Work the soap into the bib with a semi-hard plastic bristle brush until stains are removed. Rinse thoroughly and squeeze out as much water as possible before air drying at room temperature. It may take a day or two, depending on the climate.

Stain Removal: Really stubborn stains (like rust, coffee, or blood) can be removed safely with the same spot removing technique we use on jackets.

the Mesh

Punch Test: Use your own or your school’s punch test to guarantee the strength of the wire mesh. The mask protects your face, and you should know if it will do it’s job. Punch tests are available at many sport fencing suppliers. Test as many points on the mask as you’d like, but we recommend at least 10 spots.

Cleaning the Mesh: Most modern masks are coated in a protective plastic or paint which may scrape off with use. Any exposed mesh may rust. Use a wire brush, steel wool, or abrasive cleaning pads to remove rust. Be careful not to spread the rust onto the fabric of the mask when cleaning. Coat those exposed areas with wax or Rustoleum paint to prevent future degradation.

Prevention & Post-Use Care

Separation: Separate your fencing mask from other equipment, especially steel weapons. Transport your mask separate and isolated in a cloth bag (a pillow case is perfect). Do the same for your jacket, pants, gloves, etc to keep all your equipment clean.

Air Dry After Use: Have a dedicated space in your closet or bathroom with enough hangers to air dry all of your equipment after use. It should only take a few hours to dry and will keep your clothes from growing mildew.

Special Techniques

Rust: Spot clean a fencing mask with the recipe we use on jackets.

Sweat Stains: Ivory soap has been around since 1879 and is a fine product. It’s incredibly good at dissolving natural oils making it useful to remove sweat stains & body odor. If you have some particularly tough stains on the mask’s bib, try hand-scrubbing with Ivory soap.

Odors: Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) shouldn’t only be found in your refrigerator or cupboard. Add a cup of baking soda when soaking the mask to balance the pH of the water to make your detergent more effective and help remove odors.

Blood: Take extreme care with blood, even your own! Be considerate of the possible biological contagion blood presents (which is probably minimal), but more so people’s psychological fears of it. Spot clean a fencing mask as quickly as possible and properly dispose of any cleaning materials containing blood.

How to Clean a Fencing Jacket

February 13, 2017July 19, 2021

Fencing Jackets are traditionally made of white canvas and cotton batting. You may clean a fencing jacket easily, but find it difficult to keep lustrous. We’ve detailed our tried and trued methods below for keeping jackets in their best condition. Remember, regular washing will make future cleanings fast and efficient.

Prevention & Post-Use Care

Separation: Always separate your fencing clothes from other equipment especially steel weapons. Transport your jacket and gloves separate and isolated in cloth bags (a pillow case is perfect). Do the same for your mask, pants, etc. Keeping sweaty cloth away from steel prevents rust stains. Don’t rest your jacket on dirty surfaces between use. Politely request your opponent not rest his or her weapon’s tip on the ground to prevent transfer onto your jacket.

How to Clean a Fencing Jacket

Warnings: There are many manufacturers of fencing jackets who know the specifics of their garment more than can be detailed here. Check the manufacturers cleaning instructions before considering any advice given here. When you get a new jacket wash it before use removing any chemicals from the manufacturing processes, and any excess dye. It’s very important to never use bleach on fencing jackets. Bleach will deteriorate the jacket’s puncture resistance.

Washing: Machine wash the jacket alone or with other washable, white fencing garments (like underarm protectors or knickers). Use cold water unless you’re certain the jacket has already shrunk (or if you’d like it to). Cold water should not shrink the jacket. We recommend using OxiClean White Revive to clean and brighten jackets. If you have sensitive skin we recommend running the jacket again with a detergent of your choice after a wash with OxiClean.

Drying: Allot enough time after washing to hang and air dry the jacket. Air drying has the least chance of shrinking the jacket. If necessary use a machine dryer but on the lowest heat. High atmospheric heat may also shrink the jacket, so don’t air dry outside in 100 degree weather!

Soaking: Soaking the jacket can help remove stubborn stains and make machine washing more effective. Immerse the jacket in a cleaned basin, tub, or bucket with cold water and OxiClean White Revive according to their soaking instructions. Do not mix garments; soak one at a time! Use enough water to submerge the garment but not dilute the solution too much. Soak for at least an hour and repeat if necessary. If there’s some really tough stains and discoloration soak the jacket with a few capfuls of Rit Whitener & Brightener. Agitate the garment occasionally in the soaking solution by hand. Once the stains are gone or diminished follow the washing instructions above.

Stain Removal

Don’t Let it Set In! So you spilled your cappuccino on your fencing jacket? Don’t panic! You can fix it! Take the jacket off off and sponge up the liquid with a dampened paper towel. Get as much of the stain out by blotting only, don’t wipe, scratch, or smear! Wash the jacket as quickly as possible after blotting the stain, but do not dry until the stain is gone. Repeat soaking, washing, or spot removing prior to drying. If you dry a jacket with sweat or spot stains it “sets them in” making them far harder to remove

Stain Removing: Stains can be very stubborn and will tempt you to break the ‘no bleach’ rule. Don’t do it! The best technique we’ve developed requires sunlight, salt, and lemon juice:

Benjamin’s Spot Removing Technique
In a small bowl or ramekin stir together until mixed:
-1/3 cup room temp. lemon juice
-1 tablespoon salt
After blotting the stain (see above) and washing in OxiClean (see above), hang the jacket outside and expose the stain(s) directly to the sun. Using a spoon or eyedropper, bead drops of the mixture onto the stain until saturated. Set in direct sunlight and reapply the mixture as it dries. Repeat until the stain is removed. Rotate the jacket to keep the stain directly facing the sun.

Special Techniques

Rust: See above spot removing technique to clean a fencing jacket of rust stains.

Sweat Stains: Ivory soap has been around since 1879 and is a fine product. It’s incredibly good at dissolving natural oils making it useful to remove sweat stains & body odor. If you have some particularly tough collar or underarm stains, try hand-washing the jacket with Ivory soap.

Odors: Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) shouldn’t only be found in your refrigerator or cupboard. Add a cup of baking soda when machine washing your jacket and it will better balance the pH of the water making your detergent more effective and help remove odors. You may also clean a fencing jacket with detergents specified for athletic wear.

Blood: Take extreme care with blood, even your own! Be considerate of the possible biological contagion blood presents (which is probably minimal), but more so people’s psychological fears of it. Spot clean a fencing jacket with the above mixture as quickly as possible and properly dispose of any materials containing blood.

How To Attach a Leather Foil Button

January 6, 2017July 19, 2021

Leather foil buttons are the traditional point covering for fencing weapons. A strip of leather covers the blade’s nail head and a strand of tightly-wound waxed cord secures it in place. It’s a simple and elegant button made with with traditional materials. The lifespan of a leather foil button largely depends on use, but averages about six to eight months when fencing multiple times a week.

What You Need

Pliable leather ~ 1/8″ thick, as wide as intended nail-head. Cut into a elongated & tapered diamond:

Waxed cord. We use .030 thickness waxed polycord
Vice with leather or cloth to pad vice jaws
Scouring pad to clean blade
Scissors

Prepare Blade

Remove the existing button and the residue it may have left behind. Use a scouring pad to completely clean the blade of rust and adhesives.

Fixture Blade

Use a vice to hold the blade in place while you work. Use pieces of leather or cloth on either side of the vice jaws to prevent damage to the blade. It’s possible to do this without a vice but it will be more difficult to wrap tightly and securely.

Anchor Cord

Anchor the waxed cord to the blade with a double knot just below the nail head. Trim cord about a quarter inch from knot.

Set Base Wrapping

Wind the waxed cord evenly down the blade about an inch. Larger nail heads should be wrapped about 1.5 inches. Once at the bottom, wind the cord back up to just below the nail head with even spacing.

Set & Align Leather

Set the leather strip pointing towards you atop the blade’s nail head.

Loosely Secure

Fold the leather over the nail head and wrap the cord from just underneath the nail head down to the bottom of the folded leather. Wrap moderately tight with spacing between each rotation to simply set the leather in place.

Tightly Secure

Once the leather foil button is loosely secure so that it wont twist or immediately fall off, increase your cord’s tension and start tightly wrapping the button in the same manner as the last step. Continue wrapping until the point is completely secure. Test the fitting by trying to displace the button side to side. The button should not move or shift when wrapped tightly and correctly. Wrap the leather button’s sides as needed to give an even taper and transition from button to blade.

Tie Off

Tie off the cord with a few double knots just below the nail head. Pull the knots tight so that the waxed cord sinks into the wrapping and squeezes off excess wax. Trim the cord about a quarter inch from the wrapping.

Finished!

How to Attach a Point d’Arret

December 14, 2016July 19, 20212 Comments

A point d’arret (pronounced point dah-rey) is an excellent and important addition to dueling swords. Point d’arrets affix with waxed thread to the nail head point of dueling sword blades to better simulate stopping power. They usually have three sharpened prongs, one of which aligns with the bottom edge of the blade. Point d’arrets have been mentioned and recommended by many fencing masters since at least the 19^th century.

The primary target for the dueling sword is the hand and arm which may be difficult to hit with a rubber or leather tip. The point d’arret’s sharpened prongs catch the jacket or glove’s fabric to simulate penetration into the hand or arm. Point d’arrets are crucial to maintain the proper mentality of a sharpened sword.

What You Need

Point d’Arret
Waxed cord.
Vice with leather or cloth to pad vice jaws
Scouring pad to clean blade
Scissors

Prepare Blade

Remove the existing button and any residue it may have left behind. Use a scouring pad to completely clean the blade of rust and adhesives. Some blade’s nail heads may be imperfect and/or not perpendicular to the blade. This should be corrected by carefully filing the nail-head flat prior to mounting your point d’arret.

Fixture Blade

Use a vice to hold the blade in place while you work. Align the bottom of the blade’s ‘V’ cross section towards you. Use piece of leather or cloth on either side of the vice jaws to prevent damage to the blade. It’s possible to do this without a vice but it will be more difficult to wrap tightly and securely.

Anchor Cord

Anchor the waxed cord to the blade with a double knot just below the nail head. Trim cord about a quarter inch from knot.

Set Base Wrapping

Wind the waxed cord evenly down the blade about an inch. Larger nail heads should be wrapped about 1.5 inches. Once at the bottom, wind the cord back up to just below the nail head with even spacing.

Set & Align Point d’Arret

Set the point d’arret on the nail head with your favorite prong aligned with the bottom of the blade’s ‘V’ cross section. This bottom prong is utilized more than the others in dueling sword technique. Occasional remounting and rotation of the point d’arret to utilize all three prongs in this bottom position can help extend it’s life.

Loosely Secure

Start looping the waxed cord over the point d’arret between it’s prongs and down the base wrapping on the blade. Wrap one rotation around the blade for each loop over the point d’arret to lock the cord in place. Alternate wrapping between different prongs of the point d’arret. Wrap this loosely though without slack to set the point in place paying careful attention to keeping the bottom prong aligned with the bottom of the blade’s ‘V’ cross section.

Tightly Secure

Once the point d’arret is loosely secure so that it wont twist or immediately fall off, increase your cord’s tension and start tightly wrapping the point in the same manner as the last step. Occasionally wind the cord only around the blade to lock down the loops over the point d’arret. Continue wrapping until the point is completely secure and until the cord has almost filled the gaps between the point’s prongs. Test the fitting by trying to displace the point d’arret side to side. The point should not move or shift when wrapped tightly and correctly. Wrap below the point d’arret as needed to give an even taper and transition from point d’arret to blade.

Tie Off

Tie off the cord with a few double knots. Pull the knots tight so that the waxed cord sinks into the wrapping and squeezes off excess wax. Trim the cord about a quarter inch from the wrapping.

Finished!