I’m Giving Fencing Lessons…

This ad is going up all over my neighborhood soon.

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Tags: Dan Kellner, Fencing, Fencing Lessons
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Is It Okay to Yell After You Get a Touch?

The Flash, a.k.a. Barry Allen, a.k.a. Cyrus Summerlin asks:

Do you think it is ok to yell after you get a touch?

Though I’m not a big fan of yelling after touches during a bout, I have been known to yell “C’mon!” after scoring important touches in a bout.

Yelling after a touch is a good way to both keep yourself psyched up and to demoralize your opponent, but I do think it should be done appropriately. There are definitely some fencers who yell too much after a touch. Not only can it come off as fake, but it’s usually also very obnoxious. An unintended side effect is that your opponent may become so irritated that they start fencing harder and better in order to shut you up. Yelling after the final touch of a bout to celebrate a victory is fine as long as you keep the celebration proportional to the importance of the bout you just won. + Continue reading…

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Tags: Fencing, kiai, yelling
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Great News for U.S. Fencing!

According to the Universal Sports channel press release, Universal Sports will be broadcasting the 2009 Fencing World Championships.

This is great news for U.S. fencing!

Hopefully this is just the start of more media coverage for fencing and will enable U.S athletes to find sponsorship opportunities and keep improving upon their success.

Read the whole press release here.
Thanks to Tim Morehouse for the link.

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Tags: Fencing, tim morehouse, universal sports
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2003 Copa Venezuela Grand Prix World Cup

Below is a video of me fencing Joao Gomes of Portugal in the round of 4 at the 2003 Copa Venezuela Grand Prix World Cup in Caracas, Venezuela.

Even though I win and advance to the gold medal bout, I don’t consider this some of my best fencing. I don’t bend my knees enough and I rush forward on my attacks without my point being ready. I make this mistake a lot, ignoring some of the basic fencing tenets I try to preach: Point first. Start slow. Finish fast.

Gomes’s style of fencing involves a lot of counter-attacks, some parry-ripostes, and a few attacks-in-preparation. He barely, if at all, makes pushing attacks.

I always considered myself more of a defensive fencer, with my best attacks being set up by defense. However, because I knew Gomes wouldn’t attack me, I felt like I had to run him down and I ended up negating the strengths of my game.

You’ll hear Jon Tiomkin telling me to set up second intention. If I had listened, the score probably wouldn’t have been so close.

PS I’m sorry if the sound in the video keeps cutting out.

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Tags: Caracas, Dan Kellner, Fencing, Joao Gomes, Jon Tiomkin, Venezuela
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Building Confidence in Your Fencing

I’m not sure if I can stress enough how important having confidence is to your success at fencing (or life in general). What I’m talking about is not brash, loud, empty bravado or egotism, but the quiet assuredness you can feel emanating from people who are secure in themselves and their abilities. + Continue reading…

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Tags: confidence, Dan Kellner, Dr. Rob Udewitz, Fencing
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2005 Villa De La Habana Grand Prix World Cup: Part 1

Below is a video of me fencing Andrea Baldini in the round of 8 at the 2005 Villa De La Habana Grand Prix World Cup in Havana, Cuba.

This bout was part of what was arguably the best all-around day of my fencing career.

Though I lost in the top 4 to Erwann Le Pechoux and this wasn’t my highest World Cup finish, I beat Tomasz Cieply of Poland to make the 32, Renal Ganeev of Russia - who had just placed 4th in the 2004 Olympics - to make the 16, and Andrea Cassara’, the 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist, to make the 8 (in that bout I was down 5 - 10 and won 15 - 12). + Continue reading…

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Tags: Andrea Baldini, Cuba, Dan Kellner, Fencing, Havana, Jesse Schibilia
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Questions About the En Garde Position

Anthony from Madison, WI asks:

I’ve noticed that you stayed extremely low in your en garde. I can’t remember ever seeing someone lower. What unique benefits does your super low position give you and what drawbacks does it have?

Earlier in my career I didn’t sit that low in my en garde, but it was something I developed over time with my coach. To remind myself to bend my knees, I used to get en garde, squat down almost all the way to the strip, and get back up lower than where I started. This motion was a trigger I developed to make sure I was focused and my legs were better prepared for whatever I needed to do. + Continue reading…

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Tags: Dan Kellner, Fencing
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Balancing College and Fencing

Jacques from South Africa asks:

How did you manage your fencing and your university degree? How did you balance your training with your work later on, especially when it came to traveling to World Cups?

For me, balancing fencing and college - I attended Columbia University - was a task that took a little bit of luck, some indecision, and a lot of discipline in my time management. Ultimately though, it was about making fencing my first priority. + Continue reading…

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Tags: college, Dan Kellner, Fencing, university
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When is the Best Time to Lunge?: Part 2

So as I promised in the first part of this post, here are some drills to improve your lunge and your ability to recognize your lunge distance in a bout. (They require a partner and should be done hooked up to a machine.) + Continue reading…

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Tags: Dan Kellner, Fencing
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Is Foil “Broken”?

Anthony from Madison, WI asks:

Regarding the 2009 change to the foil target area, would you say foil is broken and should they find another way to change it?

The short answer is, yes, foil is broken and it needs to be fixed. The long answer requires some explanation.

The first major change in foil was the introduction of electric foil for the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia. Using a scoring machine (ostensibly) reduced the bias in directing refereeing and heralded a new era of modern foil fencing. Scoring had become more accurate than had ever been possible with human judges and the sport became more athletic and aggressive. Touches became lighter and faster and there was no mistaking a valid hit to the back or flank. + Continue reading…

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Tags: Dan Kellner, Fencing
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