Training for Fencing

[Randy Scheingold]

My son (11.5 years old) is starting to get into regional & national fencing competitions. He is not yet at Tanner stage 4, so we are not training yet. But he does come with me to the gym once or twice a week and I now have him practicing form on a few of the lifts. Note: This is at his request, I am not forcing it on him.

I've read your article on strength training for fencing: http://startingstrength.com/articles...g_rippetoe.pdf.

I'm not sure how dated the article is, so I wanted to confirm would you still include the following?

Core Exercises
High Repetition Vertical Jump

Assistance Exercises
Lunge
Hammer Curls
Wrist Roller
Grip work

And, for a child with poor genetics/poor coordination. Would it be smarter to hold on the Explosive movements until he can really start to train and let him build up a base of strength first?

[Mark Rippetoe]

The article is dated. I would not include any assistance exercises, including vertical jumps. I would simply get fencers strong, at the appropriate time in their development.

[dbm77]

Take him ice skating and horseback riding. Those will help him develop balance and coordination.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Maybe fencing will help too.

[Randy Scheingold]

For a kid who could barely catch a ball a few years ago (and flinched every time he tried). It is AWESOME to watch him don his fencing gear and mix it up with some really talented kids in a weapons sport. Amazing for his self confidence. When he gets older, I'll get him training and that should round out the rough spots...Enough so that he can consider himself to be the athlete he is...regardless of his ability (or inability ) to land a 3 point shot or hit a fast ball.

[Mark E. Hurling]

regardless of his ability (or inability ) to land a 3 point shot or hit a fast ball.

I sucked at baseball and basketball much to my shame because they were THE big sports for kids in the 50's and 60's. I flinched at catching a fast moving baseball and could not consistently hit one with a bat. Not to mention I lacked the hand/eye coordination to make a ball go through the hoop. But I COULD hit hard on the line in football and make my presence felt by the running running backs. Likewise, I could hold my own in the discus and shot put pits.

Every kid has to find their niche in athletic endeavors. Some have no talent for any of them and that's fine too. But help them find what they CAN do well.

[Brodie Butland]

Every kid has to find their niche in athletic endeavors. Some have no talent for any of them and that's fine too.

I was one of these kids. Father played semi-professional baseball, and both my brothers started as three-sport athletes and eventually settled on baseball in high school and college. I stopped playing when I was 9 because although I enjoyed the game, I didn't enjoy playing it. So instead I umpired for about 13 years...and seeing as I was the only one of my brothers who had fun money during the year (which got really lucrative once I got my license), I think I ultimately had it better off. And I also did all the stuff that makes you cool when you're 50--like chess, debate, and magic.

One thing to my parents' credit, though--they supported me in my nerdy activities every bit as much as they supported my brothers in their jock activities. My father was disappointed that I didn't want to continue baseball, but he understood and never held it against me.

And now, ironically, I'm by far the strongest member of the entire extended family on both sides.

But help them find what they CAN do well.

Or those things they don't do particularly well, but really enjoy doing and work hard at getting better. The journey is often more important than the destination. I was a very mediocre debater in high school and college, but I learned more from doing the activity than any class I took or any book I read. I'm an even more mediocre lifter, but I've learned things about myself from lifting over the last four years that I never would have learned otherwise.