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Flash
Back in 2013 when we were just starting out, an acquaintance of ours in Korea sent us a (now sadly defunct) video link of a national tournament, in which some enormous fencer in unmarked gear was...
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Judgment: What referees can learn from Budapest Worlds
The 2019 men’s sabre team final in Budapest was dramatic. It was close, it was tense, it was heated, and it was watched by an awful lot of people. Right in the middle of all this, referee Luigi...
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John’s Guide to Sabre Equipment
tldr; version: “Buy the minimum set. For your body, right now. Of the best quality you can afford. Starting with things you can’t or don’t want to borrow.” People fencing at Sydney Sabre don’t need to...
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Waratah
Sydney Sabre has gone into hibernation. We started preparing for this a month or so ago, when the first reports of COVID-19 escaping Wuhan hit the news. Initially, we hoped to be lucky – Australia is...
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Sydney Sabre’s 8th Iso-Birthday
Long long ago, in the Precedented Times, a bunch of nerds who liked to play a fun sword-fighting game somehow managed to convince a commercial landlord to lease them an unloved vacant office space on...
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The Sydney Sabre Course (with article index)
When we started Sydney Sabre there were few guides for teaching adults how to fence. The syllabi and books we found focused on children and the foil, the standard training weapon of civilian duelists...
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The Break
Excerpt from Make the Cut: Sabre Fencing for Adults, pre-print July 2021. It was meant to be a quick, cheeky, in-and-out raid. Take Thursday and Friday off work. Wake at dawn. Crush emails in the taxi...
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The Footwork
Excerpt from Make the Cut: Sabre Fencing for Adults, pre-print July 2021. Won Wooyoung didn’t move the way coaches taught people to move, or in any way fencing manuals described. For one thing, he...
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The March
Most sabre exchanges play out like an Akira Kurosawa samurai duel. Two fighters face off in silence. Then suddenly, they sprint! Blades flash. Dramatic pause. One falls, one stays standing. Or...
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WE ARE MOVING – An Extremely Important Update from Sydney Sabre
G’day I’ve got big news: We’ve been kicked out of our building. As you are probably aware, our landlord has been planning for some time to demolish the building. After the NSW Government re-opened the...
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Mass Market: How To Make Sabre Broadcasting Huge
Every decision that the FIE has flung down from on high in recent years has had the same basic pitch: This will make fencing look better on TV. There’s a desperate cargo-cult logic happening here. All...
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For my students going to competitions after an unusual year
It’s been a rough year. Now, as year closes, the competition circuit is waking up. Some of you are going to the clutch of competitions being crammed into the next few weeks various federations, to...
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Q&A: Drill where the student hits to coach’s head?
A recent question from another coach: John/FrancesI hope you might have the time to indulge in a question I’ve had about saber lessons for a long time. I have been posing this to some other coaches...
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Q&A: Defeating taller faster counterattackers
Children can be cruel. A student came for his lesson a few weeks ago. He looked deflated. It was a distinct down from his usual chirpy comportment. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Nothing,” he said. Then, a...
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Week 1: The Box of Death
Dear Instructor: This one is an easy class. The main thing is to help the students revise what they learned from Intro and apply those moves to playing rock-paper-scissors in the 4m zone. This analogy...
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Week 2: The March
Dear Instructor: This is the third session in the Course, after Intro and the 4m zone / Box of Death. This and the next session, Defence, covers the basics of what your students should do on the March...
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Week 3: The Defence
Dear Instructor: Your student should now know how to move safely, play the 4m zone, and launch attacks accurately on the March. This class focuses on what the Defender should do outside the 4m zone....
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Week 4: Disengage
Dear Instructor: Welcome to Week 4. By this stage, your students should be able to fence and referee a complete bout. They can fight in the 4m zone and outside, whether on the March with priority, or...
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Week 5: Defensive Sweeps
Dear Instructor: Welcome to Week 5. Last week, your students should have learned how to use disengages as Attackers on the March. Disengages are excellent techniques for finishing the attack; I...
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Week 6: Skitter
Dear Instructor: Welcome to Week 6. Your students should look authentic now: able to fight effectively and adapt to their opponent in the 4m zone, on the March, and on Defence, with textbook...
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