If you already play footy, soccer, tennis, cricket or a martial art, it is easy to assume fencing would mean starting from scratch. A lot of what you have already trained is useful here. The timing, the footwork, the habit of watching an opponent, and the composure to wait for the right moment all show up on a fencing strip.
That is a head start, not a finished fencer. The stance, the lunge and the way you use the blade still have to be learned, and some old habits will need a small adjustment. The lowest pressure way to find out how it feels is a free first session at The Fencing Club, training in Camp Hill and Whites Hill. See how a free first session works, or email paul@thefencingclub.com.au. No obligation. Your call.
Jump to your sport
- Australian football and rugby league
- Soccer and football
- Tennis, squash and badminton
- Cricket
- Swimming
- Martial arts
- Dance and gymnastics
Your sport already trained some of the hard parts
A fencing bout is one person against one other. You score with a weapon, under rules that depend on whether you are using foil, epee or sabre. The work is physical, and it is also a series of decisions: when to step in, when to wait, and when the other person is about to move.
Fencing is an open skill sport, which means the picture keeps changing because of the opponent. A review of fencing performance found that it is hard to tie results to any one physical quality. Anticipation, and the ability to hide and read intentions, matter, and they need to be supported by fitness. (Roi and Bianchedi, Sports Medicine, 2008)
That does not, by itself, mean the sport you already play will transfer those skills. A later review of skill transfer between sports found mixed results. Some qualities carry over more readily when the sports share similar demands, and some do not. The studies were of mixed quality, and the authors said the evidence was not strong enough to support claims about long term development across sports. (Oppici and Panchuk, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2021)
So this page does not promise that a footballer or a martial artist will be ahead of other beginners. It explains which skills often help, and what usually needs to be adjusted, so you can try the sport with your eyes open. You can also keep the sport you already play. Fencing can sit beside it, or fill a gap when a season is quiet. There is a separate guide to off season sport for cricketers and footballers.
What a fencing bout asks of you
Fencers start in a guard position, often called en garde. The front foot points at the opponent. The rear foot is turned out, often towards a right angle, so the stance is stable and ready to push. From there you advance, retreat, and, when the moment is right, lunge. In the lunge, the rear leg extends forcefully and the front foot travels forward, while the weapon arm goes out to score. (Chen and others, PLOS ONE, 2017; Gresham-Fiegel, House and Zupan, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2013)
Most of that movement happens on a narrow strip, 14 metres long and 1.5 metres wide, so the contest is mostly forward and back, not a run around a field or court. (FIE technical rules; WA sports dimensions guide for fencing)
The three Olympic weapons used at The Fencing Club are foil, epee and sabre.
- Foil and epee score with the point only. Sabre can score with the cutting edge and the point.
- Foil uses the torso as the target, and a right of way rule.
- Epee uses the whole body and has no right of way.
- Sabre uses the body above the waist, including the head and arms, and also has right of way.
(The Three Weapons, International Fencing Federation.)
Fencers wear a mask, a jacket and a glove. The kit and the rules lower the risk. They do not remove it. A fuller, plain account of what fencing is, including the weapons and Australia’s Olympic fencing story, is on its own page.
Experienced fencers tend to respond faster and more accurately than beginners in tests designed for fencing. That is a description of what the sport rewards, not a claim about people arriving from other sports. (Williams and Walmsley, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2000)
The Fencing Club has taught foil, epee and sabre in Brisbane since 1997, and welcomes beginners of any age, including people who have never held a weapon.
Australian football and rugby league
What often carries
Australian football and rugby league already ask you to change direction, explode off the mark, and read a person in front of you. A marking contest, a tackle approach, or a one against one in space is a test of timing and nerve. Those habits help when a fencing opponent is trying to close the distance, or trying to draw you in.
What usually needs to adjust
What usually needs to adjust is the shape of the contest. Fencing happens on a narrow strip, mostly in a straight line, in a side on guard position. You cannot bump, wrap or rely on a pack. The score comes from a weapon at a distance, not from body contact. The strength and courage you already have still matter. They just get used in a tighter, more linear puzzle.
Footy remains an excellent sport for many children and adults. You do not have to leave the oval to come and look.
If you want to see how those habits feel on a strip, ask about a free first session. No obligation. Your call.
Soccer and football
What often carries
Soccer already trains distance. Jockeying a dribbler, closing down at the right moment, and not diving in are close cousins of fencing measure: staying just in or just out of range. First step speed, change of direction, and reading a feint all help, because a fencing exchange is also a test of who moves first, and who waits.
What usually needs to adjust
What changes is the object you watch. There is no ball. Your eyes go to the opponent’s feet, torso and blade. The stance is side on, and most of the movement is forward and back rather than a curved run. You will not kick. The habit of timing a run can help on the strip.
Soccer can stay as the Saturday sport. Fencing is a different contest that can sit midweek, or fill the months when the pitch is quiet.
A first session is free if you want to try that sense of measure on a fencing strip. See how a free first session works.
Tennis, squash and badminton
Racquet sports already train a ready position, a quick first step, recovery, and a scored one against one contest. That is a genuine head start in fencing footwork and timing. The main adjustments are the line of movement, which is mostly forward and back, and the hand, because a racquet swing’s wrist action can get in the way of a steady fencing point.
A fuller account of how tennis skills carry over, what usually needs to adjust, and what fencing can add, is in how tennis helps your fencing.
Or try a free first session and see how it feels. No obligation.
Cricket
What often carries
A batter already lives in a one against one moment: watch the cues, decide, and time a response. Fielders do a version of the same thing when a ball comes quickly. That composure, and the habit of waiting rather than swinging too soon, is valuable on a fencing strip.
What usually needs to adjust
What changes is the implement and the geometry. There is no ball, and no crease. The “delivery” comes from an opponent’s feet and blade, and you are moving almost constantly in a guard position rather than settling between balls. The bat swing does not map onto a fencing extension. The watching and the nerve do.
Cricket can keep its summer, or its weekend. Fencing is an indoor option that can fill the quieter months, or sit beside a season that is already under way.
A free first session is a low pressure way to test that composure on the strip. Ask about a first session. Your call.
Swimming
What often carries
Swimming already builds aerobic fitness, rhythm, and the discipline of repeating a movement cleanly. It also trains body awareness and the ability to stay composed in a measured effort. Those things can make a fencing session feel less foreign, especially the repeated footwork and the need to keep thinking when you are breathing hard.
What usually needs to adjust
What needs to be learned is the land work. Fencing is upright and asymmetrical in its stance, and it is stopped and started on a floor. The guard position and the lunge load the legs in a way a stroke does not. There is no water to support you, and there is a weapon to steer. Fitness is the head start. The stance is the new work.
Swimming can stay as the pool sport. Fencing is not a second water session. It is a scored, indoor contest that can sit beside lessons.
If you want to try the land version, the first session is free.
Martial arts, including boxing, karate, taekwondo and Brazilian jiu jitsu
What often carries
Boxing, karate, taekwondo and Brazilian jiu jitsu already train the heart of a fencing bout: a person in front of you, a distance to manage, a moment to choose, and the discipline to stay calm. Feints, timing, and the respect of a formal contest all help. Boxing’s footwork and range management are often close in spirit. Some karate and taekwondo styles also practise a linear attack that will feel familiar when you first lunge.
What usually needs to adjust
Adjustments depend on the art, and they are real.
- Many striking stances are wider, or more square on, than a fencing guard, where the front foot points at the opponent and the rear foot is turned out on a narrow strip.
- Boxing hands stay up to protect the head. In fencing the weapon arm is offered toward the opponent, and the unarmed hand has a set position of its own.
- Kicks are not used.
- Brazilian jiu jitsu’s clinch and ground work do not map onto a fencing bout. Body contact is halted, and the starting distance is much longer because of the weapon.
Fencing is an Olympic bout sport. It is not a personal defence class. If that is the main goal, stay with the martial art. If you want a scored contest with a blade and a mask, the habits you already have will travel, once the stance and the weapon are taught. There is a separate, fair comparison of fencing or martial arts for kids in Brisbane.
You can try a free first session without leaving your existing class. No obligation.
Dance and gymnastics
What often carries
Dance and gymnastics already train balance, posture, rhythm, flexibility, and precise foot placement. They also teach the patience to repeat a movement until it is clean, and the composure to perform while being watched. Those qualities can make the footwork drills, and the need to stay balanced at the end of a lunge, easier to pick up.
What usually needs to adjust
What changes is the job. Fencing is a scored contest against a moving opponent, not a routine set to a phrase of music or a fixed sequence. You have to react, wait, and change your mind. The guard position is asymmetrical. Dancers may need to let the unarmed arm sit in its fencing position rather than in a decorative hold. Gymnasts may need to get used to a lower split stance and to repeated lunges that recover on the line. The control you already have is the head start. The opponent is the new part.
Dance and gymnastics can stay as the first activity. Fencing adds a direct contest and a score, training in Camp Hill and Whites Hill.
If you want to add a scored contest, a first session is free. Your call.
Don’t see your sport?
If you do not see your sport above, fitness, timing and composure can still help. The stance, the lunge and the blade still have to be learned. A free first session is the fair test. See how to try one. No obligation. Your call.
How to try a free first session in Camp Hill and Whites Hill
The club trains in Camp Hill and Whites Hill. The Camp Hill venue is the School Hall, Gate 4 Samuel St, Camp Hill. Email paul@thefencingclub.com.au to ask about a free first session. Mention the sport you already play, if you like. That helps the coach know what you already do.
You do not have to drop Saturday sport to come and look. If fencing is not the right fit, you will have lost an email and an hour, not a whole season. No obligation. Your call.
If you are still comparing options for a child who has not taken to team sport, start with sports for kids who don’t like team sports. If you simply want to know what the sport is, read what fencing is.
FAQ
Will my other sport give me an advantage in fencing?
It can give you a head start in habits such as footwork, timing, distance and composure. It does not skip the work that is specific to fencing. The stance, the lunge and the blade still have to be learned, and a review of transfer between sports found mixed results, so this is not a promise that you will be ahead of other beginners.
Will fencing mess up my tennis, footy or martial arts technique?
Some habits need a small adjustment, such as a tennis player’s wrist action, a footballer’s instinct to move in a curve, or a martial artist’s stance width. Those adjustments belong on the fencing strip. They are not a reason to abandon the sport you already enjoy, and you can keep training both.
Do I have to stop my other sport?
No. Many people use fencing as a second, indoor activity, or as something to do when a season is quiet. You are not being asked to leave your club.
Which sport transfers the most?
It depends on the person, and on what they already trained. A tennis player, a boxer and a dancer may each arrive with a different strength. There is no single winner, which is why the sections above stay specific rather than ranking sports.
I have never been “sporty”. Can I still start?
Yes. Beginners of any age are welcome, including people who have not had a strong first sport. The head start described on this page is a help, not a requirement. A first session is a look, not a performance.
How do we try a session in Camp Hill and Whites Hill?
Email paul@thefencingclub.com.au, or start on the beginners page. The club trains in Camp Hill and Whites Hill. The first session at The Fencing Club is free.
If you already play another sport, you may be closer to fencing than you think. Email paul@thefencingclub.com.au, or ask about a free first session. The club trains in Camp Hill and Whites Hill. No obligation. Your call.