You are standing on the unforgiving piste, the weight of your weapon in hand. Your breath quickens, heart pounding, as you face your opponent. The score is tied, 14-14. Every move feels like a dance on the edge of victory and defeat. Each step, each parry, a desperate bid for… Read More »Why Fencing Is Often So Disappointing: 12% of Bouts Are Lost by One Point

Can past performance predict future results? This is a question of many fencers, who wonder if the place they currently are is the place they are always going to be, or if one day they will be able to get an A rating or win a tournament. Of course you… Read More »Do Past Performances Predict Future Results?

In my post When Can Youth and Cadet Fencers Make a Breakthrough? I talk about the small changes that occur year by year, but I don’t talk about the large changes that can happen over a large period of time.  I didn’t think that this was on-topic for that post, but… Read More »Y-12 Performance Predicts Cadet Performance Surprisingly Well

Everyone thinks their weapon is the best. This is not hyperbole. If you don’t think your weapon is the best, then why are you doing it? Switch to the weapon that you think is the best. We also all believe that our weapon is the most difficult, the most fun,… Read More »Is Epee Easier Than Foil?

Sometimes in youth fencing, fencers make huge improvements, going from getting cut during pools to medalling at NACs, or from an E rating to an A rating. However, when do most of these breakthroughs happen? I have heard some coaches say that it can happen between Y12 and Y14 when… Read More »When Can Youth and Cadet Fencers Make a Breakthrough?

Most of the time when someone gets top 8 at a NAC, they get an A! This is cool, however, how often are people upgrading their ratings rather than just renewing? I analyzed the number of fencers from each rating who got into the top 8, 16, 32, and 64,… Read More »How Often Can Low Rated Fencers Advance to the Later Rounds?

For my first post, I want to look at the win probability between certain ratings. Ratings are a bit strange in fencing because everybody cares about earning a higher rating, but at the same time people also say that they don’t matter. It’s also commonly known that there is a… Read More »Unveiling Fencing’s Winning Odds by Rating