A New __________ Fencer Here!

My first fencing class was tonight. I was so excited going into it and by the end I didn't want to leave. Already I'm wishing I didn't have to wait a week to get back in there. Still, I'm being patient, which is hard to do when you're super hype.

Our teacher, a certified fencing master of many, many decades, was very pleasant and welcoming. We started the class by watching some short videos on the different weapon styles (Foil, Saber, and then Epee). It was great to see our teacher, Walter, be so into commentating what was happening for us. It reminded me of how I get watching premier league soccer on the weekends.

At the end of the video, we (my friend and I) were led to the back of the Salle to learn about each weapon, hold one, etc. At the end of that, we got to pick which weapon we wanted to focus on for the rest of our beginner sessions. We were torn between Foil and Saber and ultimately, Walter made the suggestion we went with based on the reasons we said we were there, the primary one being that both of us wanted to get more active.

Walter handed us both a Saber and said "How about you two become saber fencers?" We were excited and gladly accepted. He competed and ultimately refereed Saber for years. This makes it even better in my mind. Plus, we knew we could always switch later on and Saber seems like an awesome way to start!

We learned basic moving forward and retreating. We learned how to lunge. We learned all of this with a saber in our hands. I have to say, that really made it. Finally, Walter donned a vest and mask and we learned some simple attacks - one to the head, one slash to the torso, another to the shoulder, and finally a lunge attack. We loved it!

After the class, we walked back up to the office to get our paperwork/payment figured out. By that time, two other fencers had arrived and Walter introduced us as new saber fencers to both of them, which felt mildly awesome.

We don't go back until next Thursday, so it's a bit of a wait. I plan on practicing my footwork on a daily basis! Without a weapon, I think that's as much as I can do, so I'm going to start there.

(BTW - I realize it's spelled "Sabre" but I read somewhere that it can be spelled either way in the US. What's the preferred form?)