Summer Fencing Programs

For ages 7 - 12

Learn fencing in a professional, safe, structured, goal-oriented, and supportive environment! Foil, mask, jacket and glove provided!

Starts June 19 and runs until July 24 (no class July 3!)
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5 pm

Contact: 541-221-1695

The Youth Program is designed for ages 8 to 12. (For teens, see our Teen and Adult Program). The program has been developed to meet the needs and abilities of these ages. As a parent whose grade-school daughter participates in activities as diverse as karate, fencing and piano, I appreciate the need for specialized instruction which takes into account the child's age and is developed specifically for those needs and abilities. When properly taught, fencing allows children to learn to integrate mind and body; as a result, they gain increased balance, coordination, reflexes, and confidence. The class also teaches children the respect and discipline that have always been equally important aspects of fencing.

At the Northwest Academy our students learn to fence through organized drills, exercises and fencing games designed to be fun while they learn. The overall design of the programs allows students to progress at an individual pace while working, interacting, and having fun with their peers, and teaches discipline and respect of one’s self and of others. Students who wish will have opportunities to join in fun, friendly and supportive competitive situations both locally and in Salem, Oregon, at Salem Classical Fencing. Our Youth Programs offer a fun, structured, goal-oriented, and supportive learning environment for children. Parents are encouraged to stay and watch.

• Fun - we learn to fence and play fencing-related games
• Structured - we learn through an organized series of skill progressions
• Goal-Oriented - students learn to set goals and mark their progress based on those goals
• Supportive - we maintain friendly and respectful environment
• Safe - we learn control, discipline, respect, and proper use of equipment

We use the Classical Instructional Method, a traditional European system created for the complete physical and mental training of a fencer, and still used in the best European Academies. This method relies on skill progressions developed over time, and runs in parallel with the development of the student's understanding of tempo, measure, and the tactical applications of the techniques learned. Skills learned include a proper guard position, advance, retreat, and lunge, followed by simple attacks and parry-ripostes, compound attacks and compound parries, actions on the blade, actions in time, and counterattacks. These skills are developed over time, with in-depth instruction and continued practice: there are no shortcuts to skill-building!

We also use games to support and further develop the skills the fencers have learned. Each class includes a game that allows students to use their training in a fun, exciting way. Favorites are the Glove Game, a form of tag in which students use their fencing footwork (advances, retreats, lunges) to maneuver around their fellow players, and the Pirate Game, where students armed with foam swords and masks get to "swashbuckle" with each other. Other games develop coordination and strategy, and teach the fencer greater control of his or her body. Finally, we add in some rapier techniques from our Historical Fencing Programs so that students get the fun of fencing like the Three Musketeers. Each class includes warm-up exercises and stretching routines to develop flexibility and suppleness, and to encourage sensible exercise techniques.

The direct benefit of this structured approach is increased coordination, strength, ability to analyze new situations, self-control, and respect of self and of others.

Equipment

We provide masks, jackets and foils (practice swords). For the Children's Program, we use specially designed plastic foils that are lightweight, very flexible, and appropriate for grade-school children. Students in the Children's Program will be able to do solo drills periodically with the steel foils. For the Youth Program, standard steel foils are used. Both programs use foam swords for various games and drills as well.

All students should wear white or light gray sweatpants, as free from distracting logos as possible, and a clean white t-shirt, also free of logos. The only exception is the school t-shirt, which has our compass & swords logo screened on. These t-shirts are optional and are available for sale.

Basic tennis shoes or basketball shoes are just fine, but please: no wheelie-shoes or shoes with lights! The former are unsafe for fencing and the latter are distracting.

We also offer foils, masks, jackets and fencing pants for sale, or we can recommend several on-line fencing vendors. Over time, students are expected to purchase their own equipment.