Lately we’ve had a few new parents asking me why fencing private lessons are 20 min INSTEAD of 1 hour as they are accustomed to in other activities – like tennis or piano for example. It seems to many as though private lessons that are so short can’t possibly be as effective as those that are three times as long – longer is just better right? More is more?

There are some great reasons why fencing lessons are shorter, and it’s very much worth explaining why they are necessarily different than the lessons that happen in other sports or activities. Here are 6 reasons why to help offer some clarity.

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1.  Stamina

Fencing lessons are difficult physically and very intense intellectually. We are working a wide variety of muscle groups and pushing the body and mind quite hard during these bouts. And we like that intensity, finding that it’s important to push students during their private lessons. Young fencers simply don’t have the physical and mental stamina to go for an hour in a fencing lesson. That’s not to say that these young people aren’t marvelous or that there’s something wrong with being able to keep that intensity up for twenty minutes instead of an hour. What it boils down to is that we are meeting our students at the level that they’re at in order to help them to get the most out of their fencing experience.

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2.  Focus

Your children not only need to perform great footwork, but also understand the new moves, technique and timing. In a twenty minute lesson, there’s time to focus on just one or a few skills, to really zero in on those things that need to be fixed rather than moving through a long list of skills that will quickly be forgotten. Think of these twenty minute lessons as being targeted teaching time, a magnifying glass that pulls all of the effort into one spot so that we’re able to achieve the progress in the skills that we’re looking for. Longer lesson times would mean a loss of that focus and the fine tuning of skills that are necessary in order for fencers to become better at the sport.

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3.  Spaced out practice

When we’re practicing something, doing it all in one go isn’t nearly as good as spacing it out. Spending an hour practicing the same movements again and again doesn’t dig it into the brain as well as doing it for twenty minutes now, twenty minutes later today and then twenty minutes tomorrow. That’s how we develop good habits that have staying power – by replaying the same physical and mental actions again and again over time. Sometimes when parents demand one hour lesson for their kids,  I smile and ask them  to go home, stand in front of a mirror in a proper low fencing stance and move back and forth in a good foot work nonstop. It is hard, right? But by doing it in a lesson, then later in class, then at home, we find that those good habits are come easier.

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4.  Imitation of competition

Can you imagine a fencing bout lasting for a half hour? Or an hour? That’s pretty ridiculous right – fencing bouts last for nine minutes, with three time periods that last for three minutes each. Contrast that to a tennis game, which goes for a half hour to an hour or even longer depending on how good the players are. Our fencing lessons are about twice the length of a fencing bout, where normal tennis lessons are about twice the length of a tennis game. So really, they’re not that different!

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5.  Fencing level

Fencing lessons cannot be one hour long, at least not before the child has progressed to the international level of fencing. Sometimes a coach that trains competitive fencers will progress to double lessons that are 40 minutes long if the fencer is training for high level competitions. However it’s also incredibly common for those double lessons to revert back to twenty minutes  if the coach sees that it’s no longer effective, or if new information shows that it is too heavy for the fencer. Just as in fencing, flexibility and openness are key parts of getting lessons right.

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6.  Effectiveness

The bottom line here is that fencing lessons are twenty minutes long because we’ve found that it’s effective through years of trial and error. Fencing bouts that last longer have been tried with novice fencers and for all of the reasons listed above, they just didn’t work nearly as well as these short form lessons. This also just isn’t something that’s true for our club – these short lessons are the standard throughout modern fencing. The twenty minute lesson length is the what fencing has moved to because we see the wonderful results with fencers.

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Recognizing the cost

We do want to take a moment here to recognize that that private lessons, while necessary, are an additional cost that parents have to consider. It can also take a long time for fencing lessons to add up to real products on the other end that parents can see, and those months in between can understandably leave parents asking “is this worth the investment?” The answer is certainly yes.

Fencing clubs offer lessons at this length not in an effort to make families pay more money, but because these lessons have proved to be effective for fencers, an effectiveness that has been shown to be true over a long period of time and through many fencers. Be patient with the process and trust that the rewards are going to be on the other end eventually. You don’t be disappointed because the refinement in technique and skill is fantastic with private fencing lessons.

There is truly nothing to match the improvements that fencers can see through targeted one-on-one lessons in addition to their class time. That goes for both competition and for personal growth!

This is a question I get asked a lot by parents, but there is no general, one-size-fits-all answer.  The short answer is yes, private lessons will make a significant difference.  That said, there are many factors to consider before committing to private lessons.  They require effort, time, commitment, money, and an idea of the desired outcome.

When your child is just starting out, I suggest participating in a group class initially.  This will give the student a feel for the sport, establish camaraderie, and boost confidence among peers to achieve difficult skills.

But once your child becomes bitten by the “fencing bug” and wants to compete or move up a level, one-on-one lessons with an experienced coach can be invaluable.

It’s not only a matter of private lessons improving your child’s fencing skillset – it’s also about how much faster your child will grow as a fencer.

For example, we took a look at a group of young fencers in one of our classes.  It was amazing to see the difference between those who were taking private lessons in addition to the class and those who weren’t.  The private lesson participants moved to the top of the group and into the next level TWICE as fast!

In another case, we saw two friends (same age, same athletic ability) who started the Beginner Fencing Class at the same time.  After two months, one decided to take private lessons, the other didn’t.  The results were astonishing:  The child taking the private lessons moved into another level at a much more rapid pace.

Getting one-on-one attention will show your child the correct way to handle the foil or epee to give him or her the highest advantage.   During one-on-one lessons coaches will also give your child individualized exercises and drills that will strengthen the muscles they need to excel in fencing.

In a private lesson, a fencer and coach can work on the tiny details of each technical element:   from the simple basics such as a straight touch to more advanced combinations of complex movements such as multiple parries and attacks.  All these elements are executed in private lessons over and over again and again until they are a natural part of the student’s repertoire.

Instructors will also show the student how to develop his or her own approach and style.  Coaches can help fencers discover what strengths they have and what techniques work best for them.  A coach can also help the student pinpoint their weaknesses on the strip and develop a strategy to counteract them.  Having his or her own style is the mark of a masterful fencer.

Additionally, private lessons allow coaches to customize the learning for the skill level and individuality of the fencer.  Working one-on-one will enable the coach to spot weaknesses in technique more quickly and help the fencer work through them faster than in a group setting.  One-on-one lessons give the coach the time they need to break down and critique each movement for the individual fencer so that he or she learns the precise way to fence.  It can make the difference between being a decent fencer and a fantastic one!

Can your child progress without the benefit of private lessons? 

Of course they can!

It is pure human nature to mimic each other.  That’s how we learn!  When we fence with advanced fencers, we tend to repeat and copy their moves or elements on some degree – especially children, who do this on a more instinctive level rather than a cerebral one.

By attending a class with more advanced fencers, children new to the sport will experience a subtle and natural form of learning through imitation during the exercises and bouting.  The problem with this process of learning is that mimicking behavior can only go so far – the student may see the movements of the advanced fencer, but miss the subtleties of the technique.  Or they may learn an incorrect method or bad habit.  Unfortunately in group lessons, there are many fencers so the coach cannot fix every mistake that occurs.  These habits then become ingrained in the fencer and are difficult to unlearn later on.  After all, it’s easier to learn a new good habit than to unlearn a bad one!

This is why we stress that fencers who want to compete need the benefit of private lessons.  Nearly all competitive fencers around the world incorporate private lessons into their regular weekly training routine.  Often fencers will take additional private lessons before an important competition to prepare themselves.

Private lessons do require added time and expense, so we suggest that you don’t engage in them unless you or your child is serious about the sport and wants to make this obligation.  We recommend that you discuss how private lessons can be incorporated into your training with your club coach.

Bottom line:  Private lessons are well worth the time and commitment.  They will help the fencer improve at a much more rapid pace while developing their own style and technique.  Private lessons are the key to turning a satisfactory fencer into a dynamic competitor.