What do I need to fence? (Equipment List)


Shoes: You can fence in a pair of ordinary, comfy sneakers with decent traction. (Some of the floors people fence on are a little slick). Special fencing shoes are nice to have, but not required or necessary. For the more serious recreational or competetive fencer, though, fencing shoes do really make a difference. Adidas' are the famous and best ones, but there are excellent (and much cheaper) variations made by many other companies, such as PostSport. However, thin-soled wresting boots or shoes are nearly as good as fencing shoes and sometimes less expensive.

Pants: Make sure you wear pants that you can really stretch and move around in. Jogging pants or track pants / wind pants are great for fencing practice. Baseball pants are better yet (and similar to actual fencing breeches), but if you wear those, you need to wear long soccer or fencing socks to protect your shins. It's really hard to fence in jeans unless they're loose-fitting. Khakis and cargoes are ok if they're loose, too. Just don't show up in shorts.

You don't need special fencing pants to fence, but they are required for competitions at fencing clubs or colleges with competetive teams. They're high waisted and made of tough cotton or thick stretch synthetic. They stop at the knees, so a fencer wears long socks over his or her shins.

Shirt/Top: Regular T-shirts are ideal. You absolutely need a special fencing jacket in order to fence safely, even for practice. But don't panic, most clubs have got fencing jackets waiting, just for you.

Fencing jackets, like the breeches, are made of tough, stiff cotton, or thick stretchy synthetic. They're white, long-sleeved and zip along the side or in the back. The collar is stiff, many layers thick, and comes up high to protect your throat. The front bottom of the jacket is triangular and straps loosely between your legs, back up behind you to your back. The back hem of the jacket ends at your hipbones. The CUFC has serviceable fencing jackets available, but recommends fencers purchase their own once they decide they have a serious and lasting interest in the sport.

Glove: A special leather fencing glove is worn on the hand holding the weapon. If you are right handed you would need only one right hand glove, if left handed, one left hand glove. Fencing gloves have long gauntlet-like wrist portions that come up over the sleeve of your fencing jacket; the material over the fingers is thin to give you more sensitivity to the grip of your weapon. The club has plenty of gloves available for beginners to use, although a fencing glove is the first piece of equipment suggested you buy for yourself if you decide fencing is the sport for you.

Mask: A special protective mask is absolutely necessary for fencing. Masks come in a lot of slightly different varieties, but virtually all protect you by means of tough metal mesh in front of your face and thickly padded cotton over your neck, held on tightly with a springy, padded clamp that goes behind your head. (Yes, it is actually possible to see quite well through all that!) Fencing clubs have masks on hand to provide for beginners.

Weapon: The predominant weapon used for the education of novice fencers is the foil. (For images of fencing foils and information on the rules and target area, click here.) In addition, typically beginners start on the French, as opposed to pistol (orthopaedic) or Italian (very rare) grips.

Buying: Are you a high-roller who wants to buy his or her own stuff? But you don't know where to go? Whose stuff is good, whose isn't, who's got the best prices, and most of all, what should I get first?? If you can afford it, the easiest thing to start out with is a complete beginner's kit, although if you know what you're shopping for, you might want to buy higher-quality pieces individually. Most fencing houses offer kits for sale which include everything you need for dry or electric fencing (dry: Mask/Jacket/Foil/Glove/Bag ~$125). Typically the gear that comes in a beginner's kit isn't necessarily the cutting edge of high-performance equipment; on the other hand, it is typically discounted reasonably from the normal individual prices per piece when it's sold together in such a kit. As for whom to go to, asking one of the more experienced fencers -- or the coach -- is your best bet, but for a quick overview: