Electric Is Your Friend

A lot of developing fencers claim that they don't like fencing electric and prefer steam. When questioned further on this the reason is usually a variation on "Because I never win" or "my hits don't register properly". The former reason puts a lot of developing fencers off competition for totally the wrong reasons. In my view, electric fencing is the only way to ever be sure your techniques are correct as the box (in most cases) will never lie. A lot of fencers have favourite techniques that serve them well as they are beginning their fencing career. That fleche attack or the disengage that gets the judges hands going up every time etc. Then when they try it for the first time on the electric piste it doesn't work because it just isn't quite accurate enough for the sensitive equipment. They get frustrated that it isn't given and go back to steam fencing where their favourite technique always reaps dividends. It is just too hard to do on the electric piste. This is a shame because sticking with electric fencing is the only way to really get neat and accurate.
Yesterday I was fencing with one of my pupils and made two parry ripostes where the point was just a bit too flat and didn't set the lights off. I'm pretty sure they would have been given in a steam match but for electric they weren't good enough. I could have got frustrated by this but instead gave it some thought after the match had ended. Technically the ripostes were in time and they would have been given. So what was the reason the box didn't register? Well, I figured that when parrying to quarte because my distance was a bit too close I had been bringing my hand across a bit too far in order to make the parry. As a result when I extended my arm my point was directed too far to the right hand side of my opponent, therefore resulting in me making the hit slightly flat and not depressing the point far enough to register. The remedy next time will be to keep slightly further away and ensure my hand is returning to sixte when riposting and my point is remaining in line. If I hadn't had been fencing electric I would never have had the opportunity to gain this insight.
Sometimes the truth hurts but the pain is worth it!