Fear of Hitting

A few people in fencing are apprehensive about hitting people. Not apprehensive about being hit mark you, just nervous about hitting others. There can be various reasons for this, but it usually comes down to the worry of hurting your training partner during practice. The trouble with this is, you then get into the habit of not hitting correctly at any time during a bout. I don't wish to sound callous but at the end of the day, as long as you are not being overly aggressive, your training partner is really there to be hit! Your opponent in a match doubly so! One of the main indicators for a coach of someone who is a little shy of hitting is a consistently bent arm when attacking, or a withdrawing of the arm whilst lungeing. This almost invariably results in a point going flat or missing the target completely. Occasionally the blade can develop an upward bend caused by the hand being lowered as the attack is made.
As a fencer, you should bear in mind that a valid hit is measured by having significant 'character of penetration'; in other words, if your foil had a point instead of a button it would have gone into your opponent. Electric foils are also configured to measure the right amount of impact pressure before registering. It is worth remembering that whilst fencing much resembles a sport right now, back in the day it was a method of combat....