There are few resources for the fencing coach looking for information. Elsewhere in this site I have spoken about my own difficulties in being trained as a coach. None the less, there are web sites and organizations which try to be helpful to the beginning coach, and that number is bound to grow. Some of the links below are to web sites. Some of the links are to organizations which either dedicate themselves to coaching (such as the USFCA or PAF) or I have found useful in providing information to me while I was coaching. If you find more, let me know of them. As much as I try to keep the links up to date, clubs come and go with distressing frequency. If you find a dead link, let me know, and I will investigate, and update, if necessary.

The Canadian Fencing Federation has a set of basic manuals very suitable for the beginning coach. There is not a great deal of depth in the instruction, but the manuals do discuss all three weapons and cover the basics. While there is some attempt to show proper form and give the coach critical areas to observe and correct, the manuals do very little to tell the coach how corrections should be made. Still, for a new coach, here is the starting place to see what skills are necessary for a beginner in the weapons, and some idea of what to teach.

This is the web site of the United States Fencing Coaches Association an organization whose job it is to certify coaches in the United States. The USFCA finds itself in the curious position of being mandated by the AAI to certify coaches in the United States, without a program to train these potential coaches itself. The USFCA members do offer seminars at the local level in coaching, though often it is easier to find out about these seminars through the local USFA Division.

United States Fencing Association Coaches College Program For many years the USFA has ran a training program for coaches in the United States. This is progressive program of five levels in each of the three weapons. Each level is taught as a week long course at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. While often the level of instruction can be spotty, the USFA Coaches College has a good track record of turning out capable fencing coaches.note that the link to this page directs you the US Fencing Assoc link.

The Fencing Net is a resource on a number of different levels. Check out their forum (where you will always find someone arguing about the flick). It's always entertaining. Of more value is the training tips page, which has some good basic foil drills.

Look at Fencing: Always More to Learn, a fencing page by the Olympian Dave Littell. After a successful career as a competitive fencer, Dave Littell coached for many years at Haverford College, and authored several short tracts on fencing and coaching, gathered here on his website. There is plenty to read and digest, and his site should be a must visit.

FencingFootage.com Is the only sources for video of high level fencing on the Internet. Not watching video? Shame on you...where else are you going to be able to see high level fencing over and over again? Some of the video is of very poor quality (the owners will admit that) and Fencing Footage needs to make a stronger transition to DVD rather than VHS (some of my friends don't even own VHS players anymore) but the prices are good, the service is great, and there is a ton of information about what the top fencers in the world do.

Theory, Methods and Exercises in Fencing by Ziemowit Wojciechowski is an excellent book in coaching foil. A student of the famous Dr Zbigniew Czajkowski, this is a book useful to the beginning and expert coach alike. It can be hard to find in the United States, but is available from Leon Paul.

The Complete Guide to Fencing, ed by Barth and Beck. This is a very dense, and sometimes poorly translated book by two masters of the sport. Some of the text, because of the technical language and the poor translation, is positively cryptic. Yet, the reader willing to wade into this book will be rewarded with a massive amount of information.

last edit September 2007