The Full Story

Star wars, lights sabre, imagination of warriors, the excitement of a sword fight and the fantasy of wearing a costume (fencing gears), many children have a tremendous urge to play fencing. And fencing has so many benefits for learners.

ABOUT OUR FENCING CLUB

Hills Athletic Fencing Club was founded in 2016 with the goal of providing high-quality fencing training in Australia. Our enrichment fencing programmes aid in the development of athletic abilities, fitness, focus, listening skills, decision making, teamwork, and self-confidence.

We are also a registered NDIS provider, which means we provide quality fencing programmes and therapy for children of all abilities, and training costs are covered by the NDIS scheme.

We are associated with the New South Wales Fencing Association (NSWFA).

San Francisco Youth Fencing Program

Hills Athletic Fencing Program comes from San Francisco Youth Fencing, it was co-founded by fencing masters Rob Handelman, D.C., President of the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association, and Connie Louie, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist. They are co-authors of Fencing Sabre: A Practical Training Guide for Coaches, Parents, and Young Athletes. With years of experience and teaching, they have established an advanced fencing training system. Impressively, the fencing club affiliated with this program ranked second in the U.S. sabre medal total in 2022. Due to their outstanding fencing and academic performances, their students have not only been selected for the U.S. national and Ivy League teams but also received fencing scholarships from top private schools.

This fencing course has ten primary teaching modules, covering dozens of skills, hundreds of fencing drills, strength and conditioning training, and games. In addition, the program also covers competition mental training, aspects of becoming a mentally and physically healthy fencer, and more.

According to Connie, “It has never been the medals but helping guide our
students to be caring, responsible, healthy individuals. Fencing teaches resiliency despite setbacks, discipline, the demands of hard work, and enhancing social skills, as these are lifelong positive attributes.”

The Hills Athletic Fencing Club in Sydney, Australia, is honored to collaborate strongly with masters Rob Handelman and fencing masterConnie Louie. And is privileged to introduce the San Francisco Fencing program to Australia.

Benefits of learning fencing for children

Physical health

Fencing is a form of exercise, it involves intense footwork, lower and upper body movements, requiring strength, speed and agility. Fencing bouts is HIIT exercise where combines with high intensity actions and short periods of recovery, fencer needs explosive power to attack and endurance to finish the bouts.

Mental health

Coordination: It involves complex movements of the feet and hands, which helps in improving hand-eye coordination.
Discipline: Fencing requires a high level of discipline and adherence to rules, which can translate into other areas of life.
Stress Relief: Like any other physical activity, fencing helps to reduce stress and anxiety by releasing endorphins.
Self-Confidence: Successfully executing techniques and winning bouts can boost self-confidence and self-esteem.
Social Interaction: Fencing is a social sport that provides an opportunity to interact with others and build new friendships.
Goal Setting: Fencing encourages setting and achieving goals, which is an important skill for personal and professional development.
Concentration: Fencing requires a high level of focus and concentration as one needs to pay attention to the opponent's movements and react quickly.
Sportsmanship: Learning to win graciously and lose with dignity is an important aspect of fencing and helps in developing good sportsmanship.
Time Management: Juggling fencing with other responsibilities helps in developing time management skills.
Self-Defense: Although fencing is a sport, the basic principles of attack and defense can be applied to real-world self-defense situations.