Fencing is mainly an individual sport: every bout is one fencer against one opponent, and nobody else touches the blade. It also has team events, at the Olympics and in many tournaments, in which teams of three fence a relay to 45 touches. Day to day, fencers train in a group, with partners and a coach. So a child who did not enjoy a team sport gets what many of them want: their own bout, their own result, and still people around them.
The individual side
In an individual event, each fencer fences alone: pools first, small groups where everyone fences everyone to 5 touches, then direct elimination bouts to 15. A win is your own, and so is a loss. Nobody passes to you, nobody waits for you, and nobody can blame you for the team's result. Fencing rules for beginners explains how a bout runs.
How team fencing works
A team event is a relay. Each team has three fencers, with or without a substitute, and the match has nine legs, called relays: each fencer meets each of the three fencers on the other team once. Each relay adds up to five more touches to the team score, to 5, 10, 15 and so on, with at most 3 minutes per relay, and the first team to 45 touches wins (USA Fencing Rules for Competition, October 2026, t.41 and o.99).
So each fencer is on the strip alone, but the score carries over. A fencer who falls behind in one relay leaves a gap that a teammate has to close in the next, and a strong relay can win back a match. Teammates watch every touch from the side.
At the Olympics, there are team events in all three weapons, for women and for men, alongside the individual ones: 12 medal events in all (LA28, fencing, read 2026-10-22). Is fencing an Olympic sport? has more.
Training is a group activity
Even fencers who only ever fence individual events train in a group. A bout needs a partner, so fencing practice is done in pairs: drills with a partner and bouts with different partners. At our club children train in groups by age.
Which child does this suit?
- A child who gets little time with the ball on a big team.
- A child who feels the pressure of letting the team down.
- A child who wants to measure themselves, and still likes having friends at practice.
- A child who simply prefers one opponent at a time.
Individual sports for kids who do not like team sports compares fencing with swimming, tennis, gymnastics and others, and is fencing good for girls? covers the women's side of the sport.
Fencing as a team at our club
At our club, groups go by age: Saturday 9:00 to 10:00 AM for 4 to 6; Monday and Wednesday, 6:00 to 7:30 PM for 7 to 11; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 6:30 to 8:30 PM for 12 to 18; and Wednesday 8:00 to 9:15 PM for adults. Fencers aged 7 to 18 who want to compete can join Elite, competitive training four times a week for $275 a month. Elite is open to join, with no invitation needed.
Every fencer starts the same way, with one free class. We lend the mask, jacket, glove and blade, and parents are welcome to watch the first class.
Call Coach Pasha at (408) 592-1244. If he is on the strip, leave a voicemail: he calls back within 24 hours. Or leave your number and he calls you.
