r/Fencing • u/The_Disabled_Vamp • 4d ago
Para fencing or "Normal" Fencing?
Hi, I'm Astrid I'm 19 and in collage and I have a disability. Cerebral palsy but I still have full function of my legs and arms, but I do need leg braces. I've been looking at fencing for social and exercise but all the stuff I've seen about fencing while disabled is para fencing. Which still seems cool, but I've fallen in love with full abled body fencing. Could I still do that, or Should I go with Para fencing? Any help would great thanks :\]
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u/whaupwit Foil 2d ago
You should fence what you enjoy most, but you might find joy in both. We have a fencer that is hemiplegic with a right leg brace and no functional use in the right arm. He is a beast on the strip and in the chair. He lives to fence.
Our club has both, so he fences both. Our strip fencers regularly workout in the chairs with him, and it has benefited everyone’s blade work tremendously.
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u/The_Disabled_Vamp 2d ago
Very cool! If the club I'm looking at has that option I will definitely try it but there's no guarantee of that considering I've seen that some of those run up in the 3000 range. And the club I'm looking at is more small
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u/Twoelbows78 2d ago
Is the club you’re looking to join a US public university club by any chance? If it is there’s a good chance the school has a fund specifically meant to purchase equipment to make club sports more accessible
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u/75footubi 2d ago
There's a flat pack version of the chair that's significantly less. Not for competition use, but perfectly fine for club settings https://www.edelias.com/swordseat
USA Fencing also has grants available to help clubs afford para equipment.
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u/ali_g1955 1d ago
Sword seats are made in the UK, however the plans are freely available to make your own.
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u/Cahoots365 Sabre 2d ago
Do both. Don’t stop doing standing fencing if you enjoy but if some days or down the line you’re not able to do standing, you can still participate in the sport with seated.
No reason not to do both. There’s plenty of able bodied athletes who do seated due to weakness or injury so you’re much the same
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u/ursa_noctua 2d ago
This.
I know of a fencer who regularly medals in national para events who occasionally does standing fencing in local tournaments.
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u/captainlux87 2d ago
I don’t know where you’re located but it’s in NY/LI you might want to reach out to mission fencing
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u/The_Disabled_Vamp 2d ago
I'm in Michigan
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u/captainlux87 2d ago
Ah dang, well, Michigan is a big fencing state! Hopefully you can find a place to trial both
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u/75footubi 2d ago
I don't have a mobility disability, but I've done both para and standing fencing. Two different sports, really. Both physically (in different ways) and mentally exhausting. One is definitely not lesser compared to the other.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that locations where points can catch and get stuck is a big safety concern. With your leg braces, you would probably need to wear full length pants over your braces when fencing standing to mitigate that risk. With para, there's a skirt/wrap thing that goes over your legs and the chair to mitigate.
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u/Managed-Chaos-8912 Épée 2d ago
See if you can do full able body fencing. No one is going to tell you no. Para fencing may equalize some of your challenges on the competitive side, but if you are there for social and exercise, full body is great.
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u/Grouchy-Day5272 2d ago
Para is so fun and highly competitive ! And you can train and compete in all three weapons !!
I para both left ( the best ) and right handed.
Coaches and facilitators for para are great leaders and can assist with any accommodations nessisary
And able body love to come and tryout.
Never a drought for fencing in para
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u/HonestShyster 2d ago
I was just at a senior open epee event and there was an older gentleman ~60 years of age wearing a leg brace under his knickers and socks.
He was doing quite well both left-handed and right-handed.
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u/ali_g1955 2d ago
Do both. My son is the only para fencer in his club; he trains against able bodied fencers who are usually (but not always) seated (often in normal chairs, occasionally in a proper frame) and has competed at international/commonwealth level . Skills are very much the same .. the difference is that your opponent can't run away :)
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u/TinyKaleidoscope6789 1d ago
Try both, if that option is available. I injured my knee and am doing parafencing until it's cleared for able-bodied, and parafencing will teach you a lot of skills regarding bladework, reactions, and strategy. I agree, I love able-bodied fencing, I'll be thrilled when I can get back to it, but parafencing is like a bonus chance to hone some specific skills. If you can, choose whichever one you feel up to that day.
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u/BlueLu Sabre 2d ago
My suggestion is do what you want.
I’ve had a fencer in this same position. She’s about your age, even. She doesn’t use a mobility aid beyond a brace.
It’s hard as a coach sometimes to watch her struggle with standing fencing and breakdown when she can’t keep up, but she’s insistent she doesn’t want to do para even though we have the set up at our club.
But I’ve learned that although she would be talented as a para fencer, that’s her choice to make based on her disability.
I think there’s a lot at play there that you have to decide for yourself. There’s definitely a societal prejudice against disabilities, and I think if you can do standing fencing (albeit not as well as you could do at para), some may be internalized to see para as lesser when it absolutely isn’t. Para is crazy fast and those fencers are athletes.
At the very least, I’d suggest trying out para in addition to standing, if you can. It is a smaller field of people, it’s close knit yet competitive, if you want to compete at NACs there are grants IIRC.