Pool bouts to 5 touches

Setup

1. Pools of 4 to 7 fencers on one piste each, all fencing the same weapon. Mark a piste about 14 metres long and 1.5 to 2 metres wide, with en-garde lines 2 metres either side of the centre line.
2. Kit check before anyone fences: blades free of kinks and cracks, points or buttons secure, mask mesh not dented, glove cuff over the sleeve. Electric fencers test the body wire and the point on the box.
3. Write the pool sheet in a standard pool order so nobody fences twice in a row (for 5 fencers: 1-2, 3-4, 5-1, 2-3, 5-4, 1-3, 2-5, 4-1, 3-5, 4-2).
4. Waiting fencers sit at least 2 metres back from the sides of the piste, never at the ends.

How it runs

1. The first two fencers salute each other, the referee and the pool, then mask up on the en-garde lines.
2. The referee calls 'En garde! Prêts? Allez!'. Fence until a hit or 'Halte!'. In foil and sabre the referee decides right of way; in épée whoever hits first scores, and both score on a double.
3. After each touch both fencers go back to the en-garde lines. First to 5 touches wins. In competition the bout has a 3-minute limit; in club pools you can drop the clock for beginners.
4. At 'Halte!' at the end, masks off, salute and shake hands with the unarmed hand. The scorer marks V (victory) or D (defeat) and the touches on the pool sheet.
5. The next pair in the pool order comes on straight away. Waiting fencers rotate as referee and scorer, with the coach supervising and stepping in on any close call.
6. At the end, rank the pool by wins, then by indicator (touches scored minus touches received).

Coaching points

• Fence one plan per bout and adjust it after each touch: what worked, what didn't.
• Use the drills from the session: distance, simple attacks, parry-riposte, attack on preparation.
• Stop at once on 'Halte!', point down. Anyone with a broken blade stops immediately and raises a hand.
• Referees: say what you saw in plain words: who attacked, who parried, who hit.
• Win or lose, the salute and handshake are the same.

Common mistakes

• Running onto the opponent's blade, or charging into body contact (corps-à-corps).
• Turning the back or covering the target with the back arm.
• Taking the mask off before 'Halte!'.
• Waiting fencers chatting instead of refereeing or keeping score.