Reddit reviews Fencing: Techniques of Foil, Epee and Sabre

Hopefully it goes without saying that you can't learn something physical from the books.

But if you're the kind of person who likes to read a lot, and want to supplement your learning by reading about fencing theory, then here's what I would recommend.

First, read pretty much any general book about fencing. I've read quite a few books about fencing, but generally they're mostly all the same. Here's one that I've read that is indicative of most books, but there's loads

The only thing you're really trying to take away from it getting basic descriptions of the equipment, some basic nomenclature - "lunge", "fleche", "quarte", "disengage", "ballestra", etc. Maybe some basic history. You could also get all this stuff from wikipedia if you wanted, but maybe a book form might be presented in a nicer way.

A lot of these books will talk about mental game, perfect technique, and the great masters of whenever. This is mostly absolute garbage. Most of the history will be incorrect, and only semi-true 'factoids'. It often comes off as a bit of "mysticism". If you have any experience in the culture of martial arts you probably know what I mean.

So once you have a rough idea of what all the parries are, and what we call all the footwork movements, more or less, I would recommend reading Epee 2.0 (2.5 or whatever it's on now).

This book talks about a pragmatic based approach to fencing. No one makes a perfect lunge, and in fact, there is not even such a thing as a perfect lunge. Lots of moves that you learn aren't actually all that useful. etc. If you can internalize the themes of this book, that is very useful for approaching fencing in a way conducive to competitive success.

Then I would look at understanding fencing, which has a lot of very technical thoughts about fencing. E.g. Beyond just what is a step, or a lunge, he talks about different kinds of actions tactically speaking (e.g. pre-planned vs open eyes etc.).

If you read those three, you'll be in good shape

The problem with drawings, videos and photos is that it's not always clear which sides the blades are on in relation to each other. Some are better than others. Videos on & offline obviously have some advantages. They're more engaging, blade positions may be clearer and most importantly you've got movement. I bought a book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fencing-Techniques-Foil-Epee-Sabre/dp/1852231521 when I'd just started and it is quite nice to have a reference book pitched at people in their first few years of fencing (especially that first year) where you can just look up & check something. Fencing books can be very dry reads where your attention can wander (or is that just me?). Some fencing books can be pricey & I found a few in charity shops for peanuts.

One thing I noticed was that coach advice to new fencers can differ from things you see world class fencers do, or see discussed on a forum thread. That was a bit confusing at times, but it's basically about learning to walk before learning to run. Try to nail doing things the way the coaches say. Once you've been fencing for longer you'll have a clearer idea of when, why & how advanced fencers use variations tactically, building on a solid foundation.

You Tube has different kinds of fencing videos, which is helpful, such as armoury skills, kit reviews and promos, features on techniques (Variable quality & reliability, good, bad & mediocre), event footage, humour, etc. Sometimes it's HEMA or classical.