Product Details

• Actors: Fencing-Basic Beginner Training
• Directors: Michael Bradlcy
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Education 2000, Inc.
• DVD Release Date: February 2, 2005
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007W4O76
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,594 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Victor Multimedia-05 Release Date: 11/22/2005 Run time: 60 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Useful, Good Quality, October 5, 2005

By 

Michael (Modesto, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fencing: Basic Beginners Training (DVD)

This video, available in both VHS (listed by the director, Bill Myers) and DVD (listed by the instructor, Michael Bradley) formats, offers a very useful and clear introduction to essential (foil) fencing techniques. Some of the information is wrong (points are no longer scored against the receiver, but for the toucher), and others I disagree with (his en guarde stance is more epee than foil), but most of the instruction is very good, and the quality is also good. Overall, this is the best instructional video I've seen for fencing, and I wish there were more like it.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Instruction, October 10, 2006

By 

W. Tanner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fencing: Basic Beginners Training (DVD)

I bought Bradley's video in order to help my students review the basic forms of foil fencing. The instruction on this presentation covers all of the basic ideas of foil fencing: advance, retreat, lunge, parry, and riposte. Bradley covers the ideas of basic attack and defense and deceiving the opponent. It is a good introduction to the basic ideas of the sport.

There are a few quibbles. The presentation is fairly static, with a single, fixed camera throughout. This makes for an overall dull presentation and the youngest fencers in my group have a hard time sticking with it. Adding camera angles and a more polished presentation would help. Adding chapters in the menu for each section would have helped in using this video for class instruction. The video also needed some distinct drills at the end of each section to help reinforce the learning. As it is, the drills are spotty, placed randomly throughout the presentation.

The style and technique of fencing is a bit dated, going back to the pre-electric era. For the foil purists, this may be a good thing, but for the modern sport of foil fencing, some instruction on the modern sport would have been helpful. I know this is a basic video, but I also would have liked to hear at least an introduction to the ideas of time (tempo) and distance - two concepts often ignored in basic instruction because they are thought to be too advanced. Technique is nice, but learing basic tactics of attack and denfense must be addressed.

Overall, a good buy for those who want a visual introduction to foil fencing.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fencing for Fun, February 24, 2006

By 

mirandabelle "vintage girl" (sarasota, florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fencing: Basic Beginners Training (DVD)

I ordered this for my husband and son, something they could do together. It's very informative...I've read other reviews that said the information isn't the most current, but since my husband and son aren't using the video to become "professionals", it's a lot of fun to do. The video quality is acceptable, my son says the music sounds like it was taken from the 80's, but it doesn't bother him..They enjoy learning the fencing moves; it's actually a good workout!