Fencing in Spokane

Here is Spokane Fencers Unlimited Facility and one of the many fencing enthusiasts you will find there. The SFU club is a member of the United States Fencing Association, and our fencers are too. They compete in local, divisional and national competitions, win medals and even maybe someday, you will see some of them in the Olympics!In fencing there are three weapons, foil, epee and sabre. (pictured here as sabre, foil, epee)

Students beging learning to fence learn using a foil and when they have the basics of foil down, they can become experienced in epee and sabre as well. Our club does electric fencing, which means we use an electronic scoring devie to help monotor touches... When you touch your opponent on target with the sword, you score.
We also have directors who monitor each bout. They judge what is taking place on the strip and affirm the scoring and techniques each fencer uses.

Fencing is a one-on-one sport, but as a member of the club, you are part of the SFU team.
Here is someone giving fencing their approval. Fencing attire is white and consists of fencing shoes, knee-high socks, knickers (or short pants,) a jacket, gloves and mask. Extra torso protection is common under the outerwear. For fencing electronically one must wear a lame. Lames are lightweight and made out of stainless steel fibers that conduct electricity for scoring.
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This is a typical fencing class. As you can see it is made up of of people of all ages and abilities. One thing I love about my kids being able to learn and participate in this sport is that that they do fence in age groups at times, but they are not limited to that. They also fence the experts. Everyone is always sharpening their skills, and helping others become better fencers.


Fencing, with swords, is an awesome sport. I say, "with swords," because people sometimes confuse "fencing" (with swords) with fencing (as in putting up a fence around your yard with posts and chainlink materials.) The two are vastly different.

The sport of fencing is both a great mental and physical exercise, and the ability to fence comes with much discipline and practice.

In addition to the photos of "fencing" I have included, you may want to check out the recent slideshow article on the web done by Spokaneman Review Newspaper about Spokane Fencers Unlimited, our local fencing club. You can do this by clicking on the previous link, or going to http://www.spokesman.com/soundslides/2009/nov/18/fencing/on your browser.

Thankful for Books and MAterials

We had a great homeshcool meeting for November 2009. There were about 10 of us in attendance and the topic for this month was the books we are thankful for. Appropriate as we are soon to celebrate Thanksgiving.


We discussed the books that we have loved using in our homeschooling over the years and why. I tell you, this was great to do. I know that people generally like what they know, but here we got to see the many rescources that each other uses and hear how much they really liked them and how they worked for them. It's funny too how those are the things you do not really want to part with either.. especially as you start thinking about grandkikds.

It really is a blessing when you find yourself using something you really enjoy and fun to be able to share that joy of learning with others. That is what this meeting of our little homeschooling group was about and it was great.

Some people inour group had been homeschooling a long time, others were just beginning their journey, but we all learned from each other. I can hardly wait to learn more about some of these books!

This is a great topic for a homeschool mom's gathering for sure.

I will post the list of our groups absolute favorites that we are thankful for here when I get a chance.