What to write about an opponent after a fencing bout

Many fencers repeat the same mistakes for years. They keep losing touches to the same kind of counter-attack, keep getting caught standing still at the back of the piste, and fence the same bout against the same type of opponent, season after season. More training does not always change that on its own.

We think the most effective way to improve your tactics, and your fencing in general, is to reflect on every bout and write down what you learned. That is what an opponent book is for. It is a notebook, on paper or in an app such as OpponentBook, with a page for every fencer you meet. After each bout you add a few notes to that fencer’s page, and before you meet them again you read it.

What should those notes say? Above all, three answers: what worked, what didn’t work and what you will do next time. Then add enough about the opponent for the answers to make sense later: their hand and grip, the distance they wanted, how they started their actions and where on the piste the touches were scored.

It is common to meet the same opponent more than once, in a pool and again in the direct elimination, or at the next regional event. When the name turns up on the pool sheet or tableau, a few clear notes from last time are easier to act on than the memory of losing 5–3.

Which three things should you always write down?

Write the three answers after every bout. That is the core of what we recommend, and in our view they are the most important things to note in fencing, as in any combat or racket sport. OpponentBook’s match form asks the same three questions.

• What worked. Actions that scored, or drew a weak reply, even once. Example: “Short preparations drew her counter-attack, and I could bind her blade and attack.”
• What didn’t work. How you were hit. Example: “Twice, when I stood still near my warning line, she made a straight attack and hit me.” That answer is about your fencing as much as hers.
• What to do next time. One or two things to keep in mind — something to change, or something that worked and that you want to repeat. Example: “Shorten the distance before you attack. Drop it if she starts attacking as you step forward.”

There is no hard limit, but one or two things are usually enough. With too many, the plan gets complicated before a bout.

What should you note about how the opponent fences?

The rest of the page describes the opponent, so that the three answers still make sense months later.

• Hand and grip: left or right, French or pistol grip. Keep these fixed details apart from habits that may change.
• Distance: What distance does the opponent prefer? What distance do you prefer?
• Who controlled the bout: Was it the opponent, while you waited for their mistakes or looked for chances in their preparations? Or was it you, while they waited for your mistakes?
• The blade: Did they look for your blade with beats, other blade preparations or binds, or keep theirs away from it? What were their favourite parries and ripostes?
• Score and time: What changed when they led or trailed, near the end of a period, or in the last minute of a close bout?

Where on the piste were the touches scored?

Mark the touches on a drawing of the piste and you can see whether they cluster: near your warning line, in the middle, or after the opponent backed up to their own end. Label each mark with whose touch it was, the action and roughly when in the bout it came. A cluster does not explain itself — distance, fatigue, tactics or something else could be behind it. Note what the opponent did when you pushed them back to their warning line, and what they did when they had pushed you back to your own warning line.

When should you write it down?

Write the answers the same day, while you still remember how the touches came about. If you can’t remember how many times something happened, write “several times” rather than guess a number. Research on memory is a reason not to wait too long, though it cannot say exactly when the details of a bout fade.

What does the page look like after a lost bout?

Here is an invented example:

Name: Emma

Context: Regional épée tournament, direct elimination, bout to 15. Lost 15–11.

The opponent: Left-handed, French grip. Patient in the first period: took small steps, kept the distance long and waited for me to attack. Each time my preparations or steps were too big, she stop-hit my arm. When I stopped near my warning line, she made a straight attack. Leading in the third period, she backed off and let me come to her.

What worked: Short preparations drew her stop hit early, and I could bind her blade and attack. Most of my touches in the second period came that way.

What didn’t work: Big preparations and big steps; she hit my arm before I got close. Stopping near my warning line; she hit me twice there.

Next time: No big preparations or big steps. Shorten the distance before I attack. Drop this if she starts attacking as I step forward. Don’t stand still when she pushes me back: at the warning line, keep retreating at the right distance; near the end line, attack before she does.

The page records what led to each touch, not just the touch: preparations and steps that were too big, then the stop hit to the arm; standing still near the warning line, then the straight attack. The plan deals with both, starting with the distance.

What do you read before the rematch, and what do you add after it?

Before you meet again, read the opponent section and the three answers, and pick one or two things to focus on in the first touches. If there is time, practise them with your coach first, in a lesson or in bouts with a clubmate. Once the rematch starts, use the first touches to see whether the opponent still fences as they did last time. They may have changed since you last met, and so may you.

When the rematch is over, add what happened. Did your plan work? What surprised you? If they no longer fence that way, update the opponent section.

Now and then, look through what didn’t work on several opponent pages. If the same thing keeps costing you touches (standing still near your warning line, say), take the actual examples to your coach. It is something to work on in training, not a permanent weakness.

In OpponentBook’s free journal, a fencing profile has fields for hand, grip, preferred distance and footwork style, plus style tags such as “attacks into preparation” or “second intention”. On each match’s drawing of the piste you can drop pins and label them worked, didn’t work, dangerous or tendency, with a note on each. Every match also has the same three questions: what worked, what didn’t, next time. Exports are included; heatmaps of your pins are part of Premium, and AI pre-competition briefs part of Pro and Max.

Synced records are saved in the storage you connect; OpponentBook’s account database does not hold a copy of your journal. When you request AI processing, the necessary content passes through an OpponentBook server to the AI provider. Optional end-to-end encryption protects encrypted records from the storage provider, while photos, videos and provider-visible file metadata remain outside that protection. The privacy guide explains these distinctions. Start a free journal.

Tonight, think of the last fencer who beat you. Write down what worked, what didn’t and what you will do next time, then add how they started their actions.