Welcome to the end of the year. Feels like every year goes by faster and faster, and here we are. With 2025 a blink away, now’s a good time to start setting some fencing goals for the upcoming year.

As always, using the SMART goal template is a good place to start. SMART =  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound. This newsletter, we’ll quickly look at some historical fencing examples for SMART.

SMART Historical Fencing Goals

SPECIFIC

First off, your goal(s) should be specific. What do you want your fencing goals to be this year? Get as specific as you can. Some examples:

  • Compete in your first tournament
  • Improve your passata sotto
  • Study a new weapons form
  • Read a historical fencing book
  • Teach your first Italian dueling sword workshop

Other things to consider here: What steps do you need to take to achieve the goal? Will your training need to change at all?

MEASURABLE

You should be able to measure your goal… i.e., be able to know if and when you’ve achieved your goal.

An easy example: You want to compete in your first rapier tournament. You can measure the success of this goal by the fact if you did compete or not compete in a rapier tournament in your given timeframe.

Maybe your goal is to improve your passata sotto (a low void/counter-attack). How will you measure this? Is it being to more easily get into the position during drills? Is it being able to pull the action off in freeplay? Something else?

ACHIEVABLE

We all love to dream big, but we want to set ourselves up for success. We want realistic, achievable goals.

For example: If you’ve been fencing two months, winning a saber open tournament might be a big stretch. Just entering your first tournament is a good, solid goal.

For more advanced beginners, winning a beginner/novice tourney might be more achievable. Or maybe looking for a specific number of wins in your pools, etc.

This one takes an honest eye to assess where you’re at and what’s realistic based on your experience, health, abilities, means, etc.

RELEVANT

This one always amused me but yea, your goals should be relevant to historical fencing. Think of this more as big picture stuff. Why are you picking the goal(s) that you’re picking?

Is it ‘cause you want to test yourself in more tournaments? Are you looking to just meet new people and make new friends in the larger historical fencing scene? Are you wanting to be a walking fencing book encyclopedia? Look at your goals and figure out why that goal matters to you, and write it down.

TIME-BOUND

When do you want to achieve your goal? Is that date realistic?

If you’ve never performed a passata sotto before, landing them in a tournament in two days is maybe a stretch. However, being able to more easily get into the position over the course of the next 6-12 months is more realistic.

If you’re looking to compete in your first tournament, when do you want to do that by? What events are between now and then that you could feasibly do?

If your goal is to get a .500%+ win percentage in your pools for the first time, when do you want to achieve that by? Is it realistic based on where you’re at now? What’s your gameplan for working toward that goal? etc.

Setting up goals can be tricky on your own. If you need help, both myself and the rest of the Academie coaching staff are happy to help nail down some ideas. Just reach out!

—Justin
Head Coach | Instructor at Arms
Boston Academie d’Armes
(he/him)