"Oh sweet coffee, I adore thee". At one point or another (Monday mornings, we're looking at you!) in our lives we've probably all been there and thought that thought. But, on a scale from zero to caffeine-junkie, how deep is the love between fencers and coffee? And even more interesting: is there a correlation between your intake of the magical black brew and the weapon you fence? We've called in an expert in the matter, our very own Jon Willis, to share the results of many years of (semi)-serious study with you.

Are you ready for the results ;)? Then read on!

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The 2018 season for me seems to have flown by and just when I felt I was getting back into my flow again, following my World cup Epee Gold in Pisa back in March, I then had a long break through to the next competition in July, the Warsaw World cup, where I took Epee Gold, Sabre Bronze & Team Foil Silver!

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It's fencing fashion show time again, fencers! Two days ago, our director Ben Paul explained the leading principles behind the design for the FIE Fashion show held in Paris on December 9th, and today he will tell you more about the design and the actual products being made...make sure to check our social networks this weekend for more insight, some behind the scene glimpses (and then pictures of the actual uniforms, of course!)
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With December now upon us, the festive season is definitely here. But, at least for the international fencing crowd, December 2018 is about more than just Christmas celebrations.  During their annual Congress on the second weekend of December, this year the F.I.E. will celebrate their 105 year anniversary in Paris and as part of the festivities, they are hosting a massive gala event at the Grand Palais, right next to the world-famous Champs-Elysées. What would a gala event in Paris, the city of Haute Couture and designers be, without a fashion show? In this particular case involving fencing fashion, of course!  So that's what the fencing world is going to see in Paris:  All the major manufactures of fencing equipment produce two uniforms and get an opportunity to show it on stage at the event. Talk about a great chance to showcase new and exciting ideas to the whole fencing community! 5 years ago, for the 100th anniversary of the F.I.E., we did a project that explored lighting fencing gear and a lighting system showing the fencers face (a project by the way which is about to come in for a new wireless fencing system we have worked on... more on that next year, stay tuned!), but this year, our company director Ben Paul had something different in mind. Read all about his inspiration after the jump (and look forward to more, as this is only the first instalment of a three-part series!)

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Fencers! You've got your heart set on purchasing our FIE X-Change mask (for yourself or as a gift for someone else), but feel a bit overwhelmed by the choice of padding we offer? We have put together some useful information to help you choose the padding which is right for you (tables and videos with fitting advice included!).
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Fencers, have you come across our LED lightsabre yet? In case you're wondering why a fencing manufacturer is selling a gadget like this: if made from the right materials (ours is made from polycarbonate and suitable for controlled sparring), a lightsabre is not a just a toy, but a fantastic opportunity to bring a unique take on martial arts. We've asked Faisal Mian, the London instructor of UK-based "Silver Sabres" Combat Academy, to outline the principles and development of what could become a new type of combat sports. 

In his first contribution today Faisal explains the leading idea behind the art of LED sabre combat. Read his full report after the jump.

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Fencers! It's time for another bit of fencing history on this blog. The second half of our two-part series about the development of foil, to be precise. Written by our usual expert in the matter: Malcolm Fare. So, let's continue where we left off and go back to the late 19th century. 1896 was going to be a special and decisive year for modern foil fencing in more than one regard....

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The shoeholic is back! (You remember the confessions of Johanna, our footwear-addicted employee, from last week, right?) We obviously couldn’t leave it at a report about her first impression of our new Hic-Tec x Leon Paul London Razor fencing shoe, but also asked her to weigh up  the Razors against the Nike Air Zoom fencing shoes (also known as “Nike Ballestra”) in order to help you choose the style which suits you best. Read on for the full comparison, including size and fit of both trainers. Continue reading →

When you’re looking for good trainers specifically designed for fencing, the market doesn’t really seem to offer much choice: a few models proposed by the two giants of sportswear brands (recognisable either by an emblematic swoosh or iconic three stripes), and that’s it, right? Well, not quite: Since 2018, there is also the Razor fencing shoe, a style developed by Leon Paul in cooperation with the Anglo-Dutch brand Hi-Tec. We had them tested by Johanna, one of our employees, who is a (very active) fencer and also nurtures a deep passion for shoes. The perfect human guinea pig for the task. Read on to know all about her first impression of our new shoes. 

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From London-Hendon to a district where the British capital feels a lot like San Francisco, from making fencing equipment to buying music albums... here's the second part of our not-so-ordinary London city guide, written by Olympic Silver medalist (and big rock'n'roll lover!) Alexander Massialas. If you want to know where London's best record store is (no, it's not in one of the more touristy boroughs!) or how Alex tackled the challenge to make a fencing mask in our factory (fans of our #FactorytourFriday series on Instagram, this is for you!), then we recommend you read on!

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