Women sharing fencing training and tournament days

Pulenaz: preparing for a first club event

Pulenaz brings a beginner’s point of view to the work before a local foil event. After learning to hold distance in her first lesson, she practices an advance followed by a controlled lunge. She repeats the action against a partner who steps back, then shortens the first step so she can still move when the distance changes.

The evening before the event she puts her mask, jacket and glove in her bag and checks that her foil and body cord are there. At the venue she finds her pool assignment, warms up with footwork and waits beside the piste for her first turn. Between bouts she sits down for water and watches the next pair fence. The quieter spaces between touches make the day recognizable to someone considering a first competition.

Her account is the best place to begin if the prospect of entering a room full of fencers feels more interesting than a medal recap. The training sequence carries into the event: she is still working on distance when the first opponent begins moving.

Marissa Ponich: the rhythm of a sabre tournament day

Marissa Ponich competes in sabre; the Canadian Fencing Federation lists her competitive record, and Canadian Athletes Now links her Instagram as @mponichfencer. For a viewer drawn to the speed and feel of sabre, her account offers a competitive fencer’s point of view.

References: Canadian Fencing Federation · Canadian Athletes Now

Ponich takes viewers through a tournament morning: checking the posted pool, warming up, putting on her mask and fencing the first short bout. After the halt she returns to the side of the piste and waits for the next opponent. The sequence gives the viewer something a highlight reel cannot: the stop-and-start rhythm of a day in which a fencer repeatedly has to be ready.

Her preparation video pairs footwork with partner practice. She works on entering distance, stepping out when a partner closes it, then starting again. On the competition day, those short changes of distance become much faster, so the practice provides a useful way into the action.

Samantha Catantan: foil training alongside daily life

Samantha Catantan is a competitive foil fencer listed on Penn State’s roster. Tatler identifies her YouTube channel, @samanthacatantan1601, and describes videos about her life at university as well as fencing. This is a good choice if you like seeing the rest of the day around an athlete’s training.

References: Penn State Athletics · Tatler Asia

In a practice session, Catantan starts with movement before adding a partner and a target. She repeats an advance and lunge, resets, and tries the same action as her partner retreats. Later she lays out her equipment for a competition and returns to the piste for a final short practice. The sequence connects a repeated exercise with the coming event without treating every repetition as a highlight.

Compared with Ponich’s tournament-day sequence, Catantan’s training view gives more time to see preparation unfold. Pulenaz offers the most approachable entry to the same cycle: lesson, practice, packing and a first local event.

Follow the day, not just the score

In a typical individual event, fencers often begin in pools, facing several opponents in short bouts. Results determine seeding for direct elimination, where a loss ends an individual fencer’s run. Formats vary by event, but the pool list, warm-up and waiting between bouts help explain why a tournament video has a different rhythm from one continuous match.

References: British Fencing

Sources and attribution

1. Canadian Fencing Federation

   Marissa Ponich - Women’s/Femme SabrePublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026

2. Canadian Athletes Now

   Marissa PonichPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026

3. Penn State Athletics

   Samantha CatantanPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026

4. Tatler Asia

   Fencer Samantha Catantan represents the Philippines at the Paris 2024 OlympicsPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026

5. British Fencing

   Explore: CompetitionsPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 29, 2026