Sparring games

Go to, skill-based drills

Bear Pit

This exercise is great for mixing in new and old members
Fencers in full kit make a line around a circle or arena and one person volunteers to enter first
The first person in line enters and the two spar, the first one to land a win
The winner stays in the pit; the loser goes to the back of the line, banter is encouraged
The goal is for one person to fight everyone and be king of the ring

Conveyer Belt (of Doom)

All fighters line up shoulder to shoulder facing a partner in full kit
They fence for one minute till the instructor calls halt
Everyone rotates one spot so they have a new partner and they fence for one minute
This continues for however many rotations of the group the instructor feels like. When you meet your original partner in your original spot that is one revolution

Square Dance sparring

Everyone finds a partner and spars for 1 minute
After that minute they must run to find a new partner and spar for another minute
Rest after 3 minutes of continuous sparring

Practice Competition

This is when registration forms are sent out to fill a bracket and fencers fence for first second and third place with designated judges and directors in a low-stakes competition
This is done mostly to acclimate new fencers to the tournament atmosphere and get them used to one exchange at a time fighting
This also provides a more formal opportunity for everyone to practice different tournament roles as point is awarded to each fencer, and their scores determine who places where

Fun drills

Pirates

Have everyone line up in 2 even groups facing each other with a line down the middle and a border 2 feet behind them
The instructor calls “prepare to repel boarders” then “Boarding action” at which point each team tries to kill or knock out the other team
They can work together to defeat the other team
If they are hit, then they move out of the combat area
The winner is the last man standing
Another play is to have every man for himself on either side then call boarding action and have both sides fight as a team

Mcbane’s duel

Everyone chooses a partner to spar with
After 1 minute a brawl breaks out, and you have to defeat all the other brawlers
The winner is the last team standing
If your teammate dies, then you both lose

Kill the king

One team has a king armed with a shield and weapon of their choice
The defenders have to protect their king from the attackers who want to kill them
If you are hit, you have to sit down
If the king is killed the defenders lose, if he stays alive for longer then 2 minutes the defenders win
Variations
- Have the defenders protecting more than one king
- Have an uneven distribution of shields
- Have the attackers also have to protect a king (like capture the flag but with more murder)
- Change the “map” to bridges or walls with chokepoint gates, whatever you can imagine
  - The castle arrangement (2 bridges and 1 central gate) is always a good variant
- Experiment with giving the defenders an advantage in geography or numbers, play around and experiment

Capture the flag

There is a flag in both goals and a line down the middle
If you cross the line into enemy territory, you can be hit. If you get hit you go to Valhalla and can be rescued by a teammate
If a defender is hit on their side they have to go to a specific point to respawn then wait 3 seconds before they can reenter the game

Link Tag

In this large group game of tag one person begins as “it”. As other players get tagged, they link arms with the person chosen to be “it” and form a chain.
The chain of people must work together and communicate as they try to tag the remaining players. Only the two people at the end with free arms can tag others.
The last player to get tagged is the winner, and a new game can begin.

Sharks and minnows

One or two people start in the middle as the sharks while everyone lines up against a wall as minnows
When the sharks call “fishy fishy come out and play” the minnows walk slowly towards the sharks
At any point, the sharks can call “shark attack!” at which point the minnows sprint for the opposite wall
While the minnows run the sharks try and tag as many as they can, if a minnow is tagged they become a shark. Once they touch the opposite wall they are safe.
The game resets when there are only 1 or 2 minnows left who become the sharks for next round

Revenant tag

Each person has a sword and its every fighter for themselves
- a no swords modification is everyone has a hand tucked behind their back and the only way to hit them is to tag that hand
If you are hit you must sit down, you can still use your sword so long as your butt doesn’t move
If the person who killed you is hit then you get to stand back up
The game ends when one person is left standing or after 5 minutes