Tonight, I start something new in my life. I've known for a while that I needed a form of exercise, but couldn't find anything that could keep my attention. Going out walking/running - to me - is just boring as hell. I'd love to play baseball, even poorly, except that almost all mens' leagues are softball only (plus it's pretty seasonal, it's hard to play baseball in a foot of snow).
So I decided to take up fencing. I know it'll be tough, but it's a year-round sport, and it's one that I think I'll find interesting enough to stay with it. Plus, once I purchase a couple hundred dollars worth of equipment, I'm going to be kicking myself every time I don't use them, so that'll keep me motivated as well.
Now I just need to really and truly decide what style of fencing I want to partake in... I've been thinking about epee, since the barrier to entry for me (as a newbie) will be lower, since I don't have to worry about learning the semantics of right-of-way and such (yes, in fencing there actually are prescribed rules for when you may attack the opponent... except they don't apply for epee). By the same token, though, if I take foil or sabre, then I'll learn right-of-way, and if I decide down the road to switch for some reason, I won't be completely in the dark on the topic.
Speaking as a former coach of fencing, I believe it's easiest to learn foil first, as it gives you the disclipine to do epee and saber - plus, it's what most fencing salles ("salle" is the term equivalent to "dojo") teach to beginners. Footwork matters, stretching is critical, and if your fencing coach doesn't encourage you to stretch your hamstrings, knees, ankles, etc. before you start fencing, run far, far away. Fencing is incredible stress on your knees because you're always in a semi-squatting/get-ready-to-move position.
If you choose to learn epee first, it's harder to learn foil later, because you're then more prone to making the sorts of actions that are OK in epee but not foil. (Plus, the mental chess that's a part of the game is more effectively drilled into you when you learn foil.)
BTW, I have a beginner's bag of fencing gear (carrying bag, right handed foil with nice leather wrapped handle [kept in a clear plastic PVC pipe to guard against rust], gloves, electric body cord) I'm no longer using. You'd probably still need to get a fencing jacket that fits you, as mine is likely not going to. Email me if you're interested and willing to pay shipping. :-) Otherwise, I'd order a set from one of the suppliers listed here: http://members.tripod.com/~FencerGirl/fencing-links.html (I'd try Tripplette or American Fencers Supply.) I also have reference books.....
Anyway, good luck, regardless of what style you decide to do.
Fencing is a lot of fun, I did it for about 6 months before life and work took my free time away. You get one hell of a cardio work out as well :)
The problem I had was the club I went to was 90% teenagers from high school that knew each other. Being a 20something made me feel quite out of place. The 10% that weren't "kiddies" were a fair amount older than I (30s and 40s) and dropped out in the first couple of weeks of it. If I could find an environment of similarly out of shape 20something programmer types in my area I'd love to take it up again though.
I much prefer guns. :) I'd like to swim, though, but apparently we common folk aren't allowed to do so. Can't find anywhere around here with an affordable indoor pool.
Ya, definately guns.
You can get a helluva cardio workout running from one.
Um...is the YMCA prohibitively expensive? They have pools. And a lot more, too.
Fencing sounds ool. Growing up in a working class area, it's not something I'd ever given much thought to. Boxing was much more prevelant as a cardio quasi-combat sport.