It's one thing to read about fencing, but it's another to actually
fence. This isn't just a matter of what weapon to use, what style to
follow, or how to use information to make it work best for you. At the
beginning, learning fencing can seem like an overwhelming technical
challenge -- there are positions, skills, and techniques for each
movement, which must be performed in a particular fashion. This can seem
intimidating -- until you realize that each thing you learn builds on
top of everything else you have learned, like laying a course of bricks
to build a wall. You learn step-by-step, and suddenly realize you have
built an entire edifice of skills -- and you are fencing!
