Fencing and Reaction Time: Why Fencers Are Faster

Yes, experienced fencers react faster, and choice reaction time, where the fencer must pick the right response among several, is what a real bout demands. Most of the evidence is observational and the training studies are small, so the honest summary is a strong association with encouraging early signs that the skill can be trained.

What the studies found

Researchers have compared fencers at different levels on tests of simple reaction time, responding to a single cue, and choice reaction time, choosing the right response among several. A small study comparing 12 novices with 12 trained épée fencers found shorter reaction times in the trained group on a computer attention test, about 332 against 367 milliseconds (European Journal of Sport Science, 2024). Choice reaction time is the harder, more realistic task, and it is what a bout demands: choosing the correct reaction under pressure.

Can reaction time be trained?

Whether fast people simply take up fencing, or training makes people faster, is not settled. A pilot study using the Vienna Test System followed five young fencers across a 12-week training programme. It found no significant change for the group as a whole, though three of the five improved their choice reaction time, so the authors called the results preliminary (Sports, 2025). The adult-focused picture is in fencing, focus and reaction time: the science for adults.

Why fencing sharpens reactions

The reason is built into the sport. Every exchange is a small race: read the opponent’s movement using the visual skills fencing trains, choose the right response, and execute it in a fraction of a second, over and over. Unlike sports with predictable, self-paced movements, fencing is an open-skill sport, meaning the situation is always changing and you must adapt to it. That constant demand to react to the unexpected is precisely the kind of practice that trains fast, accurate responses.

Reading it fairly

A sensible caveat: much of this research compares fencers with non-fencers, so it shows a strong association, and the training studies are still relatively small. What can be said fairly is that fencing tests reaction speed, that experienced fencers excel at it, and that the early evidence on whether training helps is promising but very thin.

Training reactions at the club

At Fencing Masters in Singapore, coaches start you with footwork and control, which is where reactions get trained. You can start with no experience, and the trial needs no gear, and once you join we lend a mask, jacket and blade for your first lessons.

The same drills scale from a beginner’s first lunge to a competitor’s timing work.

To test your reflexes on the piste, request a trial lesson, or read about fencing and decision-making.