Changes in Attack Execution Following a Fencing-Specific Training Program in Competitive Male Sabre Fencers: An...

Attack execution is a fundamental determinant of performance in sabre fencing, requiring athletes to integrate technical precision, tactical decision-making, perceptual abilities, and neuromuscular control within extremely short time intervals. The purpose of this exploratory single-group pre-post study was to investigate changes in attack execution, balance, postural control, and movement accuracy following an eight-week fencing-specific training program in competitive male sabre fencers. Eight competitive junior male sabre fencers completed an eight-week intervention consisting of two mesocycles designed to develop technical execution, balance, and movement control. Technical performance was assessed using four fencing-specific attack tests, whereas balance, postural control, and movement accuracy were evaluated using three sport-specific tests. Pre- and post-intervention performances were compared using paired-samples t-tests or exact Wilcoxon signed-rank tests according to the distribution of the paired differences, with effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals also reported. Balance in the En Garde Position increased from 44.00 ± 13.34 to 60.13 ± 18.80 s and was the only outcome showing a statistically significant pre-post change (p = 0.016; r_rb = 0.94). Change of Attack Direction increased from 7.50 ± 0.93 to 8.00 ± 0.93 points (p = 0.125; r_rb = 1.00; 4 non-tied pairs), while Beat Attack Execution increased from 8.25 ± 1.28 to 9.13 ± 0.83 points (p = 0.063; r_rb = 1.00; 5 non-tied pairs); neither change reached statistical significance. The remaining outcomes also showed non-significant pre-post changes. Overall, the findings indicate changes in technical and balance-related performance following the eight-week training period; however, given the absence of a control group, the small sample size, and the lack of test-retest reliability data for the sport-specific assessments, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and cannot establish a causal effect of the training program.