Changes in Sport-Specific Movement, Reaction, and Technical Attack Performance During a Structured Training Program in Competitive Junior Male Sabre Fencers

Background and Objectives: Sabre fencing requires the rapid integration of movement, reaction, and technical execution under sport-specific conditions. Assessing these components throughout training may provide relevant information for monitoring athlete development. This study aimed to examine changes in sport-specific movement, reaction, and selected technical components of attack performance in competitive junior male sabre fencers during a structured training program. Methods: Fifteen competitive junior male sabre fencers aged 16-20 years participated in a single-group longitudinal repeated-measures study. The intervention comprised two mesocycles and eight microcycles, with six training sessions per microcycle. Participants were assessed before the intervention (Ti), after the first mesocycle (Tint), and after the intervention (Tf). Assessments included fencing movement time, three technology-assisted reaction-time tasks using visual stimuli, and three technical attack tests. Differences across the three assessments were analyzed using the Friedman test, with Holm adjustment across the seven outcomes and Kendall's W as an effect-size measure. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Bonferroni adjustment were used for pairwise comparisons. Results: Significant differences across the three assessments were observed for fencing movement time (p_adj < 0.001; W = 0.692), reaction time with lunge (p_adj = 0.001; W = 0.514), reaction time with two fencing steps and lunge (p_adj = 0.002; W = 0.459), change in direction of the final hit (p_adj < 0.001; W = 0.725), attack with blade beat (p_adj < 0.001; W = 0.664), and hit to the cuff target (p_adj < 0.001; W = 0.663). Stationary reaction time did not change significantly (p_adj = 0.620; W = 0.032). Pairwise comparisons revealed different temporal patterns of change among the evaluated variables. Conclusions: Changes during the training period were more evident in reaction tasks incorporating fencing-specific movement than in stationary reaction performance. Technical attack components also showed significant but distinct temporal patterns of change. Repeated sport-specific assessment may provide useful information for monitoring junior sabre fencers and adapting training content. Given the absence of a control group, the findings should be interpreted as changes associated with the training period rather than as evidence of a causal intervention effect.