Coaching Cohort - Summer 2026

Registration Now Open

Arik Mendelevitz
May 26, 2026

To my dear readers,

The Fool of Swords coaching cohort is a three month long program designed to help give you the tools to take your coaching to the next level. This will be a discussion based deep-dive into the latest in sports psychology and motor skill acquisition as well as how that applies to historical fencing. Whether you are a well established coach or just starting off on your teaching journey this course is for you. If you are a competitor who wants to learn how we learn in order to take your own personal game to the next level, then this course is for you. If you just love learning and want to join a vibrant and intentional community, then this course is for you. Registration is priced at $250, with sliding scale options available.

Course material will be presented across four different mediums.

1. Short essays.

Every two weeks I will email you a short essay I have written on a topic concerning how we learn to fence. Each piece will also end with an optional homework assignment of something to try out at your local practice. There's no grade, no one is going fail you if you don't do the homework. It's just a prompt to get you thinking. This is your learning journey, make of it what you will.

2. Biweekly discussion.

There will be a call scheduled roughly every two weeks using the essay/homework as a jumping off point. These will take place Monday evenings Chicago time, but if we get enough people signing up I will be more than happy to open a Sunday session as well. We all have lives and there is no expectation that everyone will be able to make it to each and every session. All live sessions will also be recorded, so you can still hear everything we went over even if you weren't able to make it.

3. One on one sessions.

All participants will also receive two, hour long, one on one sessions with me. This could be help with a topic you're struggling with, video review, or just time to hang out and chill. Sometimes you have a thought that just doesn't fit in the context of a larger group discussion and that's fine. These one on one's are your time to go over whatever you like.

4. Discord server.

In addition to the scheduled discussions, you will also receive an invite to the private Fool of Swords Discord server. This is an intentional space for people to keep the conversation going, share anything they find interesting, and build a community of practice with fellow fencers.

Here’s the link to sign up:

Coaching Cohort Registration Summer 2026

The Fool of Swords coaching cohort is a three month long program to help give you the tools to take your coaching to the next level. This will be a discussion based deep dive into the latest in sports psychology and motor skill acquisition as well as how that applies to historical fencing. Whether you are a well established coach or just starting off on your teaching journey this course is for you. If you are a competitor who wants to learn how we learn in order to take your own personal game to the next level, then this course is for you. If you just love learning and want to join a vibrant and intentional community, then this course is for you. Course material will be presented across four different mediums. 1. Short essays. Every two weeks I will email you a short essay I have written on a topic concerning how we learn to fence. Each piece will also end with an optional homework assignment of something to try out at your local practice. There's no grade, no one is going fail you if you don't do the homework. It's just a prompt to get you thinking. This is your learning journey, make of it what you will. 2. Biweekly discussion. There will be a call scheduled roughly every two weeks using the essay/homework as a jumping off point. These will take place Monday evenings Chicago time, but if we get enough people signing up I will be more than happy to open a Sunday session as well. We all have lives and there is no expectation that everyone will be able to make it to each and every session. All live sessions will also be recorded, so you can still hear everything we went over even if you weren't able to make it. 3. One on one sessions. All participants will also receive two, hour long, one on one sessions with me. This could be help with a topic you're struggling with, video review, or just time to hang out and chill. Sometimes you have a thought that just doesn't fit in the context of a larger group discussion and that's fine. These one on one's are your time to go over whatever you like. 4. Discord server. In addition to the scheduled discussions, you will also receive an invite to the Fool of Swords Discord server. This is an intentional space for people to keep the conversation going, share anything they find interesting, and build a community of practice with fellow fencers.

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