Fencing Trainer

Foil, epee, saber! Even similar sports such as kendo, boxing and other target-area-related martial arts. Improve your reaction time and accuracy on target with this simple-to-use training aid.

Start a training session with the tap of a button, then the app flashes (or calls out with audio) a randomly-chosen target area at a randomly-chosen moment --- and you strike (accurately, we hope). The training session continues as long as your endurance can last, just tap the button again to end the session and see your stats (simple stats for now, just how many touches you made it through).

Customize your training profile with your target reaction time, which is the time between a target area flashing red (signaling you to attack) and flashing green. You can also customize the minimum and maximum delay before each "flash red" challenge; the wider the difference, the more widely random the challenges and the steadier your nerves need to be. Fencing (and boxing) are called "physical chess" for good reason!

You can use the "DEFAULT" fencer and customize it. To share with friends or teammates, you can register any number of fencers by name and each keeps its own customized profile.

To use Fencing Trainer in visual mode, simply hang your phone near a standard fencing target or convenient section of wall you don't mind messing up with your blade. When you see the red square flash, hit the corresponding quadrant of your target.

The app also has a setting to switch from visual cues (the red flash) to audio cues. In audio mode, you can slip your phone in your pocket with earbuds and respond to challenges to the four standard quadrants in fencing - quarte (4, upper left of opponent), sixte (6, upper right), septime (7, lower left) and octave (8, lower right).

BOXERS: Use this app to make shadow boxing more interesting. The 4 target areas translate well to boxing's left/right to head and left/right to body, jab vs uppercut, or whatever you wish to work on. If you find this app useful and would like a custom version using all the boxing target areas and punches, please email me at jolinapp@gmail.com with your interest in this idea. If there is enough interest I will publish a boxing-specific version. I'm not a boxer, so I'd appreciate suggestions (or a link) to what the standard targets or punches are.

Support is via email to jolinapp@gmail.com . Please mention the name of the app ("Fencing Trainer"), the version number (found in the "Settings" menu) and a detailed description of the problem or suggestion. Note that it is not easy to hook up an electric blade to a USB port, my investigation so far tells me it would need a separate gadget (microcontroller or Bluetooth board) that would cost in the vicinity of $50. If you have serious interest in such a thing, email me. If there is enough interest I will look into a "Fencing Trainer Pro" that includes such a gadget mailed to you and can gather stats on your actual reaction time, target accuracy, etc.