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.