2026 Tigger International Fencing Camp X Marat Khisamutdinov

Since the time of the ancient Babylonians, approximately 4,000 years ago, it has been a tradition for people to set New Year’s resolutions at the start of a new calendar year. These resolutions could be goals related to almost anything – personal achievement and growth, health and well-being, etc.

On January 1st, 2026, I made a New Year’s resolution: to organize a high-quality, international, multi-lingual, charity foil fencing training camp in Beijing. Being a passionate fencer myself, this was the perfect goal; it was about something I loved and enjoyed, I could invite my friends from all across China to come to Beijing and fence together, and it seemed simple enough. And hence my quest commenced. But it turns out, I was completely wrong about that last part – organizing an event was basically the antonym of the word ‘simple’.

In this article, I’m going to share with you the ‘behind the scenes’ of my journey to achieve my New Year’s resolution, including the different steps of organizing my fencing camp, my thoughts and experiences, as well as the hurdles I faced along the way.

Step 1: Google ‘what I need to organize an event’

Everything starts with a great idea. From my experience in coding and programming, designing the blueprint for a website is far more crucial than optimizing the UI/UX, and the same goes for organizing an event such as a fencing camp.

I discovered that the 5W1H (Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How) method could be applied here quite well. I was quickly able to pinpoint the information I needed to complete my camp’s blueprint:

‘What’ is the core concept? My goal is to share the classic, excellent philosophies of European fencing that I’ve learned with fellow Chinese fencers. Furthermore, the fencing camp should be a charity-focused event, with an emphasis on fencing technique and strategy.

‘What’ should I call it? Tigger International Fencing Camp.

‘Who’ will be the head coach? My great Russian coach and friend, Marat Khisamutdinov.

‘When’ will it take place? From January 17th to January 23rd.

‘Where’ should the venue be? A local fencing club in Beijing.

‘How’ big should the camp be? About twelve to fifteen fencers.

Step 2: talk, talk, and talk some more

Although I had a great idea in mind, it would sadly remain merely an idea if I couldn’t implement it. So after I had finished brainstorming, I quickly set out to arrange the details.

I talked with Marat Khisamutdinov, Kirill Efimov (an assistant coach also from Russia), and another Chinese coach, as well as communicated with the venue provider. After everything was mostly in place, I started personally designing logos, flags, uniforms, posters, and planning the English-Chinese bilingual training schedule.

However, just as things were going a bit too smoothly, the first problem arose. Although the coaches and I had the same general idea for the curriculum, taking into account the fact that I had to translate from Chinese to English to Russian, there were a few misunderstandings on professional fencing terms, such as ‘bouts’, ‘special physical exercises’, and ‘fitness exercises’. But after some back and forth, we were able to agree on a version of the schedule.

After all the preparation work was done, I finally sent out the poster I had designed. Registration filled up instantly on the same day.

Step 3: the actual fencing camp

Requirement 1: be prepared not to have lunch

I thought that after the two weeks of preparation, I was finally in the clear and that I could finally relax a bit. But I had clearly underestimated the effort it takes to single-handedly organize a fencing camp.

Throughout the week, I had to coordinate and schedule individual lessons. This included communicating with the coaches to see when they had time available and logging when each student had their individual lessons. There were also instances where time was running behind schedule, and I had to communicate with parents to reschedule the student’s individual lessons.

Besides scheduling, a major headache I had during the camp was the fact that I had to translate virtually every student’s individual lesson with Marat Khisamutdinov, because most of them didn’t speak fluent English and hence couldn’t understand well. I was more than happy to provide free translations, because the entire point of organizing the fencing camp was to position it as a charity event, not a commercialized money-grabber. But because the entire two-hour noon break was occupied with individual lessons, I had to reluctantly sacrifice my lunchtime. This experience taught me a lesson; doing anything is never easy, and as the organizer, you often have to sacrifice your own comforts for your work. It also taught me how to finish a large serving of pasta in under 5 minutes.

Requirement 2: standing an average of 9 hours a day for a week

Not only did I have to do all that translation and coordination work, but I also wanted to train and fence as well. It was definitely exhausting; 1 hour of translation before morning training, 2 hours of intensive training in the morning, 2 hours of translation during noon, another 2 hours of training in the afternoon, and 1-2 hours of translation after training ends, averaging to roughly 9 hours a day with minimal rest. Similarly, my coach, Marat Khisamutdinov, didn’t have time to rest either. But did I enjoy it? Of course.

Requirement 3: long periods of focus

Last year, I went to Italy for two months, primarily for fencing training. After an immersive learning experience of European fencing, I came to the conclusion that they value thinking, observation, tactics, strategy, and control far more than physical strength and speed.

As an excellent coach and fencer from Russia, Marat Khisamutdinov emphasizes many of the same values I learned in Europe. Training with him requires constant sharp focus – a small distraction leads to a mistake – but it has greatly improved my fencing. Throughout the camp, Marat Khisamutdinov and Kirill Efimov did a great job of balancing high-level professional training with genuine interest cultivation. I believe both elements are equally important, just as you need two legs to walk.

By the end of the camp, I discovered that I was most exhausted mentally. Most of this fatigue didn’t come from the organizing work, but from the effort of keeping up with Marat Khisamutdinov’s intensive yet entertaining training.

Solutions to Unforeseen Problems

Split-second decision-making to solve an unanticipated problem is a crucial lifesaver for event organizers because there will always be unanticipated problems. In fact, I was so certain that an unanticipated problem would occur that I anticipated it.

On the last day of the fencing camp, the schedule was to have a team competition take place in the afternoon. However, the day before that, Marat Khisamutdinov asked me to cancel the team competition. He explained that for the past few days, he observed a lot of students who were fencing arguing with other students who were being referees about points. He had tried to stop them from constantly arguing, as he wanted them to fence more in bouts, but this was to no avail. Because a competition would further worsen this bad behavior, Marat Khisamutdinov explained that the time could be put to better use, such as teaching technique and working in pairs.

I decided to gather all the students together on the day the team competition was supposed to take place. I asked them whether they wanted to fence in team competitions, and all of them except two said yes. Since they were very eager to participate, I decided to strike a deal with them; anyone who argued with the refs during the competition would be subjected to a predetermined punishment (twenty push-ups) and simultaneously disqualified from fencing with everyone else. To my surprise, everyone quickly agreed, and there was no arguing that day.

Although this issue was definitely something I couldn’t control, solving the problem together with the students was definitely a new experience for me. Here, I would like to thank all fencers who participated in the camp for their hard work. It was because we respected the referees and followed the rules of this elegant sport that allowed all the athletes to experience its true charm and wisdom.

Unique Characteristics of Tigger International Fencing Camp

Because my fencing camp is focused on bringing foreign coaches and ideals to Chinese fencers, everyone who comes to the camp gets to have a truly international, multilingual fencing experience. With myself as the translator, I can ensure that ideas are transferred accurately to each student. In contrast with a conventional focus on strength and speed, my camp emphasizes tactical thinking, observation, and strategy. As a result, it’s less about short-term intensity and more about exposing Chinese fencers to a different way of understanding and approaching the elegant sport of fencing.

The weekend after the camp ended, two other participants and I competed in the Beijing Fencing League Final. We won three medals in the individual competition: gold, silver, and bronze. Notably, I finally defeated several older fencers I had never beaten before, using what I learned about the unique style and charm of European fencing.

Acknowledgments

I’m extremely honored to have given a detailed report to two Olympic champions in person, Zhong Man and Valentina Vezzali, on the organization of my fencing camp. I did not expect to receive consistent appreciation and praise from both champions; they expressed their firm support and hoped to be invited to participate in the future, so that they could give me practical, hands-on assistance.

My sincere thanks also go to my Chinese and foreign coaching team, to Art of Fencing International Center AFIC for supporting this charity event, and to all my friends for your encouragement.

To all my fellow fencers who have read this far: as a thank you, here is a special offer. If you like, share, and comment on this article and subscribe to my account, you will receive priority registration for the next edition of the Tigger International Fencing Camp.

Thank you for reading, and happy fencing!