Picking Gloves for Sword Fencing

"After your mask, your foil or epee, and your jacket, the next piece you're probably going to want to buy is your glove. Your glove should sit--usually tighter is better. For one thing, they stretch with use, for another, if the glove fits pretty smoothly, you have a little bit more control--or most fencers find they have a little bit more control when you're using those fingers. Baggy fingers are definitely not a good idea. You want to keep the glove that doesn't restrict any of your mobility. And you do need a glove for regulation fencing. You need at least one. Sometimes I prefer to have two gloves because, even though you have this back arm up and out of the way, every once and a while it might drift forward in the beginning, and even if it doesn't you never know if there's a stray foil or epee flicking, and it's uncomfortable. So, for added protection sometimes two gloves, but definitely one. To choose the right size of glove, again, you want the same kind of soft tape that you used to measure for your helmet, and you want to measure around the widest part of your palm. Probably want to start with the one and not the fifty. And find out what that circumference is. For mine it is seven, and then you want to add another half an inch to get the size for your glove. So mine is a seven and a half. Now gloves can come in sizes that are numbered. Those are sometimes a little bit more expensive. They also come in small, medium, and large, and again, I would refer you to the sizing charts on fencing.net to translate those sizes. A lot of other websites might have those too, but that's one place where I know you can get everything in the same place. As far as what your glove is made out of--you need it to be sturdy, you need it to be comfortable, you need it to fit well, and also, all of these things, your weapon, your mask, your glove, and your jacket, you can get together in a starter kit. If you're just starting out, or if you know you need all four things, that's a really cost effective way to get started and get everything you need at one time."