Choosing a Plastron for Fencing

"After you've found a glove, a weapon, a jacket, and a mask that you like, the next piece you're probably going to want to look for is your plastron. And a plastron is just an under-arm protector. It's a little piece like this that you wear underneath your jacket. And if you're wearing added protection--if you're wearing a chest plate of some kind--you want to wear the chest plate underneath the plastron and not between the two. So you want to make sure that that fits well. It's required by FIE regulations, so if you're fencing competitively you're going to need one. It's also helpful. It's a nice added bit of protection there. This one's made of synthetics. I'm a right-handed fencer, again, so I'm going to wear it on my right side because that's where I'm going to take the majority of my hits. If I were a left-handed fencer, I would wear it, obviously, in the reverse to protect that area. So, plastrons are relatively inexpensive. This one is about sixteen dollars. Really light weight, really comfortable. And it has the Velcro straps here that will hold it on for you. Again, wear it beneath your jacket for extra protection, and wear it always if you're going to fence competitively."