Notes from a phone conversation with Norman Grimm, 8 September 2004.

Rowing does help.
I teach fencing at a high school locally, including adults. They often ask me what to do for general conditioning and I recommend the C2 Rower. It's a combination of things.
Rowing is great for developing overall body strength. It produces long sinewy muscles as opposed to large bulky ones, which don't work for fencing. Rowing also develops good range of motion and keeps you limber, which is essential for fencing. I also use a treadmill but I find that the rower is better for conditioning and definitely not as boring. I watch the numbers on both, but on the treadmill, it's with impatience. Rowing feels good as you do it, which is extremely important. You can let your mind wander, or watch the numbers, or just daydream. I find that it takes much less time to accomplish the same good as on a treadmill.

We do minor advertising for the fencing program at school. When I talk to people about fencing, they always say, "I always wanted to do that."

To be a good fencer, you need to fence a LOT. You need to put in thousands of hours. It requires speed and endurance, but also strategy. In order to have a clear conscious mind to plan your strategies and analyze your opponent, you need to practice your defensive moves so much that they can be done unconsciously.
You can be vigorous or not.
Fencing is one of few sports that if you start early enough you can pursue into your eighties. What you lose in endurance and speed, you gain in knowledge and proficiency.

The fencing stance is bent-kneed so that you can make a sudden move in any direction. Most beginning fencers have a lot of muscle pain in the upper thigh. Rowing does a great job of strengthening this muscle, much better than running.
The C2 is very good all-around exercise in prep for learning and sustaining the ability to fence. It builds endurance as well as the right kind of muscle.

I enjoy fencing very much. My goal is to spread the word and get more people into the sport. We're very proud of our two U.S. medals in Fencing in Athens! We see more and more small children coming out, as their parents see that colleges are offering scholarships in lesser known sports like Fencing.