The Real Sabermetrics: A Game Theoretic Analysis of Women’s Saber

This paper analyzes real-world data on the fencing discipline of saber, applying a game theoretic framework and developing implications for saber actions, strategies, and mental training. This is the first paper to use competitive fencing data combined with a game theoretic approach to derive recommendations for strategic improvement. Results show that Olympic-level athletes systematically under utilize certain actions, such as initial movements that include retreats. I explore behavioral biases that might explain this and offer suggestions for training methods to address it.