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Hopefully it goes without saying that you can't learn something physical from the books.

But if you're the kind of person who likes to read a lot, and want to supplement your learning by reading about fencing theory, then here's what I would recommend.

First, read pretty much any general book about fencing. I've read quite a few books about fencing, but generally they're mostly all the same. Here's one that I've read that is indicative of most books, but there's loads

The only thing you're really trying to take away from it getting basic descriptions of the equipment, some basic nomenclature - "lunge", "fleche", "quarte", "disengage", "ballestra", etc. Maybe some basic history. You could also get all this stuff from wikipedia if you wanted, but maybe a book form might be presented in a nicer way.

A lot of these books will talk about mental game, perfect technique, and the great masters of whenever. This is mostly absolute garbage. Most of the history will be incorrect, and only semi-true 'factoids'. It often comes off as a bit of "mysticism". If you have any experience in the culture of martial arts you probably know what I mean.

So once you have a rough idea of what all the parries are, and what we call all the footwork movements, more or less, I would recommend reading Epee 2.0 (2.5 or whatever it's on now).

This book talks about a pragmatic based approach to fencing. No one makes a perfect lunge, and in fact, there is not even such a thing as a perfect lunge. Lots of moves that you learn aren't actually all that useful. etc. If you can internalize the themes of this book, that is very useful for approaching fencing in a way conducive to competitive success.

Then I would look at understanding fencing, which has a lot of very technical thoughts about fencing. E.g. Beyond just what is a step, or a lunge, he talks about different kinds of actions tactically speaking (e.g. pre-planned vs open eyes etc.).

If you read those three, you'll be in good shape

1st what did your read; Both manuals? I don't know what that means. Ignore everything you read on medieval swordplay, it's not relevant to sport fencing. Although, I'm sure it's very interesting.

The books you read are pretty good. Nothing to outlandish about either Czajkowski book or Epee 2.5. If you want a syllabus, try:

1. Elaine Cheris' Fencing: Steps to Success - which is a good book on basic beginner technique
   
2. Aldo Nadi's On Fencing - technical manual/autobiography; is a classic fencing read although very dated.
   
3. Sergei Golobitsky's Fencing is My Life - which like Nadi's is more autobiography but of the most winning fencer in contemporary fencing
   
   Many, many people here on reddit will also recommend, "The Inner Game of Tennis" as a good read for fencing -- it's essentially a self help book. I personally did not find it even remotely helpful but if you find yourself generally inclined towards similar self-help, pop-psychology books then you might like it.
   
   As far as workout plans go (and you'll hate to hear this): don't work on lunges and fleches and such, yet. Wait till you have a coach to correct your form. You may wind up further ingraining some bad habits which you aren't aware of by working on them alone before you start. But, kudos on trying to get ahead of the game.
   
   What I recommend is that you just work on conditioning, the longer you stay sharp at practice the faster you'll improve. Run/Cycle a bunch get your body used to the stress. Optionally do weightlifting-style lunges with some free weights and kettlebell swings (don't over do it). I think even a brisk yoga routine which is heavy on the core-strength exercises and light on the mystical-bullshit is pretty good for fencing training.

Here are two books by Aldo Nadi, a fencing great: On Fencing

and The Living Sword

The first is more instructional and the second is an autobiography, if I remember correctly. Neither of them alone are going to give you enough instruction on how to be a great fencer (you need a real coach for that). However, they will give you a good look into where fencing came from and they are pretty entertaining

The problem with drawings, videos and photos is that it's not always clear which sides the blades are on in relation to each other. Some are better than others. Videos on & offline obviously have some advantages. They're more engaging, blade positions may be clearer and most importantly you've got movement. I bought a book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fencing-Techniques-Foil-Epee-Sabre/dp/1852231521 when I'd just started and it is quite nice to have a reference book pitched at people in their first few years of fencing (especially that first year) where you can just look up & check something. Fencing books can be very dry reads where your attention can wander (or is that just me?). Some fencing books can be pricey & I found a few in charity shops for peanuts.

One thing I noticed was that coach advice to new fencers can differ from things you see world class fencers do, or see discussed on a forum thread. That was a bit confusing at times, but it's basically about learning to walk before learning to run. Try to nail doing things the way the coaches say. Once you've been fencing for longer you'll have a clearer idea of when, why & how advanced fencers use variations tactically, building on a solid foundation.

You Tube has different kinds of fencing videos, which is helpful, such as armoury skills, kit reviews and promos, features on techniques (Variable quality & reliability, good, bad & mediocre), event footage, humour, etc. Sometimes it's HEMA or classical.

You're just starting out. As you say, some of your opponents literally have decades more experience. Some general thoughts:

• Fence as much and as often as you can. If you only fence a couple days a week, it's really hard to improve. The best way to get better at fencing is to fence.
  
• Fence people better than you are. Think about what is working and what is not working.
  
• Keep a fencing journal.
  
• Take lessons from a qualified coach. As many as you can afford. Also remember that just because someone is a good fencer does not mean they are a good coach.
  
• Are you in a class/camp at your current club? Group instruction is also good.
  
• Generally books aren't that useful, but Epee 2.5 ( https://www.amazon.com/Epee-2-5-Paradigm-Revised-Augmented/dp/0985444185 ) is actually quite good.
  

Well, sort of. What you're describing is foil. A couple of very good books on early epee fencing are:

The Dueling Sword by Claude la Marche

Secrets of the Sword by Baron de Bazancourt

They're both very readable, and give a good picture of teaching someone who may or may not know some of the foil you describe above to use an epee in a real fight.

What Bazancourt and la Marche describe sounds like epee to me. La Marche in particular sounds like a modern epee coach, in a book written in the late 19th century about a sport that was just being invented. Amazing stuff. There's a good blurb from Gary Copeland on the back, that's actually what got me to read it, and I'm glad I did.

Epee was fencing. Full speed, what they call in the books "flying attacks", which means you don't put your foot down before you hit, no style points, much discussion of how anyone can beat anyone at one touch in epee, the sort of thing you'd hear if you went to a one-touch epee competition today. Be careful, cover your hand, don't make crazy deep attacks, all that stuff. It sounds nothing like today's classical fencers.

And neither writer was backwards-looking. They were both developing their sport/martial art. I can't imagine either one would be a "classical fencer" today, they'd be fencers, trying to get better.

Anyway, if you want to get past the history in the Cohen book, which is a decent start but not really comprehensive, those are two original sources you might look at.

A Basic Fencing Companion by Paul Sise is really good, specially for beginners/intermediate fencers. It reads easily and has a great glossary that I used to get ready for my moniteur exam.

Another good one is Understanding Fencing by Czajkowski (who sadly passed away just last week). This one is more advanced, but it doesn’t read as easily. I took my time reading this one.

Get formal training. It has improved my coaching tremendously and I would not be able the think of any other way to achieve my current level.

Good books for a starting fencing coach are Szabo L. Fencing and the Master, Czajkowski Z. Understanding Fencing and Kogler A. One Touch at a Time.

To add to this, his other book The Mental Preparation of Fencers and Others: Awareness-Based Concentrative Analysis and Mind Fitness Training is also an amazing read.

e: why did I get downvoted for this??

His book is a great read. Link below:

​

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Fencing-Zbigniew-Czajkowski/dp/0965946886

Ok depends on they type of Barrel. If it is is a standard german barrel with screws protruding I would recommend this tool:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052XQYVO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
It is very good at grabbing the sides of exposed screws.

If the screw is flush with the service you might have luck with these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JCT3W0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
you have to be able to put a lot of pressure on the screw head so make sure it is resting level on the desk.

This is what most of us US armorers have found to be the most reliable way to get a damaged screw out:

https://www.amazon.com/Tools-VISE-GRIP-Transverse-Cutter-1773597/dp/B0052XQYVO

The nibs at the end are fine enough to get around any bit of the screw that is still exposed, and strong enough to get a secure grip that will allow you to turn it.

A Coach and Referee I know just published Journals to help you make the most out of tournaments for Epee Foil and Sabre

There is also the fencing based "One Touch at a time" for sports psychology based on fencing. It's quite good.

"Epee 2.5" also contains some sports-psychology, tactics and strategy from a fencing perspective.

There is a book called Don't Panic which provides excellent (in my experience) advice for these sorts of events. It sounds to me like you had a panic or anxiety attack, and I think this book might be able to help, or at least offer some insights and advice. It really helped me, and was the book I read when I faced a similar set of challenges.

Link to the book

Seems to be cheaper from the uk amazon.

There aren't that many modern fencing books out there, and there are practically zero modern Sabre books. Only one I know of is "Modern Sabre Fencing" by Zbigniew Borysiuk. Having browsed through it, I can say it is.... OK. Only a small portion really concentrates on fencing, with chapters looking at the history of the sport, the 'impact of electric', nutrition, "diagnostic tools", and so on. I know there is also a DVD that goes with it, but I've never seen it, so can't comment on that. So anyways, I wouldn't recommend bothering with it probably, but if you really have no other option, you could probably do worse, but frankly, I think you could learn more by watching YouTube videos... I know there are a lot out there geared towards instruction.