that short fencers are usually quicker and dodge easier.
Lulz.
No. It’s that shorter fencers must doge quicker to compete.
In my days in College, as a 5’9" average guy, I wasn’t much faster than anyone else. And without any reach I couldn’t keep up vs the taller people either.
Just being shorter doesn’t make you faster.
And a tall guy is usually bigger than a short one, so he’s a bigger target - and then there’s his juicy belly right on a convenient line of shots for a short fencer.
Just gain some flexibility and squat down deeper. The good tall fencers could hit me in my belly consistently despite me being shorter.
And while squatting down, your tall legs are longer anyway so you can lunge deeper when you do this maneuver. We shorter fencers cannot.