Getting my en garde on
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| Erica Burrus photo/ Shawn Clubb holds a foil while wearing fencing gear. |
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In the jab-or-get-jabbed world of fencing, I came out on top in a match with someone half my size and one-third my age. It felt good.
I'd been wanting to try fencing for several years. What boy or even full-grown man hasn't wanted to learn the art of the sword? From the Three Musketeers to Zorro to Capt. Jack Sparrow, many of our heroes from fiction have been proficient with a blade.Bruce Sikes of Academy Fencing Club invited me out for a lesson prior to a session in an eight-week fencing course he teaches in Webster Groves. The first part of the lesson was a history of Western swords and how they evolved. First came the short, heavy bronze-age weapons, then long and strong claymores in the 11th and 12th centuries, then lighter rapiers, then court swords and finally sabers, which were used in the military up until World War I.
Fencing was developed to allow people to continue dueling without killing each other, Sikes told me. The three swords used for fencing are based on other swords.
For our lesson, Sikes gave me a fencing sword called a foil, which mimics the court sword. It is a light weapon and foil fencing allows competitors to score points only by striking the torso of their opponent.
"It's a very quick weapon," Sikes said. "Many people believe it's the toughest to learn."
The key things to learn in fencing are timing and distance. Timing is knowing when to do what. Distance is knowing how close you should get.
"If you master those, you'll go far," Sikes said.
You strike an opponent by extending your sword arm forward and your front foot forward in a thrust, but don't overextend or it will be hard to recover and you'll be vulnerable to your opponent.
Enter my opponent, Jesse McConnell, 12, of Olivette. She took Sikes's course last session.
We both suited up. Sikes helped me strap on a padded underarm guard for my sword arm, a white padded fencing jacket, and a glove for my sword hand.
My opponent and I each cradled our masks under our non-sword arms and held our foils in front of our faces. We saluted each other, our judge and the crowd. Then, in the 44-by-6-foot fencing strip, we took the en garde position with knees bent and swords pointed toward each other and began.
Footwork is important. Sikes had briefly drilled me before the match on keeping my back foot turned to the side and front foot pointed forward. We advanced toward each other front foot first and drew back rear foot first. The effect resembles a well-choreographed dance to onlookers, Sikes said.
When a competitor feels they are close enough to hit their opponent's torso, they thrust. You defend with a movement called a parry, which sends the opponents foil off the mark.
Jesse thrusted her foil. I parried. I moved in, she moved back. She moved in, I moved back. I thrusted, she parried. We played until one of us hit the other three times, but the matches usually go to five touches.
I won 3-1. I had never fenced before and I'm not in great shape. Sikes had coached me to take the offense if my opponent hesitated and she did.
They call fencing "physical chess," Sikes said. "You use as much of your mind as you do your body."
Do you participate in a fun or entertaining activity that you would like us to try? Contact Shawn Clubb by calling (314) 664-2700 ext. 137.
Do you want to fence?
WHAT: Eight-week class in beginner's foil.
WHEN: 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays starting Oct. 9.
WHERE: Webster Groves Recreation Center, 22 E. Glendale, Webster Groves.
HOW MUCH: $80 for Webster Groves residents, slightly more for non-residents. The fee covers use of all equipment.
TO REGISTER: Call (314) 963-5600.
The swords of fencing
The foil - It mimics the court sword or short sword. It is a light weapon. Points in foil fencing are scored by touching the tip of the foil to an opponent's torso.
The saber - It is a straight-bladed sword. It is the fastest of the three fencing swords. The target area in saber fencing is from the waist up and competitors may strike with the side or the point of the blade. Saber fencing requires the most physical conditioning.
The epee - It is the modern sport version of the rapier, an early dueling sword. In epee fencing, competitors strike with only the tip of the sword, but points may be earned by striking anywhere on the opponent's body.
