Fencing Club

Relief above the Registration Desk

Today's happy thought: Fencing.

A year or two ago, I was at the post office picking up mail for work when I realized that the building across the street was, of all things, a fencing club. I took a picture of the front door, with the hours of operation, but didn't follow up on it. Back then, I still had a lot of things to work through before I could face a strange guy with a foil and try not to get hit.

Well, I've since decided that it is time to try it again. Fairfax Fencers offers classes at a rate of $100 a month, which basically works out to $25 a class. I don't know how fencing rates typically run, but that sounds about right for other classes, like piano or whatever.

So, last night was my first night.

It reminded me far more of TaeKwonDo with Master Tomasi than it did of PHC's club. Small dojang, old guy giving a wise lecture about rules that all have numbers for some reason, and everyone standing in a line listening and trying to guess the right answers for the questions. The old guy is nicer, though; he doesn't make us hold a lunge while he talks! :-)

Anyway, figured I'd better write them down just in case. So, here they are:

1. Don't get hit.
2. Get correct distance.
3. Keep "happy" feet.
4. Use strategy.

He kept it to four. Master Tomasi had, I dunno... 15 with numbers and at least 10 prepared lectures on unnumbered topics. My siblings and I used to wonder if he kept a Rolodex in the back with all the lectures on 3x5 cards, and he'd just rotate through the lecture card each day.

Master Tomasi's first rule was "Don't fight unless you can't get away," but he had equivalent rules for Renaldo's #2 ("your space is one arm's length distance around your body in all directions. If someone enters your space, be alert!") and several that would have covered #3 ("stay upright; on your feet!" and "don't run in a straight line" and "a target in motion is harder to hit!")

That's the one thing that truly weirds me out about fencing; why does the strip have to have such straight lines?

Also, Master Tomasi would never have let us off with a simple "use strategy," even if Renaldo did follow it up with a description of the books professional fencers keep on their opponents' tactics, their own counter-tactics, and anything interesting that they might see while watching bouts. Of course, I've only met Renaldo once. If I give him time, he'll probably get there.

This was a class, not free fencing, so he had us pair up and do drills. I was rusty, but I still managed to put in a credible performance against a guy who has been fencing every week all year. The instructor only got frustrated with me once, because he kept trying to demonstrate in slow motion a lunge, parry, disengage, continuation, and I kept blocking the continuation. Not intentionally, it was instinct and muscle memory. He was moving slow.

Also, I think my struggle with the slow motion one-parry amused him. He kept grinning and saying "we'll do that later. You can practice your 1-2 later."


I was also pleased to note that, while my bout did get exciting and energetic, I did not grab my opponent's foil. I still wore a glove on my back hand, just in case. That's the hardest part of fencing for me. The straight lines are weird, but the fact that one only ever attacks and blocks with the dominate hand is ... difficult. Why would people deliberately create a martial art like that? It seems so ... wrong. At least fencing has the cross-over attacks and retreats, but that still feels like not using foot work to its full advantage.



Maybe I should resume TKD as well.