Attended event on 9/20/12

Event run by: Fencing Club

Fencing is something that I had
been curious about. I have friends who fenced and the idea of it was always
appealing, though I could never really find a reason to get involved in it or
for that matter, find the time. Fencing Club meets every Monday and Thursday at
8 and the typical meeting runs until 10. This was easy enough to incorporate
into my busy schedule and so I jumped at the chance to finally engage myself in
a gentleman’s duel. As one arrives at big blue, you are directed to the area
behind the far bleachers which I realize, sounds quite odd indeed. However, I
made my way across the gym and was greeted by an unusual lot. They ranged in
body size and type and it seemed humorous to me to compare them to a band of
merry men or something or other. Curious as I was, I stayed and I can say that
I do not regret doing so. As I was completely new to the sport, I was eager to
learn what it would take to become a fencer. There is a man who one could call
the leader of the club, although his name escapes me. Regardless, he is a
pleasant fellow and I enjoyed his demonstrations on footwork, among other
fencing basics. He instructed the group for the following few minutes and
taught us how to advance and retreat with ease. Then the lunge, which I must
say is the most exciting part of the exercise, was displayed as well. It
involves a deeper squat in relation to one’s stance and then the thrusting of
the sword-arm and an explosion forward which occurs as a result of extension in
the rear leg. Once all the demonstrating is complete, all club members decide
what event they are interested in. I had not known that fencing involved
multiple weapons but, it does in fact have three events. Epee, which is a
thrusting type weapon, involves smaller movements of the wrist and a tactile
mind that knows when to strike. Saber, which is slashing weapon, is interesting
in that once a fencer makes an attack, he or she must subsequently defend and
wait for the opponent to make a move, and then re-gain the right of way in
order to attack once more. Then there is foil, which is only a shorter version
of the epee blade. In regards to the skill in which the weapons and
techniques are demonstrated they are quite excellent. There are experts in all
three categories, almost all of which are students here at Stockton. They offer
wonderful advice which can be immediately applied to ones combat techniques and
undoubtedly will result in great improvement. After careful consideration, I
decided to join the epee group because of how I admire the skill and fluidity
with which they duel. I fully enjoyed myself and have made plans to continue
attendance of this thrilling club which in my mind, teaches more than just
gentlemanly fighting ability, but also how to be a gentleman.