Participants poised for their bouts during a Richmond Fencing Club tournament (Photo by Jay Paul)
Ever thought of using swords to sharpen your brain and body?
You might want to try the sport of fencing — it gets right to the point in helping you advance your physical and mental workout goals.
Fencing is often described as “playing chess while riding a unicycle,” says Matt Stone, 35, a coach with the Richmond Fencing Club who has been competing since his high school days in Long Island, New York, and who went on to compete at Virginia Tech. “You never get bored,” he says. “I’m amazed I’m still learning about a sport I’ve been doing most all of my life.”
The club, which originated in the 1960s, has been headquartered since 2005 on Carlton Street in Scott’s Addition, and it has about 115 regulars, aged 7 to 80-plus. The club also plays host to people who are just sampling the sport on a trial basis, with more likely after the fencing competition is held during the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, as the Olympic showcase traditionally piques interest among the general public.
What’s the attraction? Fencing provides a strategic, sweaty, speed-infused workout featuring a high-tech twist, with competitors wired up to utilize electronic scoring.
Points are earned when athletes use one of three weapons, a foil, an épée or a saber, to make contact with their opponents while trying to defend themselves from being touched.
It’s a safe sport, Stone says, citing a recent study that shows fencers have one of the lowest injury rates for athletes competing in summer Olympic sports. In fact, the weapon’s “point” is not even pointy. The business ends of the swords are flattened for safety reasons, and they have a protective covering. Also, competitors are clothed in layers of protective gear.
When you walk into the Richmond Fencing Club building, you almost feel like you’re entering an Olympic competition, with razor-focused athletes in action and flags from all over the globe hanging from the rafters, representing the countries of participants who’ve fenced there.
Cyndi Lucente, head coach for the Richmond club, and her husband, Tom, assumed operations of the club about 20 years ago. “I think what we’re so happy about is that we haven’t just built a team — we’ve built a family,” she says.
Jonathan Galemore, 18, has been commuting from Fredericksburg to attend classes at Richmond Fencing Club each week. He says he and his brother would often “fence” with sticks from the yard, so his mom introduced him to the idea of the sport. “As soon as I started fencing, I loved it,” Galemore says. “There’s a lot of strategy. I think that is why they call it physical chess. You’re working out, but you have to think about what you’re doing. It’s always interesting.”
Try It Out
There are several sites around metro Richmond where you can learn more about fencing. Here is a sampling.
Chester Knights of Karl Przystawik Fencing Club: Beginner classes age 9 and up
Richmond Fencing Club: Beginning classes offered, age 7 and older
Salle Green: The fencing school in Glen Allen offers a primary fencing course.