Fencing in the News

[LongBlade]

En garde: Zeta Fencing Studio of Natick melds mind and body
By Chris Bergeron / Daily News Staff
MetroWest Daily News
Sunday, May 8, 2005

www.metrowestdailynews.com/artsCulture/view.bg?articleid=98100

In Zoran Tulum's hand, a sword becomes a weapon for self-cultivation.

Part Yoda, part D'Artagnan, the Yugoslavia native with the rapier-thin moustache teaches fencing like a Renaissance art.

Waiting to begin a class in his Natick studio, Tulum observed, "As a coach, I approach my sport this way: I don't teach students how to fence. I teach them how to be a fencer."


Cameron Vanderwef, 10,
of Brookline fences with
Zoran Tulum at Zeta Fencing
Studio. (Allan Jung photo)

Since opening Zeta Fencing Studio in 2001, he's transformed the 118-year-old former Odd Fellows Hall into a cutting-edge school for the ancient art of the blade.

An eight-time national champion in his native land and former U.S. National and Olympic team coach, he gives lessons in the foil, epee and saber to students from 8 to 65 years old at 11 South Main St.

Tulum regards fencing as a hybrid sport that requires physical fitness, mental toughness and social courtliness.

He describes fencing as "physical chess," a unique activity that demands a boxer's athleticism and a grandmaster's cool intelligence.

"Fencing used to be the video games of Renaissance men," Tulum said. "It represents a geometrical challenge between two swordsmen in three-dimensional space."

He chose his studio's name "Zeta" from an amalgam of the ancient Arcadian and Phoenician words, "za" and "zayin" for sword or weapon which, over the centuries, became the basis for the last letter of the Roman alphabet.

Tulum covered his school walls with paintings, prints and tapestries depicting the storied history of fencing. Classical music and cool jazz waft through the refurbished studio. Sunlight filters through stained glass windows.

A master fencer who began training at the age of 9, he is an exacting technician with students. And he insists they follow long-honored codes of fencing etiquette, bowing to opponents before a match and thanking them regardless of the outcome.

Citing its origins as "the traditional sport of European nobility," Tulum said he tries to preserve fencing's "elite" character in a way that's sometimes misunderstood.

"I don't mean an economic elite but a sport for elite personalities. I want to coach a sport where the students are elite by the way they behave. I can teach a monkey how to lunge and parry. But in my class, I want to teach my students when and why and how to behave," he said.

That philosophy is attracting aspiring Olympians and mothers who've never played sports, a 57-year-old psychologist and teenagers who like "Lord of the Rings."

Crista Gordet, who "never played a sport in my life," drives from Somerville three times a week to practice the epee, a sword with a cup-shaped guard and triangular blade.

She started lessons after hearing her daughter Danielle praise Tulum, who was then coaching her at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley.

Now her daughter is fencing for an Ivy League college. Gordet said the sport has "taken over my life."

"For me, fencing is a great exercise and really fun to do. You use your head and your body. You absolutely get fit and it's an emotional high to compete," she said.

Three years ago, Steven Liss of Hull tried fencing because it "sounded cool." This April, he captained the saber team from Zeta's which won the junior division New England championships at the Boston Fencing Club.

The 16-year-old junior at Thayer Academy said fencing is the only sport that brings together his mind and body in perfect equilibrium.

A straight-A student, Liss said, "It's such an unusual sport. You have to be focused but you have to be loose. I like it because it's an individual sport, just you against your opponent. No one depends on you. You don't depend on anyone else. Just you and the other guy."

A relative latecomer to fencing, Michael Hollander has found a challenging sport that'll provide rewards for years to come.

A 57-year-old psychologist and lifetime athlete, he took up boxing in his late 30s and followed his teenage son to Zeta's two years ago.

"Fencing is a cross between chess, boxing and ballet. It takes great stamina, mental focus and a grace you sometimes don't see," he said.

Hollander credits Tulum for combining "technical proficiency" with the strategic training to outfox opponents.

"Zoran is really a great teacher who uses metaphors in a way that work for me. He's realistic and honest and straightforward. Fencing embodies a paradox: the more you learn, the simpler your game becomes," he said.

Tulum, who began fencing at age 9 in the capital city of Belgrade, said he and his other instructors are determined to instill fundamental skills and respect for fencing traditions in their students.

Since immigrating to America in the mid-1980s, he spent a total of 12 years coaching at Harvard and Stanford universities as well as coaching the U.S. Junior, Senior and Pan American teams and the 1996 Olympic squad.

He described fencing as a "confrontational but safe sport" that teaches children to be "street wise without being invaders."

A trained architect, Tulum believes fencing builds young students' character at a crucial time in their lives.

He takes as his school motto an ancient Buddhist saying: "When the student is ready, the teacher will arrive."

"I never stopped working as an architect. I just switched from lamps and chairs to the responsible design of children. I'm one more link in the educational process," said Tulum. "I'm using my background and doing everything I can at my school to teach children how to walk straight, shake hands with a firm grip, look people straight in the eye and not be afraid to solve problems on and off the fencing strip." For 13-year-old Patrick Tom, fencing began as an infatuation with sword-fighting hobbits in "Lord of the Rings." He attended Tulum's fencing camp last summer and now he's learning the saber three or four times a week.

Tom said fencing combines excitement and important lessons. "When I'm on the fencing strip, my energy is always pumping but my mind is clear. Zoran pushes us and teaches us the importance of hard work," he said.

Growing up in Hopkinton, 12-year-old Mitchell Culler's initial interest in fencing came from sword fighting with his mother with rolled up newspapers.

He's been studying epee for 2 1/2 years since his mother found Tulum's Web site.

"Fencing has a kind of uncertain excitement because you're not sure if you'll win or not. It's not life or death. It's more like 'Star Wars,'" said the Hopkinton Middle School seventh-grader. "I love it when the score is tied, 4-to-4, and you get that adrenaline rush to go for the win."

A "mostly all-A student" who listens to the music of Green Day, Culler will be traveling to California this summer to complete in the junior national championships.

He said Tulum's training gave him to wits to defeat older students when he practiced with adults and taught him to put his painful new braces to a competitive advantage.

"I was the shortest one in the adult class. But I figured out what they were doing and won all but two bouts," he said. "And when I got my braces, I pretended everyone in my epee class was my orthodontist. That helped a lot."

THE ESSENTIALS:

Zeta Fencing Studio is located at 11 South St., Natick.

Afternoon classes in foil, epee and saber are available for beginner, advanced beginner, intermediate and open levels.

A summer fencing camp for boys and girls, ages 8 to 12, will run Monday, July 25 through Friday, July 29 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The deadline for registration is in early June.

For more information, call 508-655-6480 or visit the Web site, www.zetafencing.com

[LongBlade]

World women’s fencing event opens in Hanoi
Thanh Nien Daily - Ho Chi Minh city,Vietnam
May 8, 2005

www.thanhniennews.com/sports/?catid=5&newsid=6553


The World Women’s Fencing Tournament opened at Trinh Hoai Duc Competition Hall in Hanoi May 7 with the participation of fencers from all over the world.

Twenty-one fencers from China, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and host Vietnam will compete in the women’s individual and team events.

After the opening ceremony, fencers battled in the individual event where Tan Xue and Huang Hai Yang from China won first and second prizes, respectively. Bao Ying Ying from China and Chow Tsz Ki from Hong Kong tied for third place.

Fencers will compete for the team titles May 8 - the last day of the tournament.

[LongBlade]

Keri Byerts, Fencing
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Staff report
May 8, 2005

www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050508/SPORTS/505080351/1007/SPORTS

You wouldn't think the child of a teacher would be home-schooled, but that's the case for the Byerts family of Webster. Dad Darrell is a physics teacher at Webster Schroeder High who has coached swimming in the district for more than 20 years, and his daughter, Keri, a nationally ranked fencer in epee, was home-schooled.

As a kindergartner, Keri had trouble reading because of a problem with her vision. School officials wanted to hold her back, just as they did with her older brother, David, who had a learning disability that wasn't detected for years.

So instead, Keri was home-schooled.

"We didn't want to go through the same frustrations that we did with David," Darrell Byerts says. "We thought it was all about timing and readiness to learn."

They were right.

Keri, who turns 18 on Monday, finished her schooling last year while living in Portland, Ore., where she moved with her mother, Ann, for the year so Keri could be closer to her fencing coach, Michael Marx, who formerly worked at the Rochester Fencing Center.

Keri placed sixth last month in junior women's epee at the Junior World Championships in Linz, Austria.

"I think there's a place for (home-schooling and traditional schooling)," Darrell Byerts says.

"Public-school students have a lot of free time (in school) that isn't really used for work. Home-schooling is more focused."

[LongBlade]

China sweeps fencing tourney
Viet Nam News Agency
05/10/2005

HA NOI — China clinched the team title of the Ha Noi International Team Championship Women’s Sabre category A, which finished yesterday at the Ha Noi Trinh Hoai Duc Competition Hall.


Touche: An unidentified Chinese
fencer (left) sabres against his
Hong Kong rival during their team
event’s final at Trinh Hoai Duc
Competition Hall in Ha Noi.
VNS Photo - Truong Vi

The Chinese team’s victory was anticipated by most coaches and experts. The Chinese team met with the Hong Kong team during the final and dominated all the games with superior skills and physical strength.

The Vietnamese fencers who took the January Asian Championship failed to pocket a bronze medal in the match against their Korean rivals.

With encouragement from the host fans, the host team won many points during the games and led most of the time.

However, they lost the medal due to a lack of experience and poor mental habits during competition.

Last Saturday, the gold medal for the singles event also went to China. Tan Xue defeated Huang Hai Yang in an all-China final and won the highest prize.

Another Chinese, Bao Ying Ying and Hong Kong’s Chow Tsz Ki, shared the third place medal.

With two golds, one silver and one bronze medal, China rank highest. Hong Kong are in second place with one silver and one bronze while the Korean team stand in third place with one bronze.

Although the host Viet Nam received no medals, they showed good skills and progress during the events.

The winners will receive global rankings.

The fencing tournament saw the participation of some 20 players from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and host Viet Nam.

Phung Le Quang, a fencing official of the National Sports and Physical Training Committee, said the international championship will be a good chance to test players’ strengths and skills in preparation for the upcoming 23rd SEA Games in December in the Philippines.

After the event, the Vietnamese team will prepare for the Asian Fencing Championship in Malaysia in July and the World Championship in October. — VNS

[LongBlade]

Respect - for self, foe - a foundation of fencing
By SHELLY LEWELLEN
FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen
May 10, 2005

www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=youth&story_id=051005c6_youth_fencer

University High senior Robin Thvedt has competed in fencing in the Junior Olympics four times.
The grace of fencing belies its deadly origins.
It is one of the oldest sports and is said to have been practiced by the ancient Egyptians. Modern swordplay evolved from the practice of dueling in Europe and is one of the few sports to have been in every modern Olympic Games.

For Robin Thvedt, 17, fencing is a lot like a puzzle.

"You are always looking for ways to get better," the University High School senior said. "Sometimes you have to accept loss, and then try to figure out what you did and what you have to do to win next time."

Thvedt has competed at the Junior Olympics four times. In February, she finished 39th out of more than 170 opponents. Now she is preparing for the Summer Nationals in Sacramento, Calif., from July 1-10.

She fences eight hours a week. Thvedt also runs and lifts weights to improve her fencing. She is going to Ohio State in the fall to study history and will also work out with its fencing team.

Thvedt has been working with instructor Yvonne Gallego at the Arizona Fencing Academy for four years.

Gallego teaches more than 50 students ages 9 to adult at the academy, 4695 N. Oracle Road. Most students are training for the Phoenix Cup in Mesa, May 21-22.

"She helps us develop as people," Thvedt said about Gallego. "She doesn't just care about our fencing. She helps us grow in the right direction."

Gallego, who began the center in 1980, taught fencing at the University of Arizona from 1989-91, obtaining a B classification in her own fencing (A is the highest level).

She sees fencing as a martial art.

"Self-awareness, self-respect and respect for the environment and your opponent are things you don't really see in many organized sports," Gallego said. "That kind of concept is sort of lost on American youth."

Dealing with a deadly weapon - an epee, in this case - requires that sort of respect, Gallego said.

"It requires a mental excellence. I bring that attitude to the kids," she said. "They learn how to take care of the equipment, pick up their gear and be responsible."

And in case parents wondered, safety is a big part of fencing.

"We have very stringent rules," Gallego said. "The little kids have body armor, and there are flat points on all the weapons."

To inquire about fencing instruction, call Yvonne Gallego at 331-5306.

[LongBlade]

Local Sports Schedule/Briefs
San Marcos Daily Record
May11, 2005

www.sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2005/05/11/sports/sports5.txt

OLYMPIC FENCING SUMMER CAMPS - The ATAC Fencing Club and Texas State University are currently registering ages 8-Adult for the Summer 2005 Fencing Program. Two levels of instruction will be offered: Learn to fence and open competitive. Cost is $75 per course, all equipment provided. Classes begin June 6th and July 11th. Visit the website at www.hper.txstate.edu and click on 'Learn to Fence Summer Camps' for downloadable registration form. For additional questions contact John Moreau at [e-mail] or 512-245-3761.

[LongBlade]

1st Governor’s cup fencing
The Imphal Free Press
Imphal, India - May 10. 2005

www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=23492&typeid=3

Five final matches were played today in the Manipur Fencing Association organised 1st Governor’s cup state level fencing championship 2005 for 1st Soraisham Ronika Devi memorial running trophy for sub junior boys and girls, 1st Manaobi Laishram memorial running trophy for cadet boys and girls, 2nd Wakambam Nodia Singh memorial running trophy for junior boys, 1st Wakambam ongbi Anou Devi memorial running trophy for junior girls and 1st Hijam Jugeshwar Singh memorial running trophy for senior men and women at Khuman Lampak indoor stadium.

In the foil sub junior boys Inder of Miishikholl defeated Khangba of Rising Sun CLub by 8-6 points. In sub junior epee boys final match, H Goutam of LKYDC beat Y Jayenta of YDC by 10-4 points and 3rd place went to Nithin from Chennai now he training in Imphal for one month representing from Miishikholl & Arvind of YDC.
Sub junior boys Sabre final match Th Krishan of Miishikholl beat Raju Singh of SAI-RC by 10-7 points. In sub junior girls foil event S Bindu of Miishikholl beat N Eden of Miishikholl by 10-5 points and in the sub junior girls Sabre final I Pinky of Miishikholl beat M Langanglu of Ukhrul by 10-7 points.

[LongBlade]

Fencing finals
The Imphal Free Press
Imphal, India - May 12, 2005

www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=23523&typeid=3

Five final matches were played today in the ongoing Hijam Jugeshwor singh memorial running trophy for men and women, Wakambam Nodia singh memorial running trophy for junior boys, Wakambam ongbi Anou Devi memorial running trophy for junior girls, Manaobi Laishram memorial running trophy for cadet boys and girls and Soraisam Ronika Devi memorial running trophy for sub junior boys and girls fencing championships 2005 organised by Manipur Fencing Association at Khuman Lampak Indoor stadium today.

In cadet boys Sabre final match, Y Premjit of Miisikholl beat Surendro of SAI-RC 10-8. In Cadet girls Sabre final match Th Daina of UDFA beat L Jenni of Miisikholl 10-8. In Junior girls foil final N Sandhiraj of SAI-Rc beat S Robin of SAI-RC 10-6. In Junior girls Epee final M Sanshyarani of Miisikholl beat S Tejimala of SAI-RC 10-6. In Junior girls Foil final match M Usharani of SAI-RC beat W Roji of SAI-RC 10-9. And in cadet girls Epee final K Indira of SAI-RC beat M Loidam of SWC 10-9.

In Junior boys Sabre 1st semifinal match, H Bichou of SAI-RC beat W Hemanta of Meethasca 10-6 and in the other semifinal match A Rupachandra of Miisikholl beat Chingshomba of SAI-RC 10-9. The final match in this category will be played tomorrow.

[LongBlade]

Fencing club hits the mark
ICCroydon.co.net
UK- May 13 2005

iccroydon.icnetwork.co.uk/sports/localsport/tm_objectid=15510766&method=full&siteid=53340&headline=fencing-club-hits-the-mark-name_page.html

FENCING: Salle Joseph salle d'armes, celebrating its 20th year of fencing in Croydon, has appointed new coach, John Smith, who coaches foil, epee and sabre.

[LongBlade]

MacKay wins fencing bronze
CanoeNetwork/Slam/Sports
Canada - 05/14/05

slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSports/2005/05/14/1039830-cp.html

NANJING, China (CP) - Sherraine MacKay of Brooks, Alberta, claimed a bronze medal Saturday at the Nanjing Grand Prix fencing event.

MacKay, ranked No. 6 in the world, ended up on the bronze medal podium with Eun Sook Choi of China after losing a tight 15-14 match to eventual silver medallist Hajnalka Kiraly-Picot of France.

"I fenced super-well throughout the day and my only major mistake came at 14-14 in the semi-finals," MacKay said. "I rushed at her too much and wasn't as disciplined as before. Kiraly scored a nice hit to win the match."

Earlier, MacKay beat Na Yeun Lee of Korea 15-11, Julia Revesz of Hungary 15-10, Sarah Daninthe from France 15-11 and China's Zhong Weiping 15-9.

The quarter-final match against Zhong was especially tough for MacKay.

"The crowd was really behind her," she said. "But I felt so strong and focused being able to use a lot of the new actions my coach is teaching me."

Following the Athens Olympics, MacKay headed to Budapest to work with new coach Gyozo Kulcsar.

German Imke Duplitzer beat Kiraly-Picot 15-11 for gold.

Julie Leprohon of Montreal ended up 31st after a 15-10 loss to Duplitzer in the second round. She won her first match against Dimitra Magkanoudaki from Greece 14-13.

Canada competes in Sunday's team event where they are ranked No. 6.

[LongBlade]

Coalition aims to prevent bullying
By BEN DUTKA
Special to the Bulletin
Norwich, CT Bulletin
5/15/05

www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050515/NEWS01/505150314/1002/NEWS01

Bullying is a problem that affects both children and parents, but thanks to a newly formed Anti-Bullying Coalition, both parties are getting educated on the topic.

A bill passed by the state three years ago requires boards of education to develop a policy to address bullying.

The bill allows students to anonymously report acts of bullying, parents or guardians to file written reports, and requires schoolteachers and administrators to take appropriate action.

On Saturday, a local Anti-Bullying Coalition, formed about a year ago, held an event at the East Great Plain Firehouse in Norwich.

"The kids can go around and have a great time," coalition President Debbie Kiveitz said. "We have food, demonstrations, and a lot of good self-esteem boosters."

Volunteers from local groups, including the Girl Scouts, Norwich Young Parents Program, CIRTS (Connecticut Immunization Registry and Tracking System), and Voices for Families provided information to interested parents. The latter program reinforces the Anti-Bullying Coalition's theme of awareness.

"We need to look at all possible aspects of parenting and try to find solutions for problems," said member Laura Dickerson of Norwich.

Voices for Families is one of the many groups that support the new act and coalition.

"This is long overdue and a valuable asset to the community," said Kay Eyberse of Norwich and a Voices for Families member.

Among the more popular activities for the day were the tai chi and fencing presentations led by instructor Aaron Hughes of Norwich.

"We teach other ways besides aggression," said Hughes, a full-time teacher's aide, St. Bernard's fencing coach and president of the Thames River Fencing Club.

The fencing demonstration showcased the reflexes, timing, and poise required in the sport.

Instructor Al Kiem stressed the importance of the skills learned by participating in such an activity.

"Just like most martial arts, fencing teaches self-confidence, courtesy, and respect," said Kiem, who has been involved in fencing since 1956. "It also helps to develop both physical and mental endurance."

This was the coalition's second event of the year, and it will continue to promote a message of awareness to the surrounding towns.

[LongBlade]

Penn State schedule
centredaily.com
Posted: May. 17, 2005

www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/sports/11663836.htm
YMCA fencing clinic

The Bellefonte Family YMCA will hold a summer fencing camp, instruced by Penn State fencing coach Iryna Dolgikh and Michael Sypes, a professional fencer. The camp will be held May 20-21, 27-28 and June 3-4. Friday sessions will be from 5 to 8 p.m. while Saturday sessions will be from 2 to 5 p.m. The cost is $20 per day. For more information, call Rachel Irwin at 355-5551.

[LongBlade]

Mental challenge, supportive peers draw young athletes to fencing
By Jeanette Tallant,
East Valley Tribune
May 17, 2005

www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=41495


Students at the Arizona Fencing Center in Mesa, including (from left) Cutter Videan, 14, left, Elliot Bartell, 15, Ewan Douglas, 13, and Lindsay Young, 13, practice quick lunges on command with their coach, Adrian Colcisca. Photo: Jennifer Grimes, Tribune

The ancient sport of fencing teaches discipline, patience and quick thinking and works the mind as hard as it does the body. Duels boost confidence without relying on the team element for success.

Kids who fence are generally wellmannered, refined and intelligent.

Sounds like the perfect sport — but fencing isn’t all that popular.

"It’s in its infancy here," Pia Douglas says in a heavy French accent, but the Apache Junction mom wants to change that.

Growing up in France, Pia was a successful fencer. Her husband, Adrian Douglas, always wanted to master the sport. His parents once bought him a foil set but the club in his England neighborhood had a waiting list so long, he never got the chance to use the weapon.

Two years ago, the Douglas’ twins, Ewan and Rhys, now 13, started lessons at the Arizona Fencing Center in Mesa, reviving the family’s interest.

"When the boys took it up, I thought, ‘I wanted to do it so many years ago, why not try it now?’ " Adrian says. "I think it’s good because there tends to be sort of a competition between parents and kids at this age."

Fencing helps dad and the boys let off steam — on the strip.

"The same thing for the boys," Adrian says. "When they fence, that’s the only time we see a strong sibling rivalry. Off the strip they are the best of friends."

Pia no longer fences — she is too busy as director of the Arizona Fencing Foundation, a nonprofit organization with goals of spreading word about the sport in Arizona. It also builds a scholarship fund for young athletes.

"Once the children taste it, they are in there (practicing) every night," says Pia. "It’s something very different from football or basketball — those team sports. It’s a very personal, very unique type of sport."

Fencing gained a little more recognition during the 2004 Olympics, when American Mariel Zagunis won gold in the women’s saber event — the United States’ first gold in a fencing event in 100 years — and teammate Sada Jacobson won bronze. They are the first women to win Olympic medals for fencing.

After that, the number of young people registered for classes at the Arizona Fencing Center started to increase. Add to that the organization’s Olympic-level coaches, Adrian Colcisca and Florin Paunescu of Romania, and families are slowly flocking to the center.

Sandra Goodall’s son, Nic, began fencing five years ago when the family lived in North Carolina. The Chandler woman says there he’d get the caliber of training he now gets in Mesa only if she took him to Duke University for lessons.

Goodall says the Mesa program is elite and family-oriented. Kids are able to practice at their leisure and attend sessions of their choice. Parents stay and watch from the windows of the waiting room and discuss upcoming trips and tournaments.

"There’s not one child here I would not want my son hanging around with," says G oodall. "There’s not one kid in here we don’t love and support and don’t want to see succeed."

The young fencers say their teammates are like family. Most students don’t know any other kids in their schools who participate in this sport.

Rebecca Moss, who’s ranked fourth in the nation in the under-17 age group and 23rd in the world, says ignorance about fencing often means she’s referred to in school as "the fencer" and has to answer questions like, "Do you wear armor?"

She laughs it off, knowing this sport will get her to college — Stanford University is her first choice, although she’s heard from Harvard and Princeton. It’s also taken Moss to tournaments in Germany and Slovakia.

"I like that it’s mentally challenging," says the 16-year-old, who carries a 4.2 GPA at Mountain View High School in Mesa. "It’s always changing. You have to adapt to everyone you face."

Philip Wiener, 15, says he was never into sports before he began fencing nine months ago. But he was always interested in sword fighting and the idea of chivalry.

"It was always something I saw gentlemen doing in the 1800s," says Wiener, who lives in Tempe. "To me, it seems like a different kind of sport."

He appreciates the sport’s finesse over the brute force of football or wrestling. He likes not being accountable to a team, but being part of a supportive group.

"You improve upon yourself — your confidence increases, your strength increases, your stamina increases," says Wiener. "It’s also a great conversation piece."

MORE ONLINE
For more information on the Arizona Fencing Center, call [phone] or visit www.azfencingcenter.org.

[LongBlade]

Sword Wars
SW Florida fencers know what it takes to be a cut above
By ATHENA PONUSHIS
SW Florida News-Press
May 19, 2005

www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050519/SPORTS/505190430/1075

Charles Johnson describes fencing as a game of strategies and tactics — a cerebral sport.

"It is a chess match moving at 90 miles an hour," said Johnson, an instructor at Southwest Florida Fencing Academy in Fort Myers, who has been fencing for more than 20 years.

"Somebody is standing in front of you with a long pointy piece of steel they are trying to drive into your body. You have to stop them. And at the same time, you are trying to inflict the same exact (move) onto them."

At 12:01 a.m. this morning the final Star Wars episode, "Revenge of the Sith," opened in theatres across the country.

Throughout the film series the most dramatic scenes — the lightsaber duels — represent a futuristic form of fencing.

At Southwest Florida Fencing Academy a battle of blades is not a choreographed script for 19-year-old Corey Purcell. Fencing has been his reality for five years.

"When you execute a perfect action, your opponent hits himself," said Purcell, a member of the University of Pennsylvania fencing team who won the 2005 Iron Man trophy, the oldest award to be given in collegiate history. "When you outwit your opponent so quickly that they cannot figure what you did, they walk right onto your blade."

Intense training continues to secure fencing's reputation for safety. Repetition of drills leads to a heightened awareness during a heated competition.

Purcell, a graduate of Fort Myers High School, gives credit to Hollywood for movies such as Star Wars. The films reach out to an extensive audience, exposing the drama of swordplay.

The combat action of the first four Star Wars films were strongly based on the Japanese kendo, a martial art of the sword. Episode II branched to more European styles of swordplay.

While the fight scenes may contradict the laws of physics, they stir a curiosity. New faces will seek out the martial art and find what it truly is — a sport.

"I can't fly around like Yoda, blocking laser shots with my lightsaber," Purcell said. "I have no magical powers. Fencing is real one-on-one competition. It really does take a lot of effort without any special effects."

The cunning sport does not display a brutal violence. The bout flows with the finesse of a ballet.

Two fencers face each other on the strip. The referee directs, "On guard — fence."

The clash of metal on metal. Their feet step back and forth in a rapid rhythm, as if to dance.

One fencer reveals an open target, seducing the attack of his or her opponent. Deflecting the aggressive sword, he or she lunges to the advantage of the thoughtful tease.

Johnson suspects that fencing has kept its appeal throughout the centuries because of its degree of romance, as well as the appeal of its history. By studying the evolution of the sword, he has traced the evolution of man.

"I hate to say a weapon is responsible for civilization," Johnson said. "But I know the sword is responsible for creating empires, and civilizations rose and fell by it."

[LongBlade]

U S Fencing
Fencers Duel ‘Till They Drop for Donations
Sports Features Communications™<br>PressPoint.com - May 19, 2005

www.sportsfeatures.com/PressPoint/show.php?id=22319

WHAT: New-York area Olympic Fencers attempt Guinness Book of World Records feat: World’s Longest Ever Fencing Match, to raise funds for U.S. Fencing Elite Athlete Programs.

WHEN: Friday, May 20, beginning at 10 a.m.

WHERE: New York University, Jerome S. Coles Rec Center, DeCapriles Fencing Salle

CONTACT: Jeffrey Bukantz, 973 615-2150, [e-mail].
=====================================

U.S. Olympic fencers will put on a unique display this coming Friday in New York City.

2004 United States Olympians Jon Tiomkin and Daniel Kellner will compete in an attempt to establish the World Record for the longest fencing bout ever on May 20 to raise funds for the United States Fencing Association’s Elite Athlete Program.

Jeff Bukantz, 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Captain, says “While we’ve reached new heights internationally, we’re going to need our entire membership’s help to stay up there. Many of our competitors are state-funded…we’re not.” The event is his brainchild.

U.S. Fencing Olympians scored unprecedented success at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. To maintain such successes through the next quadrennial, says Bukantz, hundreds of thousands in funding will be needed to support travel and training. As a part of the effort to find these funds, the Fence-A-Thon was born.

Officials at the Guinness Book of World Records have agreed to certify the match, which is projected to last at least five hours, as the longest fencing bout in history. This will be the first time such a record has been set.

All funds will go to USFA Elite Athlete Programs. The match will take place at NYU’s Jerome S. Coles Rec Center in the DeCapriles Fencing Salle, commencing at 10AM.

To donate or to obtain media credentials, contact Jeff Bukantz at 973 615-2150, or [e-mail].