Introduction, LongBlade aka Kyle

[LongBlade]

Hello! I just joined your board and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kyle Maysel. I am an officer and an Assistant Coach with the All-Texas Athletic Center (ATAC) in San Marcos, TX. I'm happy to be here as a new member on your forum board!

I was looking at fencing clubs in your area since I lived in Lubbock and was the coach of the TT club back in 1981-1984. I have been in Lubbock and Amarillo many times since then. Maybe the next time I'll get to fence! ;D

I have a B-05 ranking in Epee. I also fence Sabre. Sometimes (rarely - and when dared enough) I fence foil. I fence with ATAC. Here is a link to our website: www.ATACfencing.org

I also help coaching the Texas State University team and we have a lot of overlapping of members with the university club. Here is their link: www.campusrecreation.swt.edu/Sport_Clubs/Sports_Clubs/Fencing/homepage/web.html

I also assist with coaching at the Coastal Bend Fencing Society in Corpus Christi, TX. About 3 hours South of where I live. You guys ought to check out their club website! Many of their members are in your age group since they are mostly Middle-School and Jr. High kids from Tuloso-Midway, Robstown, and Corpus Christi. They are as far South as you guys are North!
Here is a link to their website:
coastalbendfencingsociety.com/
Maybe a Cross-State rivalry someday?

I am a Moniteur d'Escrime in Epee and Sabre, which is a fancy way of saying that I have my instructor's license from the US Fencing Coaches' Association.
www.usfca.org/usfca/

Now you know about me. Hope to meet and get to fence you sometime! ;D
LongBlade

[Coach Hite]

Nice to meet you, we hope you'll come by sometime and fence with us. We have an events calendar at www.calsnet.net/fencing for High Plains Fencing that will list all the events in our area as well as those that our team will be traveling too.

[gorgie101]

I would love to know more about you and your conetions with DTFC. I am the quazi historian for our club as well as assistant coach. Did you know Vince? or Robin Philips? Oh and do you have any Idea where the old sign in book went to we have one that starts in september 1990. Vince said there was one that went back to the early 80's when he was there but we have never seen it and he dosen't know where it went. If you have any old pictures from your TTU fencing days email them to me!

Oh and you might want to come to the Texas Tech open in January. Robin was there last year and he might come back this year. If we try we might could get Vince to come too.

Thanks

Julie Hunt

[LongBlade]

Julie: We called it the Texas Tech Fencing Club back then... officially. Unofficially, we called ourselves "The Orphans".

I left SWT in San Marcos, where I'd fenced Epee and Sabre for more more than 5 years (I was also the Beginning Foil instructor at Austin Community College in the Summer of 1978), and arrived in Lubbock to go to Tech Law School in 1981. I missed fencing, so I asked at the rec sports office about it. I was told Tech once had a fencing club, but it was long gone. He showed me some very old, rusted out stuff in the back corner of a closet. I told him to throw it all away, it was in such bad shape. When I asked why there was no club, I was told that he thought the sponsor had died or something. I asked where we could find someone to sponsor it, and he told me to ask a professor or a graduate student. I qualified as a grad student, so I filled out the forms and was granted approval and was issued $100 to fund it. I also got permission to fence in the hallway of the Women's Gym on the Southeast corner of the campus near 19th and University.

I spent almost half of the money on flyers and papered the school and several bars, burger joints, and pizza places with them. A dozen or so people showed up for the first meeting, and the club paid for the first $25 of pizza and beer.

The club was born that night in a pizza place on University street near the Bookstore on Broadway. I can't remember the name of the place now, but the pizza was good and cheap, the beer was cold and cheap, and they had an upstairs room for meetings. As I recall, it was in early 1982. We were discussing how we could do this, and we pooled our money for the last couple of pitchers of beer. I told everybody we'd have to do it on our own, buy our own equipment since we really had no budget, that I had maybe $25 in the budget, that we were going to be fencing in a hallway, and that we were just a bunch of orphans. That's were the unofficial name came from.

We held our first tournament on January 29, 1983. The "Orphans Open" was held in one of the gyms on campus. We mailed a bunch of flyers to every university and club in the area. I can't remember where I located a box and reels to borrow (maybe SWT?), but we paid to ship them there and back. It was a full 3-weapon tournament. Epee was all electric, with dry sabre (before it was electric anyway), and only the final round of foil was electric.

People came out of the woodwork to fence! From New Mexico, Oklahoma, and all kinds of remote, forgotten places throughout West Texas. There are a surprisingly large bunch of people who fenced back when they were in college with jobs out there! There were over 100 people total who registered in all the three events. I was the ringer for Tech. I had a B ranking in Epee and a C in Sabre (Under the old AFLA).
I won both the epee and sabre events. I still have those medals.

I left Tech shortly after I graduated in June, 1984, and moved to Bedford, TX. I soon lost contact with all the people on the team after that. College kids tend to move around a lot.

I'm sorry, but I can't really help you much after that. I have no idea where the sign in book is. We didn't have one. I will dig around to see if I can find any old pictures from back them, and let you know.

I hope this fills in a few blanks in the shadowy pre-history of the club.

Kyle Maysel

[gorgie101]

So far I have found quite a bit about fencing at Tech. I would love for you to come to the Tech Open in January. If anything just to show you stuff i have found. I have photos and records going back to the 40's at Tech regarding the fencing team when Fencing was still covered by the Athletic department as a minor sport. Last year at the Lady Raiders game a group of four women where honored as the first womens group to represent tech officially in collegete (sp) competition. They where members of the 1953 womens fencing team. They competed against Rice, A&M, and several others under the old AFL. I got to visit with one of them while working at Southwest Collections Library this past summer. I am trying to put all of this together for the Southwest collection. They have started a sports of Tech archive and want to include all sports that Tech has ever had even ones that are no longer under the Athletic departments control.

Vince must have come sortly after you left. He said that ya'll where called orphans. When he was there they used to have practice in the basement of the Womens gym and would have to move the haybales used for archery out of the way. Then in 87 or 88 the Rec was fineshed and they where given a place to practice there. Which is now where we practice.

Thanks for your info. Feel free to email me or IM me if you get the chance. The Tech Open is listed on Ask Fred. Hope you can come this year.

Julie

[LongBlade]

Julie: I'd love to see what you've found! I hope to be able to make it for the tourney and will put my best effort into clearing my calendar to do so! Looking forward to it! ;D
I recall writing several articles for the university paper about the Orphans Open trying to get us some press. I think one or two got published. You may want to check their archives right before and after the tournament date. May be able to find something there. Kyle

[jamy]

LongBlade,

Thank you so much for the history lesson. I thought it was great....I am really interested in seeing what you and Julie have. I did not know Julie was creating such a thing and I think it is great..I am not a student at Tech but did attend West Texas A&M but we did not have fencing as an option. Anyway the story was great to hear and I loved it.

Thanks
Jamy

[LongBlade]

Guess I need to add that I'm the new coach of the Texas State Fencing Club now.

[Coach Hite]

Congrates

[LongBlade]

E-05... in Sabre???
Now, how did that happen???

askfred.net/Results/results.php?tournament_id=716

[Jayo Brabi]

Yeah, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? LOL! Congrats, Kyle!

[Coach Hite]

Oh no another sabre fencer in the making!

[LongBlade]

What it means is that the universe does have a sense of humor!!!

[LongBlade]

Oh, Dear Lord! I just got my new USFA card today.
They say I have an E05... in Foil!!!

[Jayo Brabi]

Hmm...there must be something awry...