By Ian Froese, Sports Contributor
Swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean notoriety has nothing to worry about concerning his job security.
Attempting to follow the adventurer’s lead, I lunged at the chance—pun intended—to trade attacks with fellow fencing amateurs, en route to my eventual training sessions with the savvy pirate, of course.
Unlike the weighty sword swung gracefully by pop culture’s favourite buccaneer, fencing uses a lighter, different kind of sword in each of the sport’s three divisions. The instrument I used was the foil.
The introductory class at the Studley Gym advanced through the lunging and stepping motions gradually before enabling us to put them together against an opponent.
Donning a stuffy mask, white glove, jacket zipped from the back, and weapon, I was matched with another beginner to attempt striking each other without any interference. The fluid movements from forward bounce to the lunge with outstretched arm then the hop back to the defense position and all the intricacies in between were difficult to recreate as elegantly as I would like. Instead, I ran over the steps in my head as I clumsily sprung towards my competitor connecting on
occasional junctures. “You have to think a lot in fencing.
It’s a combination of physical motion and trying to outwit your opponent. There’s definitely a mental element to it,” said Mike Casey, instructor for the introductory class.
Fencing doesn’t contain nearly the quantity of sword-on-sword contact one might anticipate. The objective is to score 15 points if it is in direct elimination play, or five points in a round-robin game, before your opponent does the same. In a foil bout, the tip of the foil must hit the competitor’s torso, from the shoulders to the groin. You don’t get a point if you hit the head, neck, arms, hands or legs. A lone poke registers a score. Thus, you will not often witness a competitor lunging at their rival with full force.
The movements were challenging for me to master or even avoid flunking once we were instructed to begin duelling with official rules. However I eventually recognized I could ignore much of what I was taught and use my natural advantage as a 6’3’ member of society instead, my long arm length.
My newfound tactic could only get me so far, and I found I needed to compile my accumulated knowledge if I wanted to attain Jack Sparrow status. Casey described that strategy is a crucial way for me to improve.
“It’s a subtle thing,” he explained. “You’re trying to draw them in, but the
thing is, if you’re close enough to hit somebody, they’re close enough to hit you. It becomes a question of who feels threatened and who feels they are the attacker.”
At the end of the session, I was matched with third-year neuroscience student Marya Leslie. She packed a punch in her smaller frame and my previous method of exploiting my reach was fruitless; I had to outwit her. However, our energy levels collectively drained from the footwork-intensive duel and to maintain both of our prides, or at least mine, we chose to end the bout in a tie.
When asked if she could criticize the performance of a writer who has awkwardly paraded his way through sporting endeavours since he was a young child, chuckles ensued.
“I saw some kind of Power Ranger move. You were doing this weird backhand thing,” Leslie laughed, remarking about an instance where my foil-clutching arm had uncomfortably swung a distance from my chest while still lunging at my opponent. “I haven’t seen that yet.”
The Dalhousie Fencing Club is always looking for new recruits. Before you become a member, join the introductory course happening every Monday and Wednesday for five weeks. The next session offered begins on Oct. 27. Visit the Dalplex or call them at 494-3372 if the sport piques your interest.
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