Evansville Fencing Academy set to host regional tournament
· Yahoo Sports
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – Tri-State residents are invited to attend a regional tournament at the Evansville Fencing Academy which is bringing swordsmanship back into style.
There’s a belief that Olympic sports like fencing are too expensive or exclusive to get into. But the Evansville Fencing Academy breaks it down for students and even provides gear for competitors to use.
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In fencing adaptability, patience, and sportsmanship are some of the top keys to be successful in the sport. During a bout, two competitors meet on a strip and fence for three minutes while trying to score five points. Each point is marked digitally by a button at the tip of a sword when it is pushed into an opponent’s body or when a competitor is forced off the edge of the strip.
There are three different types of weapons used in modern fencing. There’s the foil, épée, and the sabre. At the Evansville Fencing Academy, they practice with the épée. As technology has advanced the sport so has the gear that calls for competitors to wear multiple layers of protection and a glove on your sword hand.
While fencing is different from most sports, some of the movements can align with hockey and tennis. Footwork is important in competition as it puts an emphasis on using patience with every step.
“The actions are strange, it’s definitely a unique foot movement that we use on the strip,” said owner and coach Thomas Fuller II. “It’s real easy to get rushed and start chasing the opponent, and looking for things trying to make something happen.”
At the academy students range in various ages and experience. Inclusivity is on full display in fencing as most tournament regularly pit opponents of different sex and age against each one another. This is where adaptivity comes into play, most will tell you if you overlook your opponent they’ll make you pay.
“You can have 13, 15, and 80, 40, 50 in just a single tournament. And that’s what gets me because you don’t want to think, oh they’re younger so I have more experience. Cause they can easily beat you,” said Elijah Nurrenbern.
Fuller II echoed, “I’ve seen older fencer with a good 20 to 30 years on me definitely give me a very important lesson in patience and being in the right place at the right time.”
Majority of the fencer at the Evansville Fencing Academy said they got into the sport through their love of sword play in movies and shows, but the sportsmanship and community created by the sport is what keeps them coming back.
“Fencing it’s pretty, not exactly easy,” said Allie Clark. “But it’s very beginner friendly, everyone is really nice and encouraging. And everything is at your own pace.”
But at the end of the day, it is a sport and you are trying to win.
Madeleine Towns said, “My strategy is, is to try to do mostly like. Try to hit them first, that’s my strategy. Ha!”
The Evansville Fencing Academy is set to host their first regional at their club Saturday, July 11th, at 11 a.m.
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