Fencing Class

This family has a thing with swords.

Actually, we all like anything shiney and pointy or edgy. Brenda's big on pocket knives (especially ones with lots of utensils), but Mark, Hunter, and McKenzie like the long steel.

We don't get much opportunity to swash-buckle with the swords we own. (Mark used to get plenty of opportunity in the Society for Creative Anachronism... but that's another story.) So when Furman University published a continuing ed brochure with a fencing class, you can bet it pricked up ears around here.

Now, McKenzie took a fencing class at Rice University last year, which she greatly enjoyed. But Hunter had not yet had any formal training, and Mark's was abysmally long ago, so the two signed up together.

Furman's class was conducted by instructors from the Knights of Siena fencing salle. (www.knightsofsiena.com) We started with a great class: 12 adults and 12 kids. (That tailed off to 2 adults and 10 kids eight weeks later.) Mark discovered to his great satisfaction that the class would teach sabre, which was his weapon in college.

(At left, Mark and Hunter, foreground, practice attack/parry drills.)

Further to his satisfaction was the fact that his old fencing uniform still fit! Witness the Amateur Fencers League of America patch on the shoulder - that organization changed its name in 1982 and so hasn't been called that for 25 years! Actually, Mark got his uniform in 1970, so it's a bit older than that! He's not one to throw out anything that still works!





Here is Hunter, getting a good cut in against classmate Mattes.



Hunter was one of the oldest of the "kid" complement of the class. Certainly his reach helped him, but he also showed real quickness and good reactions. He pretty much defeated his opponents...








EXCEPT, when his opponent was Dad!

Despite his 55-year-old knees, Mark lost only one bout - to the instructor, 5-4.


The class is now over. Both Hunt and Mark wish they had a regular venue for fencing, but sadly, it is not that popular a sport.