Annika Kim: Fencing is a unique sport played by many members of the SPA community of varying skill levels.

Annie Zhang: So I started fencing this year, just like two months ago and I thought it would be fun. And my dad also really wanted me to do it. So here I am, and yeah.

AK: that’s ninth grader Annie Zhang, who is brand new to fencing.

Milan Mishra: I first started fencing more seriously when I was in fifth grade. That’s when I started going to tournaments and practices more often.

AK: And that’s Milan Mishra, a ninth-grader fencing for many years in the past. Hi, I’m Annika Kim and this is Wins and Losses, the Rubicon Podcast where we explore how different students’ lives are shaped by the sports they play. Today’s episode, we will be focusing on the different fencing experiences to ninth-graders have to share with us.

MM: In fencing, there are three different basic weapons you have épée, foil, and sabre. And in these three weapons, you have different rule sets.

AZ: The one I do is épée, and you can hit the full body or just anywhere. And on the tip of the sword, there’s like a little button, and that’s how the points are scored, then you have to plug into a little machine. You basically get into a group of like five or six other fencers and you fence everyone. And then based on the amount of points your score, like how many belts you win, then you’re seeded, and use like seed higher, you’ll go against people who didn’t seed as high in the direct eliminations. So it’s good to win at least one of your belts, but yeah.

AK: Although fencing itself only involves two people, both students agree that the best part of the activity is the team you play with.

AZ: So I think my favorite part of fencing is like the team, the team is really cool. Like, since I think fencing is one of those sports where like a lot of new people do whatever you’d like, start later than like sports like soccer, my teammates are really nice. And they always helped me and give me helpful tips whenever I am like doing something wrong or holding my blade wrong. And the community is really nice. I like it.

MM: The most fun part of fencing for me was just talking to people and really improving. So in your club, you’re able to talk to people who do your same weapon, and you’re able to get to know them well, and really just improve alongside them. So that’s always really fun.

AK: What is the most important thing one has learned from fencing? For Milan, it’s taking others’ recommendations into account.

MM: I think the most important thing that I’ve learned is to really take advice that people give you into account. Coaches are and your friends are always really, really helpful when it comes to tournaments, and just getting better at the sport. So taking advice into account, and generally just trying to always use what you’ve learned in your practices is always really helpful.

AK: Technical skill was a topic Annie had to improve when doing a new sport, but she had team members to help her through her learning journey.

AZ: When I first started out fencing. There’s the stance that you do, like when you walk around and move. It is called the en guard stance, and you have to bend your knees for it. And then when I first saw fencing, my knees were like, too bent. So I was getting really tired really quickly. And I was wondering why that was. So I talked to someone on the team and then they said Annie, so your nation would be like in front of your foot, we’ve been down, and then I realized, ‘I messed up.’

AK: Being a brand new fencer, Annie’s first competition was a recent memorable experience for her. I think

AZ: The most memorable moment for me in my two months, maybe three of fencing would be my first tournament since I didn’t seed that well, because I lost most of my pool belts, etc. Okay, but I won one. And it was against the state champion of last year’s tournament, which I thought was really funny because I’m going to blame this on how she was left-handed an offense against someone who’s left-handed at practice all the time. So I feel like I’m getting that experience, you know. And then moving on to the DEs, I actually won my first DE and I was really proud of myself because of that. And then I lost my second one, but that’s okay.

AK: Milan is excited to be able to see people in person again after the pandemic.

MM: The most memorable part of fencing for me has been getting to know my peers and stuff from my school, and generally just from my passing club better. This year, we’re getting back into tournaments, because after COVID We are in during COVID, we weren’t really able to fence to each other a bunch. But now that COVID has kind of calmed down a bit. We’re all able to come together and fence more. So it’s really nice to be able to go to tournaments, together with our friends and stuff. And that has always really been the best part for me about fencing.

AK: Both students agree that the biggest piece of advice they can give to anyone new to fencing is to just keep trying.

MM: My best piece of advice for new fencers coming into the sport would just be to stick with it. because when you start out, it’s always going to be really tough, really no matter what you do. But especially with fencing, I think that there’s this kind of difficult learning curve. But the more you fence and the more you stick with it, the more you do it, you end up just getting better. And it keeps on getting easier and easier. And it gets more and more fun. When you get more and more like things you can do more and more attacks, more and more things you can do for defense. And the more you learn about it, the better it gets, and the more fun it becomes.

AZ: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because the people in the PHMC community are really nice. They’re really helpful. And they won’t laugh at you. He messed it up because you know, everyone started somewhere. And you’re just yeah, just do it. Honestly. It’s really fun. You’ll meet a lot of new people, and the tournaments are really chill.

AK: Thank you so much to Annie and Milan for sharing their fencing experiences with us for this episode. Check out the next episode of Wins and Losses for another deep dive into an SPA team sport. I’m Annika Kim, and thank you so much for listening.

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Music Credits:

• Sincerely by Kevin MacLeod | Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5033-sincerely
• Going Higher from Bensound | Link: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/going-higher
• Memories from Bensound | Link: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/memories
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/