Let's get right to the point.
Few Canadians are aware Canada finished eighth at the world
fencing championships in 1999. Or that a future world class
star is in our midst: Josh McGuire, a 17-year-old Hamilton
resident who won the world under-17 foil title last year.
Aside from a glimpse of the sport every four years at the
Olympics -- fencing has been included in every modern Olympics
since 1896 -- the sport is usually as shielded from the camera
as the faces behind those protective mesh masks.
Fencing is often described as a series of well-placed
thrusts, parries and fancy footwork, spiced up with a few
French words and phrases. The first competitor to swing across
the room on a chandelier is recognized the winner.
All of which comes as no surprise to Newmarket resident
Cheryl Yaciuk. In fact, that was part of what enticed her,
along with her husband and brother-in-law, to make the sport a
family affair when they joined the Newmarket recreation
department's program about 18 months ago.
"Just the images from old Three Musketeers movies and the
sword-play, there's something aloof about it and I liked
that," says Yaciuk. "There's just a mystique about it and
although the danger isn't there, you still get enough
bruises."
Michael McDonnell, who oversees and coaches the fledgling
Newmarket Fencing Club, now in its second year of operation
with 40 to 50 youth and adult members, points out there really
is no "ideal fencer".
"It's a sport that is not size-dependent," says McDonnell.
"It doesn't really matter if you're tall or short. What
matters is if you can think quickly, react quickly and outhit
your opponent.
"It's like chess at 100 mph. You have to recognize your
opponent's weakness and exploit it."
McDonnell oversees Monday and Tuesday night sessions at St.
Nicholas Recreation Centre in Newmarket. For many, it's a
night out and some exercise. For others, it's a chance to
unleash their competitive side and chase the opportunity to
compete at high levels.
Beyond the initial up-front purchase of equipment, it's a
relatively inexpensive sport, McDonnell says. For $350, it's
possible to pick up the requisite mask, jacket, hand glove and
underjacket, also known as a sous plastron -- French is, after
all, the sport's operational language.
"The exercise is phenomenal. After an hour-and-a-half
you're really sweating," says Yaciuk. "The footwork is the
easy part. It takes longer to learn the different motions with
the blade and to solidify the different offensive and
defensive moves.
"It can get nasty, depending who you're fighting. But it's
a good way to get rid of some aggression."
McDonnell, a former Kingston resident, was introduced to
the sport as a university student by a friend on the Queen's
University fencing team in 1983 and has never waivered in his
interest. A coach since 1987, he's twice been named coach of
the year with Queen's University and Royal Military College
and his athletes have garnered seven individual
intercollegiate titles and six team championships. He's also a
qualified official at the national level.
When he moved to Newmarket two years ago, fencing was
nowhere to be found on the sports landscape.
"I realized coming from a competitive atmosphere in
Kingston I had to shift gears and build it up from nothing,"
said the 43-year-old McDonnell, now retired from competitive
fencing. "In Kingston, I'd get a lot of younger kids and if
they went on (to university) I'd have them for another four
years. It's a new demographic here. More boomers than teens.
There's a lot who just want a night out to bang around."
For further information regarding the Newmarket Fencing
Club, contact the Newmarket recreation department at
895-5193.
The three disciplines of fencing are:
Epee -- The easiest of the three disciplines for the
uninitiated to comprehend.
The entire body is the target and the first participant to
hit, or draw blood, is the winner. In competitive circles, of
course, scoring is electronic and matches generally go to five
hits.
"It's a throwback to when duelling was in vogue," says
McDonnell.
Foil -- Initially, the foil was used as a practice
device for the heavier epee in which combatants could refine
pin-point control and technique. Unlike epee, foil is
target-specific, with designated areas of the opponent deemed
scoring points.
Sabre -- The object is to score points by striking
an opponent above the waist, in a slashing motion with the
blade or a thrusting motion with the tip of the weapon.
Cavalry on horseback and those swashbucklers in pirate movies
are illustrations of this
discipline.
