Kids ‘ settle scores’ at the end of a blade
THE fine art of sword play has captured the imagination of Townsville Grammar students.
The school has introduced a fencing program this term with more than 40 eager students lining up for the chance to learn all about the historic combat sport.
They’ll get the chance to put their new skills to the test today as they compete against each other for the first time.
Gabriel McKinnon was one of the students who pioneered the fencing program having first been introduced to it at Ipswich Grammar.
Gabriel said he was excited to see his classmates embracing the unique sport.
“It’s just so much fun. You get to move, you get to fight, and maybe settle a few schoolyard scores,” he said.
Gabriel felt it was easy to pick up the basic skills of fencing, but he said selfcontrol and concentration were the keys. “You can’t lose your cool in the middle of a bout because otherwise you start slashing and then you lose points because they’re calm and focused and you’re wild,” he said.
“The basic stuff is easy, but what makes it so efficient and deadly in competitions is that it’s done so precisely and so fast that if you blink you miss it.”
Grammar director of sport Peter Christie said he had been surprised at how quickly the students had picked up the skills and he hoped the fencing program would continue to thrive.
“We thought we’d get about 20 and now we’ve got about 45 to 50 kids who are right into it so hopefully we’ll get it going again next year,” he said.
“They’ve done a good job of picking it up.”