Taking a stab at a new sport

Often described as “physical chess”, fencing is a combat sport involving hitting your opponent with a sword. Gayle Ritchie brandishes one and gets ready to fight

I’m prancing round a freezing sports hall sporting a pristine white uniform consisting of a jacket, breeches, chest guard, mask and leather gauntlet. The fact it’s white is slightly troubling as I know the reason why – traditionally, it’s worn to show up any blood shed during a fencing bout. I’ve come to Perth’s Salle Ossian Fencing Club for a training session with coach Rob Blackburn.

With his curly mop of red hair and huge beard, he cuts an impressive figure.

Rob, 30, has been fencing since he was 18 and finished third in the New Zealand nationals in 2012.

He’s mega friendly and uberencouraging, even as I flail around and (accidently) stab my sword into my own leg. Luckily it has a blunt end.

Reassuringly, Rob tells me it’s very rare for anyone to end up bleeding these days.

Before we get into an actual duel, we warm up by jogging and stretching and then Rob teaches me the basics of stance and movement.

“We scuttle like crabs,” he tells me, demonstrating a swift movement down the hall.

“Crabs always have bent legs and change direction very quickly – hopefully like fencers!

“The opposite would be a penguin – always very upright and falling over when you try to move quickly.”

There are three weapons in modern fencing – the foil, sabre and epee. Today we’re using epee. You can only score points with the tip of the weapon but you can target the entire body.

Hits are recorded electronically by wires attached to the body, and announced by coloured lights and a beeping noise.

“The aim is to hit your opponent more times than they hit you,” explains Rob. “It’s sort of like electronic tag.”

First up is “en garde”, the position used to warn fencers to take up a defensive stance. Then me move on to advance and retreat.

“Fencing is ultimately a game of distance and timing – if you position yourself in the right place at the right time, the hitting part is easy,” says Rob.

Once I’ve “mastered” moving and hitting, the distance between us gets further and we need to lunge to cover the space quickly and efficiently.

Rob also shows me how to avoid getting hit, and I learn how to perform an effective block, called a “parry”.

This involves making a circular motion with the sword to sweep underneath the opponent’s blade, collecting it and pushing it away, and hopefully leaving us with an opening to hit them instead.

The final action we cover is a “stop hit” and involves hitting your opponent before they hit you.

After an hour of instruction, I feel myself starting to flag, both physically and mentally. Heck, it requires a lot of concentration!

Gearing up for a final bout, we plug ourselves into the electronic system and go for it. It’s no surprise that Rob wins.

One of the main issues I have is simply just going for it. It’s about having confidence and a decent amount of aggression.

“Confidence is important,” says Rob. “When a chimpanzee wants a nut, it reaches out and takes it; it doesn’t second guess itself.

“Successfully hitting your opponent is the same. If the moment comes for you to score and you hesitate, chances are they’ll hit you instead.”

So why take up fencing? Descended from the act of duelling with swords, it’s great exercise, builds confidence and improves mental agility.

“Throw away any preconceptions and approach it with an open mind,” says Rob. “Some folk might think it’s odd and that the people who do it are weird, but I hope you’ll see that’s not the case?!

“It’s not what people expect it to be.” My conclusion? I highly recommend it!