Fencing serious business for some metro students

Posted: Friday, February 16, 2001

En garde.

We've all played the game, squaring off with tennis rackets or rulers or the cardboard cylinders left over from the Christmas wrapping paper. The contest usually ends after someone gets bonked on the head. But some Amarilloans are more serious about fencing as a competitive sport.

About 30 students are involved in Dr. Rick DeVoe's program at Tascosa High School - the only known public school fencing program in Texas. About four dozen more participate in Amarillo College's Fencing Academy. Both programs are certified by the United States Fencing Association.

"My varsity fencers were drawn to it because they are very, very serious about it," said DeVoe, an Amarillo native whose doctorate degree is in ancient history. "I think some of the newer fencers are probably magnetized by the Zorro complex. But they quickly find out that it is a competitive martial art, sans Hollywood hype. And how far they take it is a lot up to them."

Nine local fencers recently qualified for this weekend's Junior Olympics being held in Salt Lake City. They join about 1,000 others from across the country who will compete for spots on the Junior and Cadet World Championship teams.

Nick Britain, a Tascosa senior, is among that elite group. And he's among those serious about learning the sport's finer points.

"When I was about 7, I started martial arts - Tae Kwon-Do. I hold a third-degree black belt in that now," Britain said. "As I got closer to high school, I was exploring classes and looking for something challenging. I never enjoyed team sports, but contact sports were good for me. So I talked to Dr. DeVoe."

Britain said DeVoe convinced him that fencing was a physical sport that required strict discipline. He soon found it was but a distant cousin to the sword fights he'd read about or seen in movies.

"You have to have a certain mindset (to be successful)," he said. "There is a need for flexibility and strength, stamina and speed. Both (fencing and Tae Kwon-Do) can be very physical sports and they can be very rough."

Not so rough as in the ancient-world days when fencing bouts continued until blood was shed. Today's competitors wear protective gear. And wire coat hangers have sharper points than a fencer's weapon. But it's not for couch potatoes.

"The sport of fencing is fast and athletic, a far cry from the choreographed bouts you see on film or on the stage," according to a summary of the sport published on the USFA's Internet Web site (www.usfencing.org).


Britain said his Tascosa classmates have little knowledge of the sport.

"They ask a lot of questions: Are your swords sharp? Does it hurt? Things such as that. It's so foreign it's difficult for them to grasp the concepts," he said.

But those who get involved in fencing find it offers a mental, as well as a physical challenge, DeVoe said.

"It's been called physical chess," DeVoe said. "You have an arsenal of moves and so does your opponent and you have to exploit your opponent's weaknesses and make your own openings.

"You have to have endurance and you need quickness or strength or advanced technique. If you have two of those three, you can be competitive. As with almost any sport or any athletic activity, speed and technique will beat strength any time."