By Leah Blain,
Observer contributor
While the TV is usually the culprit when it comes to young people’s lack of exercise, it served to get a couple of local boys into a new sport.
“In the Olympics we saw sword-fighting and it looked really fun,” says 12-year-old Ryan Schmitt. “And we saw that TV show, Modern Family, the boy was competing in fencing.”
Swinging a sword is something he had done since he was very little, says Ryan’s mother, Rhiannon. “He always had a plastic sword he wanted to try – I used to have bruised knees.”
And of course Star Wars light saber duels were also an inspiration. Aiken Webster, 11, explains his motivation quite simply: “Star Wars for sure.”
He has been fencing since he was eight. “I wanted a new sport, I didn’t really like the others. On the first day my mom thought I should be a little more protected so my dad joined too. It’s for all ages.”
Both boys go to Okanagan Freestyle Fencing but Ryan goes to the club in Vernon and Aiken goes to the one in Armstrong. Their sessions begin with a warm-up game, conditioning exercises and then begin practising footwork.
“It’s mostly the feet. We do about 45 minutes of footwork and then we do an hour of fencing with footwork,” says Aiken. “My footwork has improved a lot. My arm’s reach has gotten longer – that helps, and I’ve learned more moves.”
Ryan has been fencing for just over a year. “I like the games at the beginning and doing the free fencing at the end.”
Rhiannon mentions some of the things she appreciates that fencing embodies: “It’s about honour and being truthful. If an opponent says they’ve touched you, you give the person a point.” She says they’re trained not to argue even if they think their opponent did not actually make a point; they’re supposed to concede gracefully.”
“Its about doing the right thing; it’s not about trying to pull one over on the referee. To voluntarily admit they made a mistake is fantastic. It builds character.”
Aiken says fencing has helped him with co-ordination. “I started out being very unco-ordinated, it’s better now.”
He says not only is there a lot of hand-eye co-ordination, it also takes a lot of co-ordination with your feet “which you can’t even see.” They can’t see because fencers have a thin mesh face guard on their helmets. Schmitt pulls out his gear which includes white nylon breeches (short pants) with suspenders, a white zip jacket and a couple of swords with rubber tips on the end. Fencers also wear a body cord to register scoring. It attaches to the weapon and runs inside the jacket sleeve, then down the back and out to a scoring box.
“I really like challenging myself to beat people,” says Webster. “Right now I’m at a disadvantage because my arms are short.”
When he and his dad, Sandy, are paired up, Sandy usually wins.
“I beat him a couple of times,” Webster says, smiling.
Kim, Aiken’s mother, says fencing is a good stress reliever for her husband and it’s helped give her son more confidence: “He’s very reserved and it’s a chance for him to put himself out there a little bit. He’s competed in tournaments; it’s outside his usual comfort zone. You grow when you do these things.”
Neither Webster nor Schmitt have plans to carry on to national competition or the Olympics. For now, it’s “just for fun” says Ryan.
“It’s very good for your mind,” says Aiken. “They do a move and then you do a move, you decide what move you’re going to do next. You don’t want to apply the wrong moves.”
“I’m not expecting he’ll swashbuckle for a living,” Rhiannon says of Ryan. “Kids just want to whack swords but it’s beyond a game. It builds character, great character.”
For more information contact Okanagan Freestyle Fencing head coach Matt Clarke at 250-306-9253.
