19. Fencing, Part 2

No, I did not improve.

The fencing lessons I took reminded me about the purpose of this adventure quest: trying things out, expanding my orbit, pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone. At the end, I’ll be an “expert dilettante,” not an expert in any one domain. Certainly not in fencing.

It’s hard!

After three lessons, I just couldn’t put it all together - where to keep my arm, relaxing it a bit and using my wrist to move the epee, circling the epee and moving in for the point after my opponent parries, moving my feet properly, and more …

Stacy, the owner of Bay State Fencers and my instructor, showed admirable patience and offered advice calmly and with good humor. The lessons were fun, especially with two friendly classmates, Ann and Sherry, who proved to be formidable opponents. And it’s a great cardio workout.

Still, I just couldn’t go in for the kill.

After warming up, stretching, and practicing foot work and lunges, we suited up and fenced for two rounds each. In each round the first person to achieve five points wins.

In two rounds, I scored a total of three points. Here they are:

I just couldn’t get past those epees coming at me. I was definitely not scared, just unable to get in quickly enough to make the point. Mostly this happened:

Ann and Sherry will continue on, but three lessons have given me enough knowledge to realize that I’d have to work very, very hard at this to make any headway. With over 40 adventures still to go, I’m moving on.

If fencing sounds like something you’d like to try, check out Bay State Fencers in Somerville (moving to Watertown in August 2019).