The Richmond Fencing Club is tucked away in a 5,300 square foot brick warehouse at the far end of Carlton Street. You’d never know it was back there, unless you were looking for it, and we were.

I stood behind a row of folding chairs in the makeshift waiting area and watched a red-haired lady with a sharp Cuban accent bark orders at a line of fencers, commanding them to thrust their swords at a row of small padded targets hanging from the cinder block walls. Tom Lucente, another of the coaches, waved at me from the back of the gym and bounded over to say hello just as Dwayne, Isabel and Korey arrived.

He led us to some chairs at the back of the gym and warned us to give the class a wide berth as the students paired up to spar. He introduced us to another instructor, Scott O’Neal, who began explaining the various fencing equipment. “We teach the Olympic sport of fencing. We’re not a historical preservation society, we don’t dress up in period costumes and we don’t use real swords.”

“We use the épée, the foil and the sabre and each weapon has different rules and targets in competition.”

Tom picked up a foil and pointed it at Scott. “Foil originated as a training weapon.  The torso is the only valid target and can be hit only with the point of the weapon. Hitting off-target halts the action and no points are awarded. This style also makes use of the concept of ‘right of way’ which is essentially a back and forth ‘conversation’ between the fencers. Only the fencer who initiates the attack can score a point. The defender must parry or otherwise make the attacker miss and can then take over the conversation with a counter attack.”

“It can be a little confusing at first,” added Scott, “ but you’ll get the hang of it.”

They continued with a brief explanation of the other styles: Épée, where the entire body is a valid target and Sabre, where hits can be scored with the edge of the blade as well as the point.

“But enough with the history lessons!” said Tom with a wave of his hand. “Let’s get you guys suited up and do some drills”

Scott helped us into the heavy jackets that zipped up the backs like straightjackets and handed us each a glove, a foil and a helmet. Looking through the helmet was a little like being trapped behind a thick screen door, and the inability to wipe away sweat was maddening.

For the next half hour, Tom taught us the proper footwork to advance and retreat, how to thrust and how to parry. “ There are many different parry positions, but we’ll teach you parry number 4: keep the sword tip up and bring it across your body to block your opponent’s attack. As soon as you parry, you have the right of way to counter attack or riposte.”

“Now that you know just enough to be dangerous, pair up and spar. Scott and I will referee the bouts, so listen to our instructions.”

Dwayne and I faced each other and saluted with our swords. We saluted our judges and saluted our imaginary spectators. Tom called “En guarde” and the fencing began. Dwayne and I edged towards each other timidly, sword tips wavering and at the ready. To my right, I could hear the clashing of blades as Isabel lunged forward at Korey and made contact. Scott awarded the point to Isabel and Korey made a comment about how the hours he’d spent playing Soul Caliber were no help here.

Dwayne suddenly made his attack, and I parried. I tried to counter and hit him in the shoulder. Tom stopped the action, paused for a moment to replay the flurry of swords in his mind and recounted the action with a series of hand gestures. “Attack. Parry. Riposte off target.No point was awarded.” We returned to the en guarde position and started again. Dwayne and I advanced again and traded hits. Even though I hit him first, he was awarded the point because he had parried my attack and landed the riposte. He beat me 5-4.

We traded partners, and I fenced against Isabel who had already earned the nickname “Killer” from Scott. She had beaten Korey 5-2.

We continued to fence in the now empty gymnasium until our legs ached. As we returned our equipment to the shelves, Scott joined Mike Owen on the metal mesh fencing strip, or piste. They fenced épée in a blur of attacks and parries, and the electronic scoreboard flashed up double digit points in a hurry.

We watched the action from the sidelines with Tom and his wife Cyndi, who told us about the time she’d fought against Erinn Smart, a nationally ranked fencer and member of the 2008 Olympic foil team. “It was an awesome and humbling experience.”

Richmond Fencing Club | 3411 1/2 Carlton St. Richmond, Va. 804.622.3655
WEB | http://richmondfencing.com