OREM — They say it is like playing chess — at 80 miles per hour.
En garde. Lunge. Parry. Lunge. Disengage. Lunge. Parry. Counterparry. Score.
They also say it is a bit like a ballet — on a narrow track, with 35 inches of metal in your hand.
Attack. Fall back. Defend. Feint. Attack.
They call it the sport of knights, the modern descendant of 17th century dueling.
They call it fencing.
It's a great sport, says Bethany Andrews, who was on the fencing team at Brigham Young University — until the school dropped the program. In 1996 she and fellow fencer Julie Seal started the Utah Valley Sport Fencing Club in Orem.
"Fencing is very athletic, but it's also a mental game," she says. "And there are so many things that can make you good. Being tall — or being short. Intelligence. Demeanor. Fencing is unique in that it teaches students to use the talents and qualities they already possess to their advantage."
She also likes it because "it's a very individual sport. You win or you lose. But it teaches you to face your fears. It teaches self-esteem."
There are currently four fencing clubs in Utah. Besides the one in Orem, there are clubs in Park City, Ogden/Salt Lake City and Kaysville. A few high schools have fencing teams, but the popularity of the sport has taken an interesting track, says Ron Hendricks, coach of Wasatch Fencing Club in Kaysville, who has also been involved in Utah's youth fencing league since its beginning.
Fencing used to be very popular at the college level, he says. In the 1980s, all the colleges had teams. "It was so popular that in 1991 Utah hosted the national championships. But we looked around at that time and realized there were only four youth in the state who were fencing, and if the sport was to grow, we needed to get the youth involved."
Since then, fencing has become a lot more popular outside the universities. "In fact, many of the universities have dropped their programs."
It is a sport you can get into very quickly, he says. And yet, it can take a long time to truly master.
Six years ago, the youth league began with 30 students. At the end of last year, there were about 175 kids, ages 8 to 19, participating in the sport. A tournament this past weekend in Orem brought together about 135 fencers from Utah's four clubs, as well as a group from Pocatello, Idaho.
In competitions, the students earn a rating, ranging from A to E, with A being highest. Those who have not earned a rating are designated with a U for unrated. "Tournaments help them move up in the ratings," explained Garry Bryant, who got involved in fencing a few years ago because he saw it as a way to do something with his sons. (When health problems prevented Bryant from actively fencing, he became the armorer for the league, which, he says, is the fancy name for a repairman. "It's my job to fix anything that's broken.")
Among the group were three students who are ranked as national champions of their divisions: Andy Paulsen, who also serves as captain of the Davis High fencing team; David Berryrieser from Park City; and Chris Mansfield, from Orem.
Berryrieser, who has been fencing for five years, likes the abundance of strategy and technique the sport offers. You have to be good athletically, he says, but that alone doesn't mean you fence well. "There's also the intelligence aspect. You have to know what needs to be done."
"It's a fun mind game," agrees Mansfield, who has been at it for about eight years. "I got into it through my dad. Baseball wasn't working out for me, so my dad found this to try." Mansfield quickly fell in love with it. "It provides a challenge, but it's not only a sport. It gets you thinking."
He hopes it might do even more for him. "A lot of us are aiming for scholarships. A lot of schools still have fencing programs. It's very popular with the Ivy League schools and others. So, I'm hoping it might help with my education."
One of their club members got a scholarship to Duke last year and has been on the fencing team there.
Other students enjoy th e fun and camaraderie that fencing brings. "I was getting bored over the summer, and my friends told me to come try fencing," says Yasmeen Hussain, who has been at it for nine months. "It's a lot of fun. You meet great people — and you get to stab them," she jokes. "There is a very social atmosphere. We learn off each other. We help each other."
"It's a sport with a point," deadpans Walker Stern. "Instead of running into each other or running around in circles, you're learning skills that, well, could be applicable in later life."
Two things make good fencers, says Andrews — good coaches and good fencers to compete against. "It's difficult to learn. It's not something you can pick up from reading a book; you need to have someone who knows what they are doing.
"But competing against good players helps you, too. It's not surprising that members of the Olympic team often come out of the same club because they press each other and draw the best out of each other."
She also likes the fact that at this level, men and women can compete against each other fairly evenly, which is nice, she says, because they generally attract a few more boys than girls. "I also teach at UVSC, and sometimes I'll have a class with 10 guys and one girl. Great odds for the girls!"
Andrews got interested in fencing when she was young. "As a little girl, I read the encyclopedia and encountered fencing. I told my mother that before I died, I wanted to do three things: see the aurora borealis, go scuba diving and learn fencing. She was a very supportive mother, and when I was 14, she found fencing classes."
Andrews is not alone in that desire. Fencing captures the attention of a lot of people. "We had a 75-year-old woman who came from Wyoming once a week because she wanted to learn fencing before she died. It really can be a lifelong sport."
For a lot of people, an introduction to fencing comes cinematically. "It seems like lately there has been a lot of fencing — or sword fighting — in movies," says Andrews. "After each movie comes out, we get an influx of new students."
But, she cautions, true fencing is not at all like the movies. "Have you noticed that Errol Flynn never sweated? Onstage, they try to hit the sword — there's all that chink, chink of the sword blades. Here, you try to hit your opponent. And Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader fighting with their swords above their heads? Why didn't one go whoosh in the chest and end it?"
Yeah, agrees Berryrieser, those movie sword fights are pretty fake. "In fencing, it takes 20 seconds, max, to get a touch. A good fencer could go in and win those fights in a hurry. But it wouldn't be as dramatic."
Like the movies or not, fencing still has a certain cachet, says Hendricks. "There's a special appeal. You talk about swords, and people's eyes light up."
E-mail: carma@desnews.com