by Phil Parker
Daily Lobo
Some people can't stomach the sight of a metal-masked, sword-wielding combatant charging their direction, swinging and stabbing away.
Some people can't fence.
"It's not for everybody," said Andy Carey, the president of UNM's fencing club. "A lot of people, when somebody comes barreling down on them with a sword, they've had enough. But people who like it usually run with it."
The club meets every Tuesday and Thursday in Johnson Center. As five-on-five pickup basketball games take up one half of the auxiliary gym, fencing practice takes up the other. For two hours, the sound of a bouncing basketball competes with the clanging of skinny swords and the harmonic beeps of the fencers' scoring box.
But to put a finer point on it, these aren't swords. Club members wield a foil, which is primarily for beginners, an epee for dueling, or a saber, which is unique in that it allows a fencer to hit an opponent with any part of it.
The foil is a training weapon based on old European swords. A player can only score by connecting the blade's tip to the opponent's chest or torso.
This is the blade of choice for relative newcomer Brigita Lacovara, who picked up the sport a month ago after her stint on the UNM soccer team was cut short by a blown ACL in each knee.
"I was just walking by the hallway," she said. "I just thought, 'Hmm, this looks interesting.' They invited me in to join them, so I did."
Carey said goading passersby is the club's primary method of recruitment.
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"We just let people know we're here," he said. "People who are watching us or standing around, we try to invite in. We see a lot of people watching, so we tell them that any student can be a member of the club."
The sport's primary appeal might be the potential to swashbuckle. This sport can justifiably evoke images of Robin Hood, Maximus or Captain Jack Sparrow.
But forget the movies.
"There's nothing 'action hero' about it, because it's so stylized," Lacovara said. "You have to follow really specific rules, unfortunately, because I think that would draw a lot of people in."
Beginners shouldn't expect to start wailing away like the Count of Monte Cristo.
"When you go to movies and see bad swordsmanship, you can tell instantly. That's not fencing at all," Carey said. "They don't know how to fence."
Club members say a combination of strategies make the sport special.
"It's physical, but it's also mental," said Jason Schmitt. "I like it because it's a good workout, and it also helps out as a getaway from school and stuff like that."
"There's a lot of thinking," Lacovara said. "You have to know your opponent and what they're going to do. You have to plan out your attack. It's really like a physical game of chess."
The club is a member of The United States Fencing Association in the New Mexico division of the Rocky Mountain section.
Four members competed last week in The Duke City Open, where Jeremiah Yerxa took second place in foil and Schmitt took third. Carey won third place in Open Epee.
