Some fencing, anyone?

The Cal Poly Fencing Club is made up of men and women who seek information and instruction about the art form of modern swordfighting.

Head coach Eric McDonald has been in charge of the Cal Poly Fencing Club since 1992.

When he first arrived, he said the club was basically in a dormant state.

“Cal Poly had a fencing club team for a very long time,” said McDonald, “but it had gone fairly dormant in the 1980s and early 1990s when I first came.”

Describing what he witnessed the first time he arrived at the gymnasium, he said, “basically, there were four guys here playing ball tag and calling it their fencing night.”

After that, McDonald said he knew some serious “resurrection” was in order to bring the club back to life.

“They only had one set of basic equipment to share with people who came in,” he said. “So I had to build this club back up from scratch.”

There are different levels of participation and skill, which are designated by colored armbands.

Kyle Yamasaki, a civil engineering senior and current club president said, “our classes are formatted by different colors: the yellow bands are for beginning students, the red bands designate intermediate participation, the green and blue bands are for students at the more advanced levels and the black bands signify that they are at the coaching level.”

Yamasaki said that students earn their way to higher levels by utilizing practice and acquiring better skills.

“In our band system I’m working on getting my blue band,” Yamasaki said. “I guess you would consider me at the advanced level.”

Before practicing with any form of weapon, students must first learn a very basic format.

Nicole Bowers is a former fencing club member and current coaching instructor. She described the process that all beginning members learn when first starting out.

“Students practice by learning a basic form of footwork. They learn an advance a retreat and a lunge,” said Bowers.

“That is your primary form of attack,”she said.

As student participation becomes more advanced, they learn to incorporate the three main weapons utilized in fencing, the foil, the epee and the sabre.

According to the Fencing Club handbook, there are three skill levels involved with each weapon. The skill levels range from beginner to intermediate to advanced.

For most students just entering the sport, the first weapon they actively train with is the foil, followed by the epee and then the sabre.

Fencing students wear a set of protective gear that includes a wire mesh mask, a top and bottom set consisting of a tunic and knickers, a set of specialized gloves and a pair of cross-trainer shoes.

According to the Fencing Club handbook, when dueling, fencers stand on a standard strip called a piste, which is an average of 14 meters in length and two meters wide.

The sport of fencing contains various strict rules of courtesy, including saluting each other, the director, the judges and the audience as well as shaking hands following a match.

Other related terms include touch, right-of-way, en garde, fence and halt.