Sword Focus

Fencing is a big part of 7-year-old’s fitness regimen

Lanie, of New Albany, just took up fencing within the last year, but she’s going all out in her training. She is even competing at the Arnold Fencing Classic, part of this year’s Arnold Sports Festival. She is learning her craft at Royal Arts Fencing Academy, a fencing school in east Columbus. The school – which teaches use of all three basic fencing weapons, the epee, the foil and the sabre – is run by New Albany residents Julia Richey and Tim Mills.

Richey, who also organizes the Arnold Fencing Classic, is an Olympic fencer who spent 13 years on Russia’s national team prior to moving to the U.S. and focusing primarily on training – though she still competes herself on occasion.

Lanie began her training in summer 2011, intrigued by the action-packed swordfights in favorite movies like those in the Star Wars film series.

“I thought it looked like fun,” she says.

Though some academies will not begin fencing training for children younger than age 10, Royal Arts trains aspiring competitors of all ages.

Getting in shape for fencing requires a very specific type of physical fitness. It is, by definition, a martial art, and many people are surprised to learn how physically demanding it is, Mills says.

Despite the intensity, though, it is a fairly lowimpact sport except at the highest levels. Fencers can expect to burn up to 600 calories per hour thanks to the precise movements and muscle emphasis,

By Garth Bishop

not to mention the heavy equipment. Proper footwork is key, and is one of the first things new students must learn. The fencing stance is low, providing a workout for the quadriceps and gluteal muscles.

“We start out teaching them to advance and retreat … or, as I tell the younger ones, to walk like Captain Jack Sparrow,” Mills says.

Newcomers also need to hone their perceptions of space and distance, then learn how to strike properly. Young students in particular are instructed on the importance of factors like good nutrition and proper sleep.

Fencing calls for a lot of running and conditioning, as well as agility training and strategic thinking. It has provided Lanie with great opportunities for fitness, says her mother, Susan.

Lanie has enjoyed the opportunity to wear the protective equipment and to compete against other children, many of whom are older than she is. Another component for which Lanie and her mother are thankful is the companionship fencing builds among students.

“It’s an individual sport, but it’s a lot of team camaraderie,” Susan says.

Fencing also trains the mind, necessitating significant mental acumen in its competitors. Students are encouraged to keep journals and write about what happens in training and at tournaments.

“Fencing is a very smart sport,” Mills says. “The highest academic achievers in sports are fencers,” according to a USA Today study.

Despite her young age, Lanie has come far very quickly in her training, impressing at almost every step.

“Lanie is way ahead of her age … emotionally and physically,” Richey says.

Someday, Lanie could be one of the Royal Arts students who have gone far – Richey has had two of them start out very young at the academy, compete at the Arnold and eventually go on to compete in the Olympics.

In addition to fencing, Lanie, who attends Columbus Academy, swims during the summer. She comes from an athletically inclined family, Susan says; her older brother plays basketball, soccer and baseball.

When not training rigorously, students at Royal Arts attend lock-ins and movie nights (the movies always feature some sort of swashbuckling, from Pirates of the Caribbean to Lord of the Rings) and spar with foam weapons Richey and Mills have lovingly dubbed “lightsabers.” Royal Arts even has a fencing school set up at New Albany Elementary School.

At the Arnold, Lanie will get to compete as part of the youngest age group. In addition to sending many of its students to compete, Royal Arts will put on a fencing demonstration, and invite members of the audience to step in and try it out.

Is Lanie intimidated by the level of competition she might face from other young fencers from all across the country?

“I feel fine, because I fence older kids here,” she says.

Garth Bishop is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at editor@ healthynewalbany.org.

By Rhonda Koulermos Photography by Wes Kroninger