WOMEN IN FENCING

By Karolyn Szot

Athlete to Watch:

Honor Johnson

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? Probably the accomplishment that I am most proud of is my admission to Princeton University where I will be a freshman in Fall 2022 and will fence on the women’s saber team. I am totally psyched for this next chapter of my life! Fencing-wise, I am a five-time Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships team member (2019 cadet bronze individual medalist, 2021 junior silver team medalist). In January, I earned my first top-16 senior World Cup finish in Tbilisi, Georgia, a huge milestone.

WHAT GOT YOU INTO FENCING? I tried virtually every sport – soccer, basketball, tennis, swimming, lacrosse and dance – before eventually quitting them in disinterest. One summer, my mom signed me up for a fencing summer camp. Despite what I now recall was an insanely difficult learning curve, I immediately fell in love with the mental and physical challenge of it and decided that it was what I was going to do.

WHAT IS ANOTHER PASSION OF YOURS BESIDES FENCING? WHAT BENEFITS DOES IT GIVE YOU? A passion of mine besides fencing is learning Arabic and gaining exposure to the cultures in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. During the pandemic, school via Zoom, reduced access to training, and practically no competitions left me with idle time. I decided to begin learning a new language independent of school and actually spent a month last summer in Amman, Jordan, living with a host family and studying intensive Arabic. I am considering a career in foreign economic policy so learning a critical language like Arabic and increasing cultural literacy are essential. I also love hiking and backpacking, which have taken me to some pretty cool places like Alaska and the Galápagos. I have a trip to Iceland on the radar for this summer. WHAT DO YOU EAT BEFORE AND DURING A COMPETITION? I am definitely a beast when it comes to fueling up before competitions. I probably eat the equivalent of two dinners, loading up on carbs such as pasta or rice and lean proteins like fish or chicken the night before. The day of, I always eat a light breakfast that includes oatmeal and scrambled eggs. I fence my best when I don’t have food weighing me down. My go-to snacks during competitions are bananas, seaweed and turkey jerky. I love Epic chicken bites, too.

DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHAT KEPT YOU MOTIVATED? IN THE WORST TIMES OF COVID-19, HOW DID YOU TRAIN? During the pandemic the thought that there would be another competition kept me motivated, despite not knowing when that next competition might come. I wanted to be ready. I remember during the worst times of COVID I was training in my living room with a makeshift dummy that one of my mentors made for me and taking private lessons virtually on Zoom. Some ’70s tunes and old-school hip-hop tracks were definitely on the playlist to keep me pumped up. Think Bee Gees and Biggie with a little 2Pac!

DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL MANTRA? My personal mantra is “one step at a time” because it reminds me to stay in the moment, not get ahead of myself and enjoy the process. There are so many ways to derail yourself during competition. This mantra helps me to tune out the internal and external noise, especially during those inevitable 4-4 or 14-14 moments.

WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO THE MOST? I look up to my coaches as well as fencers such as Becca Ward, Lee Kiefer and Kat Holmes (an alumna from my high school – National Cathedral School) who have proved that it is possible to ascend the podium of the Olympics and World Championships, attain education at the highest level and pursue a challenging career.

TELL US ABOUT THE WORST BOUT YOU’VE EVER HAD AND HOW YOU LEARNED FROM IT. My worst bout ever was when I fenced Y10 at summer nationals. I was leading at the half but had to withdraw from the semifinals match because of extreme anxiety. It was a pretty early age to begin learning the power of mental performance. Eight years later, it’s not something that I’ve even come close to mastering or even reaching some level of consistency. I think it’s something that ebbs and flows and is a constant challenge.

IF YOU HAD TO FENCE A DIFFERENT WEAPON THAN YOUR CURRENT ONE, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY? If I had to fence another weapon, I would definitely fence epee because of the strength of women’s epee in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia areas. I imagine achieving success fencing epee requires quite a bit of patience, a life skill that I can stand to develop.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT? I’m looking forward to fencing Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships in Dubai in April and practicing a bit of Arabic. I’m also looking forward to continuing to develop on the senior World Cup circuit. My guilty pleasures are K-pop and K-drama, so I am especially hyped about traveling to South Korea for the Grand Prix in Seoul in April. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS? In five years, I see myself either training for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles or studying in graduate school or both. Why not.

WHY DO YOU FENCE? I’ve been a competitive person and a perfectionist since I can remember. I want to be the best, whether it’s with my academics, or playing a game of Phase 10 with my family or bouting on the fencing piste. I want to win against my opponent and against myself! A desire to conquer my personal best is what drives me to succeed, which means there’s never an endgame and always an opportunity to push the limits. I’ve had rough days and many slip-ups where my performance wasn’t at its best and they just motivate me to reflect, practice and train even harder. Those moments when I finally reach my goals at a difficult competition produce an adrenaline rush like nothing else. Temporarily. There is always room for improvement and that’s why I fence. I cannot imagine not fencing.

WOMEN IN FENCING

By Karolyn Szot

Athlete to Watch:

Hadley Husisian

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR BEST RESULTS? U.S. RESULTS • 2021 Division I women’s epee national champion (one of youngest ever) • Became #1-ranked junior women’s epee fencer (rolling points) while still a cadet fencer (2020) and have maintained #1 ranking for last three years (2020-2022) • Two-time member of junior world team (2020, 2021); will qualify for 2022 junior team at JOs. Member of cadet world team (2020) • Former cadet national champion INTERNATIONAL RESULTS • Gold medal, Burgos Junior World Cup (December 2021) • Silver medal, Bratislava Junior World Cup (February 2020) • Finished in top 16 at my first senior World Cup in Tallinn (2021) • Ranked 6th in the world on global junior women’s epee FIE rankings • Ranked 95th on the global senior women FIE rankings; youngest fencer (only 18) in the top100 senior women’s epee rankings worldwide

WHAT GOT YOU INTO FENCING? When I was 10, I saw an episode of iCarly that featured the “Fencing Bensons,” a fictitious family of world-famous fencers. I also was really into the Hunger Games books at the time and decided that I wanted to try either fencing or archery. I had a slight preference for archery, but the local club had a three-month waiting list. So, I decided to try fencing in the meantime and loved it. WHAT IS ANOTHER PASSION OF YOURS BESIDES FENCING? WHAT BENEFITS DOES IT GIVE YOU? For the last several years, I have been collecting food donations for a local food bank, Food for Others. I set a goal at the beginning of the pandemic to gather 10 tons of food by distributing flyers in area neighborhoods. I never realized exactly how much 10 tons of food really was, but after about 18 months of walking through neighborhoods distributing flyers, I finally hit my goal. Now I have a new goal of gathering 15 tons of food. I also have volunteered at the Food for Others warehouse, organizing donations, sorting through fresh produce and helping to distribute boxes of food to clients. It felt especially good when I would see items I had gathered go home with a family. Volunteering has given me a sense of bringing real-life positive changes to some families’ lives, especially as our area has had to cope with the pandemic.

WHAT DO YOU EAT BEFORE AND DURING A COMPETITION? The night and morning before a tournament, I’ll usually have a light meal. Nerves kill my appetite during competitions, so the little I do eat tends to be junk food like Little Debbie oatmeal cookies, Kit Kats and Fruit Gushers. I also like to drink orange juice or pineapple juice, because I happened to be drinking juice at the first cadet NAC I medaled in. I suppose it now has become a superstition for me.

DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHAT KEPT YOU MOTIVATED? IN THE WORST TIMES OF COVID-19, HOW DID YOU TRAIN? Initially, I stopped going to my fencing club when the number of COVID cases in my county hit 40 per day (which seemed high

at the time). While my club was shut down, I did online footwork classes, worked out with weights, ran outside and on the treadmill and did target practice. USA Fencing also arranged for the cadet and junior world team fencers to do online sessions with some of the senior women’s epee fencers, which I also found very helpful and enjoyable, especially when we met online to discuss topics like training techniques, stress-management and nutrition. I didn’t really lose my motivation during that time. In fact, in the absence of tournaments, I was getting lots of sleep for the first time in years. It made it much easier to train when I was feeling so rested, so I actually increased my training volume and found a lot of enjoyment in practicing.

DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL MANTRA? I never really thought about that before. I suppose it would be something along the lines of “you didn’t come this far to only come this far.” I’m proud of how much time and effort I’ve invested in fencing, and I want to be sure that I’m doing my absolute best to show off all the work I’ve put into the sport when it comes time to compete.

WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO THE MOST? Kat Holmes and Anna Van Brummen have been very kind and welcoming to me, especially as I’ve begun to compete at the senior level internationally. Since I first started fencing, I’ve admired how they are able to fence at the highest levels while still pursuing rigorous academic studies. I know my younger self would be so happy to see how they’ve now become my mentors and friends. TELL US ABOUT THE WORST BOUT YOU’VE EVER HAD AND HOW YOU LEARNED FROM IT. At the Junior Olympics in Memphis in 2018, I was in pretty bad shape – I had a broken toe and I was having horrible issues with my knees that made it really hard to fence. On top of that, I had food poisoning and had to run to the bathroom to throw up in between bouts. Nonetheless, I somehow won all my pool bouts and made it to the table of 16 (while being especially glad that no one tried a foot touch against me). I actually was up 12-7 against another cadet fencer whom I had never beaten at that time with only 90 seconds to go. But then it all caught up with me and came crashing down on my head. By the end of the bout, I had completely run out of energy. I watched as my opponent made a spectacular comeback to beat me 14-13. So by one touch I missed getting what would have been my first national championship medal. My failure to secure a medal at JOs after coming so close stuck with me for a long time. But eventually my mindset changed, and I realized that despite my condition, I was able to win 10 bouts and come very close to my goal. Even though I fell short that day, I learned that I can push through tough situations if I stay focused enough.

IF YOU HAD TO FENCE A DIFFERENT WEAPON THAN YOUR CURRENT ONE, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY? I suppose I would pick foil because I have a more temperate, patient personality and I can’t see myself being aggressive enough for a successful saber career.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT? On a fencing level, I am looking forward to representing the United States at the Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships in Dubai in April and fencing with Team USA in the team event. I am also very much looking forward to competing on a team when I start college at Princeton in September. On a personal level, I am looking forward to having a break during the summer to relax and see my friends before heading off to college.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS? Like many fencers, I hope to make the senior world team and eventually fence at the Olympics someday. I think that I would like to attend law school in five or so years, but I hope to use my time at college to study new subjects and figure out what it is, besides fencing, that is my passion.

WHY DO YOU FENCE? I have just always liked fencing. Initially, I was not fencing to try to get medals. In fact, in my first Y-12 NAC in Columbus, I somehow managed to lose all six pool bouts with a minus 21 indicator and then lose my first DE (putting me dead last for the entire tournament). So it was really cool to come back to Columbus five years later and to leave with a Cadet NAC gold medal at the same venue where I was dead last before. Overall, I love how the sport combines both physical and mental challenges and that you have only a split second to apply the right action to effectuate your strategy. I also love the feeling of giving my all to something and seeing improvement. It is also the only sport that I am remotely talented at, so it was either stick with fencing or join my school’s debate team.

WOMEN IN FENCING

By Karolyn Szot

Athlete to Watch:

Lauren Scruggs

WHAT ARE YOUR BEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN FENCING? In 2019, at the Torun, Poland, Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships I won both the junior and cadet women’s foil events. This feat established me as the first American foilist to win both events at the same World Championships, as well as the first AfricanAmerican woman to do so. In 2018, I won junior bronze at the Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships in Verona, Italy, and helped Team USA win the team event there as well. In 2021, despite all the complications with the pandemic, my teammates and I won silver at the Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships in Cairo, Egypt. In 2022, I won the Junior Women's Foil World Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

WHAT GOT YOU INTO FENCING? My older brother. I always did the same sports he did, so when he started fencing, so did I.

WHAT IS ANOTHER PASSION OF YOURS BESIDES FENCING? WHAT BENEFITS DOES IT GIVE YOU? I like music and film! As someone who is always traveling and balancing schoolwork, I look to movies and music to help de-stress and relax.

WHAT DO YOU EAT BEFORE AND DURING A COMPETITION? I’m not too picky, honestly, I just eat whatever is available and make sure to get in something that will prevent cramping. Recently, I’ve really been liking the liquid IV packets for hydration and bananas to keep me energized.

DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHAT KEPT YOU MOTIVATED? IN THE WORST TIMES OF COVID-19, HOW DID YOU TRAIN? I think the pandemic allowed me to have a break from everything, so for me it was less so about keeping motivated and more so about enjoying life. In terms of training, I was dealing with an injury, so I spent most of my time healing and recovering. DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL MANTRA? Try your best!

WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO THE MOST? I would say that I prefer to reflect on myself rather than look up to people. I personally don’t find it productive to try and compare and live up to another person, I think that at times it messes with my confidence and mindset, so for me, it’s more beneficial for me to be my own inspiration — not in a self-absorbed way — but one that pushes me to be better than my past self.

TELL US ABOUT THE WORST BOUT YOU’VE EVER HAD AND HOW YOU LEARNED FROM IT. The worst bout that I can remember has to be when I fenced Lee Kiefer at a senior World Cup. I generally go into all my bouts with the confidence I can win — regardless of the competitor — but for some reason with this bout I had no confidence in myself. Even though I lost the bout, I knew I could have put up a better fight and that’s what bothered me the most. I think it matters more about the effort you put in than the result, so I was disappointed in myself that I let myself give up a little.

IF YOU HAD TO FENCE A DIFFERENT WEAPON THAN YOUR CURRENT ONE, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY? Saber, I’m awful at epee but slightly less awful at saber.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT? I am excited to compete at more senior world cups and to continue building and training with the Harvard fencing team. There, I am excited to further explore my intellectual interests.

WHY DO YOU FENCE? Because it’s fun!

WOMEN IN FENCING

By Karolyn Szot

Coach to Watch:

Natalie Dostert

Natalie is the new USA Fencing women’s epee head coach and is a former competitive fencer for Germany.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR BEST FENCING ACCOMPLISHMENTS? In my fencing career I was two-time senior national team champion in Germany and German collegiate team champion. I represented Germany in junior and senior World Cups before retiring from my career as an athlete to focus full-time on coaching.

WHAT GOT YOU INTO FENCING? I got into fencing through an after-school program in the fifth grade, and then moved to train in a sports boarding school program in Bonn, Germany, at the age of 15.

WHAT IS ANOTHER PASSION OF YOURS BESIDES FENCING? WHAT BENEFITS DOES IT GIVE YOU? I have always had a real passion for physical fitness. That’s why several years ago I got my personal training license to get a better understanding of how to train on a purely physical level as well as be able to offer that knowledge to my athletes.

WHAT IS BEST TO EAT BEFORE AND DURING A COMPETITION? The night before a competition, make sure to eat a good portion of carbohydrates like pasta and to hydrate well in order to have a good base of energy for the next morning. During the competition, I suggest having bananas and some kind of energy bars with you to have an easy and digestible snack for in between bouts. Also make sure to have some electrolyte water and keep drinking over the competition to avoid cramping and muscular fatigue. DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHAT KEPT YOU MOTIVATED? IN THE WORST TIMES OF COVID-19, HOW DID YOU TRAIN? My students kept me motivated with their effort, hard work and determination to make the best out of this tough situation. We worked for a while via Zoom doing group classes and private lessons. We developed some pretty unique and interesting ways to change it up and keep our students interested and focused. We created different ways to create home targets for target practice as well as different pre-made video presentations to work on reaction and timing as best as possible without an actual opponent.

DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL MANTRA? Although I don’t have a personal mantra, I like to tell my students while I’m coaching to “believe it.” It’s important to believe in your actions and what you are doing 100% in order to succeed.

WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO THE MOST? For various situations I have different people that I look up to or admire. Admiring people, to me, is similar to fencing in that I like to find different actions, preparations or behaviors and put them together in my own unique way in order to help create the best version of myself.

TELL US ABOUT THE WORST BOUT YOU’VE EVER HAD AND HOW YOU LEARNED FROM IT. I was a pistol-grip fencer. But for one season in my junior career, I fenced with French grip because I felt stuck with where I was as a fencer at that time and wanted to try something different. During one bout at a German national competition, I was leading by three points in a bout to make the top eight. At the break I turned to my coach and told him “I can’t do it”; he was very confused as to

why I was saying this because I was leading by three points. But at that moment I had lost all belief in my fencing and felt I needed to take the blade to win, something French grip fencers don’t typically do. My coach tried to convince me I didn’t need the blade to score, but I went into the next period and was unable to score again, inevitably losing the bout. At that moment I had lost all belief in myself and my fencing. However, after the bout, I realized that whatever was going on in my head at the time just got the better of me in that particular moment. My opponent hadn’t changed anything, instead I went into that next period with the wrong mentality. And from that point on I learned that you have to believe in yourself in the moment and question yourself later. Because without believing in yourself and your fencing you are not going to be able to win. I then went back to fencing pistol grip for that next season and enjoyed my best fencing for the rest of my career.

IF YOU HAD TO FENCE A DIFFERENT WEAPON THAN YOUR CURRENT ONE, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY? If I had to fence a different weapon other than epee it would be saber for sure. I love the speed of saber fencing and the challenge of having to make an important decision in a split second. Which is obviously the opposite of what we mostly do in epee where we typically take a lot of time to prepare.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT? I am looking forward to the two World Championships coming up for the cadets AND juniors in Dubai and for the seniors in Egypt. It will be exciting to lead the women’s epee team in these two major events. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS? In five years, I see myself preparing our team for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. We will be starting the qualification phase, and I’m super excited since we have a great group of women’s epee fencers and a lot of young talent coming up right now.

WHY DO YOU FENCE? I fell in love with fencing because it teaches you how to fight for something you want in a very sportsmanlike and respectful way. I think fencing can be for everyone no matter what their strengths or weaknesses are because the sport is so rich and includes the best of both physical and mental aspects. Fencing also gives you a chance to travel the world, get to know different cultures and make lasting connections and friendships. I wanted to be a coach to help give this change and experience to fencers and help them to grow as people.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A NATIONAL COACH? AND WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED FOR? It feels great to be given the chance to work with the women’s epee team as national coach. I worked with many of these women during many different international competitions leading up to this point and I am so excited to lead them to perform on the highest stages in the fencing world.

ARE YOU THE SECOND WOMAN IN U.S. HISTORY TO BE A NATIONAL COACH? Yes, I am. The first female national coach was Nat Goodhartz. Although I do not know her personally, I have heard that she is an excellent coach! And I’m grateful to keep paving the way for more female coaches to take on top coaching roles and responsibilities. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE FEMALE REPRESENTATION AMONGST THE NATIONAL COACHES? I think that it is great for women, especially young girls, to see that it is possible to achieve anything if they are willing to work hard and give it everything they’ve got.

HOW DO WE PAVE THE WAY TO EMPOWER MORE WOMEN TO COACH? I hope to be able to lead by example to empower more women to step up and become strong and capable coaches.

DO YOU APPROACH COACHING WOMEN DIFFERENTLY THAN MEN? No, I do not approach coaching women differently than men. At Alliance Fencing Academy I coach both, women and men. Additionally, I coached the junior men’s epee team at the 2020 Pan American Championships in El Salvador. I try to personalize my coaching to every fencer best I can regardless of their gender.

HOW DO YOU ENVISION THE ROAD AHEAD FOR TEAM USA? The road ahead for Team USA looks fantastic! We have a great team of coaches and staff who are excited and willing to work their hardest to improve our athletes. We have a super-strong, next generation of athletes coming up who are starting to make an impact in the senior world circuit. We want to focus on bringing fencers from the cadet level all the way up to our top senior fencers together more often to create a great team cohesion. We want the young fencers to be included in order for them to learn for our top senior fencers. I believe that this is the most important part of the path ahead for Team USA as we gear up for Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.