Image: Juan Aguilar and Donovan Wilson strike their swords in a dueling match at practice.
Story by Kellie Heron | Translation by Rodolfo Fabela | Photos by Adelena Vera
Inside the Dugan Wellness Center, one of the gyms transforms into an arena where two opponents with a sword in hand stand equilateral distance apart staring each other down, for a duel is a-bout[1] to commence. Each is wearing a helmet in the form of a dark metal strainer and is covered in white from shoulder-to-toe with an electrical wire attached to the jacket holding the fate of each competitor as a digital clock stands with three minutes to count down. The French phrases “prêt” and “allez” mold the two individuals into snowy crab-like figures, remaining light on their feet with the agility of jack rabbits lunging at one another while the sounds of shoes scrape across the gym floor. Welcome to the world of fencing, through the eyes of the Fencing League at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
The Fencing League planned to compete February 3 at a two-day tournament in San Antonio but was unable to due to a mishap with paperwork. Club organizations are advised to turn in paperwork to Dugan Wellness Center a month prior to the travel date. In writing, it says to turn in paperwork 5-7 days in advance, but Dugan prefers a month, as the travel paperwork is then processed by the University Police Department which can take up to 2-3 business days. Club President Donovan Wilson, a junior, has been fencing for five years and has been with the Fencing League for a year after transferring from a community college. Before moving to Corpus Christi, Wilson trained with the Galveston Fencing Club throughout high school for a couple years while in the community. “I took over for the club because a lot of our members are still green; in a sense, this is still their first time doing it,” Wilson said, and he doesn’t want to throw “them out straight into the wolves.” Wilson is referring to other colleges as the wolves, most notably Rice University Fencing Club, which is ranked fourth in the nation for fencing. Wilson said he has “a little lust going up against them.” Wilson initially joined fencing in high school just to earn credits for P.E. but grew to enjoy the sport. The formation of a rivalry with a seven-foot Galveston former teammate of Wilson’s helped to push Wilson’s love for the sport even more after repeatedly losing 5-0.
“He had a wingspan like an eagle, and he would just swamp [me],” described Wilson. “I started watching his matches, finding his ticks, seeing how he moves, what little things that he does that leave an opening and eventually I started slowly finding my way up there.”
The history of fencing has been dated as a form of dueling earlier than the Renaissance, before the invention of mainstay firearms. Modern fencing are one-on-one duels taking inspiration from the 1700s-1800s. In the Modern Age, there is about a 3% chance in a year of people dying from fencing. “It’s usually because of armor malfunction(s),” said Wilson. There are three different styles of fencing that were based on their reflective period, sword shape, and size. They are called Foil, Sabre, and Épée. Foil and Épée are the same size with 90 centimeter (about the length of a baseball bat) blades and Sabre swords are the shortest with an 88 centimeter blade. “My favorite style is Épée,” said Wilson as he has had the most training with Épée. For Épée, the objective is to get a total of five points within the three-minute rounds and target spots are full body including head which all count for the same one point. For Foil, the target spots are torso and groin. In Sabre, the target area is everything above the waist, including arms and head. Vice President Novalon Trevino, a sophomore who has been fencing for two years said, “[i]t’s harder to score,” referring to Sabre. The Fencing League has not participated in any tournaments for the fall 2023 semester, due to a shortage of players as many members graduated. Fencing is an independent sport based on one-on-one duels, but competes in tournaments adding the team aspect. “Over the course of a semester, you get closer and closer to people,” Trevino explained. “Even during competitions and there’s two days that we’re together.”
Club member Alex Gray, a freshman who joined the Fencing League this semester and still considers herself “green”, noted how she was initially scared to try out the fencing club because it was out of her comfort zone, but has gained confidence. “They’ve made a place where I feel safe to not be good at something,” said Gray.
The Fencing League is open to all ages for training but only competes at the collegiate level. The club is planning to participate in Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association (S.W.F.I.A) on March 23 at the University of Texas in Austin. The Fencing League at TAMU-CC practices in Dugan Wellness Center from 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays in the Izzy room (#117) upstairs and in the back gym from 3-5 p.m. on Saturdays. “This game is milliseconds in millimeters,” said Wilson. “And I really do think anyone who does fencing, they will find a betterment of themselves.”
Work Cited
NBC Olympics. (2021, March 15). Fencing 101: Glossary. Paris 2024 Olympic
Games. https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/fencing-101-glossary [1]Bout means an
assault where score is kept. Fencing Terminology https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/
fencing-101-glossary