So, after a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends, family and a whole lot of turkey (even if I was in Canada, where it was merely a typical Thursday), it was time to buckle back down and put some of that consumed protein to use at the Fencing Academy. As my training had gotten slightly sidetracked due to the holiday, I was excited to once again pick up my foil and remind my quadriceps what a real workout is like.
As I sat on the Academy's polished wooden floor, stretching out my legs in preparation for my lesson and running through the lunges, parries and combinations I had learned thus far, I noticed that the other fencing students were apparently reacquainting their bodies with the art of the sword as well. Everyone seemed to take a little longer to warm up, groaned a little louder while practicing their lunges or ran out of breath a little faster than usual. Some serious motivation was needed for everyone in the room.
"Otto," a little voice to my right exclaimed, followed by the patter of little feet across the floor. I looked up to see Theo, the ten-year old fencing dynamo I met back in early October. As I would soon find out, my motivation had just arrived. "Hey, kiddo," I smiled, high-fiving Theo's little hand as he smiled brightly back. "You warming up with me today?"
"Sure," Theo nodded, bobbing his mop of brown hair back and forth as I stood up, working the last of the stiffness out of my calves. We proceeded over to the Tin Men, assumed the en garde position and, standing side by side, began lunging in unison, our foils striking the practice dummies with precise TOCK's. After ten gruelling minutes of decimating the poor dummies with our foils, Theo then volunteered to practice his footwork with me. And so, we both moved over to a fencing lane and began shuffling back and forth for another five minutes. I felt my calves warm up and my cheeks flush as my blood circulation picked up and my muscles began to burn in exquisite pain. My spirits were raised as I increased my pace, spinning my foil in a disengage, a Parry Number Four and a quick lunge.
"You're getting faster," Theo remarked. Hey, even if he was ten years old, a compliment from this mini-Zorro nevertheless gave me some comfort that I didn't look like a complete amateur. "Thanks," I said. "Hey, Theo. Are you going to show me a new move today?"
Theo's smile grew even brighter. Clearly, he was waiting for the next opportunity to show off. He excitedly beckoned me back over to the Tin Men, stopping about fifteen feet from the middle dummy, which Theo and I had affectionately named "Droopy," on account of its sad little fencing helmet that hung precariously from its slumped wooden shoulders.
"Today," Theo announced, puffing out his tiny chest, "I'm gonna teach you la flèche."
"As in 'the arrow'?"
Theo nodded. La flèche, as I found out, is apparently one of the more advanced fencing moves, typically reserved for matches involving the épée rather than the basic foil. Nevertheless, I was excited to learn a new maneuver. Theo began to oscillate his little épée back and forth, a move meant to distract an opponent. From his en garde position, he then stepped off his back foot, transferring his weight to his front foot while extending his sword arm forward in a surprisingly powerful strike.
As he did so, he began to cross his legs, moving towards Droopy with what appeared to be an exaggerated walking stride, which turned into almost a run within less than a second. With blazing speed, he appeared to almost glide towards Droopy, and in one smooth motion, the tip of his silvery blade sunk into Droopy's wooden heart with a resounding THUD. Basically, this move was so named because it resembles the path that an arrow takes to its target and is used primarily as a finishing move, once an opponent's torso has been fully exposed.
"Cool," I whispered in awe.
"Now you try," Theo said. With that, I attempted to imitate Theo's almost flawless style as best as I could. I clumsily oscillated my foil back and forth, probably looking more confused than stealthy. Then, I pushed off my back foot, throwing my sword arm out as I took three wide strides forward, focusing the tip of my foil on Droopy's heart. Suddenly, my vision dropped away as I literally tripped over my own feet. The next thing I knew, my foil clattered to the floor, from which I was staring up at Droopy's helmet. Then, Theo's face appeared into view as he offered me a hand. "Hmmm," he said as I got up, "let's try that again. This time, keep your feet a bit wider apart. Take lighter steps, increase your stride and don't bring your foil up so soon, or Droopy will see it coming."
Once again, Theo demonstrated an astuteness and articulation well beyond his years. I took a deep breath and once again assumed the en garde position. This time, I placed my feet into a stance about a half inch wider and crouched down about a quarter inch more than usual. Once again, I boosted off my back foot, increasing my stride in a Herculean effort to show Droopy who runs this town.
However, Droopy once again had the last laugh. For a split second, I looked down at my feet to make sure that they weren't too close together. In doing so, my sword arm went slightly wide, and my foil missed Droopy's wooden torso entirely. I slammed head-on into the dummy, causing other students in the room to stop what they were doing and let out a sympathetic, "Ooooo!!!" And once again, I found myself staring up at Droopy from the floor. Theo's mop of brown hair slowly crept into my line of sight once more as I slowly got up.
For Attempt Number Three, I relaxed my legs a little more when I lifted by back foot. As I focused my breathing and willed my legs forward, I raised my foil, this time loosening my wrist and narrowing my eyes, focusing the tip of my foil straight at Droopy's heart. I felt my left foot move forward and then my right foot in front of it. I increased my pace, seeing Droopy's torso racing into view. Carefully, I thought. Carefully....
THUD!
The tip of my foil landed in the center of Droopy's chest. I broke out a sweaty smile behind my stifling helmet while Theo let out a victorious cry to my left. I peeled off my helmet and slapped Theo's hand in a high-five. "YAY," he exclaimed. "Nice shot!"
"I have a good teacher, kiddo," I said. We practiced the move for another ten minutes before my instructor emerged from the ladies' locker room and beckoned me over to start our lesson. By this point, my muscles felt warm, relaxed and ready to spar. My breathing was full. I looked around at the other fencers, who were also now moving more quickly and with more agility. I promised Theo that I would practice that move during the week. Theo was excited at the prospect of reviewing my progress.
And once again, I still couldn't believe that I was getting fencing tips from a ten-year old.
And once again, I still couldn't believe that I was getting fencing tips from a ten-year old.
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