It's not to the death anymore

by Tracy Irwin

Despite the formality and emphasis on a sporting attitude, when the referee says "Fence!" the determined effort of the fencers is intense. Sometimes they burst into fierce action, and other times, their foils hang tentatively in the air as they size each other up, savoring the duel. 

Eric Ricketts, the instructor at the Chico Creek Fencing Center in Chico, said it is important to change the tempo between fast and slow when fencing.

"You might be really fast, but there's always someone faster,"  he said.

This is why strategy and technique are such important elements of the sport and also part of the appeal.

One of the students at the center, Sara Clerk, decided to try fencing after a couple girls at her high school started doing it. Clerk said, "It's the most wonderful sport because you really have to think."