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Fence Yourself into a Fulfilling Sport

ust about every major city has a fenc- ing club, though their image is far re- moved from the high-profile raunchiness that surrounds most other sports. So is it for the Sunny Fencing Club in Beijing, which has been quietly but effectively developing since its founding in early 1999.

Located at Beijing Yuetan Sports Center, the club is a professional fencing gymnasium with its own bright, customized training hall, international standard equipment and top-class coach. As with any social sporting club, fencing is a great leveler, though competition is rarely less than intense, including during practice sessions.

While the goal of today's fencing is not, as in olden times, primarily to actually kill your opponent, modern training provides all the skills and knowledge necessary to do just that. But just in case of accidents during the fast-paced competitions, fencers must wear special protective clothing including a padded jacket, a wire-mesh helmet and gloves. In addition, the tips of their weapons are blunted by small, non-penetrating knobs.

At the Sunny club, three types of sword are used: the foil, epee and sabre. The foil is the lightest, used mainly for "stabbing" and more popular among women enthusiasts. It is also ideal for training in swordsmanship.

The epee is a much heavier weapon, while the sabre-only recently approved for women at competition level-is a cutting sword and, say its users, the best for providing fun. Not surprisingly, it is also the most popular weapon at Sunny.

Fencing, said a club spokesman, is the art of using a sword skillfully both in attack and defense. The object in competition is to score a certain number of "touches" on your opponent within a strict time limit. Enthusiasts claim the sport to be essentially "gentlemanly" in terms of the respect engendered between competitors. But it also rates with any more physical sport in letting you vent the frustrations born of city life.