Approved Fighting at BYU

Posted by Braden

Reason #237 why I like college: fencing club

In high school, I participated in just about every activity I had even the slightest bit of interest in and time for. People used to ask me what I was going to do in college where some of those clubs no longer existed, so I looked up the BYUSA website, saw what looked fun to me, and told them, "I'm not sure--probably fencing club!" School started, and sometime during the first couple weeks of school I saw a sign with the time and place for fencing club that week. I called up a friend to go with me, and we went.

Two and a half months after the start of school, I'm a fencing fiend! No, not really...but I do have a lot of fun attending practice every Tuesday night. Typically we warm up and stretch, do some drills, suit up, learn a new skill and practice it for a bit, then free fence the last half hour or so (practice is 90 minutes long). It has been really fun for me to see just how quickly skills improve on an activity that I've never tried before in my life! And what little boy hasn't wished at some point in his life to be a really good sword fighter?

Dues were only $15, I get to use all of the equipment (mask, vest, foil, and all the equipment for electric fencing), no prior experience was required, and it's a very fun alternative to running for exercise! I have no intention of ever pursuing the sport seriously, but at what other time in my life will I have such easy access to a fencing club, instruction, and equipment? Now if only we had a nunchakus club on campus...