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FOIL FUN
Art of fencing finds niche in Gwinnett
By STEVE VISSER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/04/06
Angela Stamm could cut down the toughest linebacker on the Peachtree Ridge High School winning football team. She would simply say "en garde," place her feet and foil his every move.
The linebacker would be wise to plead no contest. Stamm is nationally ranked in the use of two swords, the foil and the epee, the latter made for dueling.
"And they say women don't like violent sports," joked her fencing coach, Robert Fryman.
Stamm, 16, is one of 35 members of Gwinnett's only fencing team, which calls the Suwanee high school home. Last month, she outdueled opponents from Vanderbilt and Memphis State universities to win two gold medals in foil.
"It was the third time we've taken the gold medal in the foil," Fryman said. "Angela Stamm ranks among the best of the fencers I have coached at Peachtree Ridge High School. Her positive attitude, devotion to the sport and support of her fellow team members all contribute to her success."
That is no small praise even at the budding fencing program. Fryman sent two fencers John Choi and Kathy Choi to the Junior Olympics in 2006 and 2005, respectively, and has had 11 fencers nationally ranked.
Fryman watched as Stamm and her teammates mostly women and a few men practiced crossing swords in the school gym. When a saber struck one's throat, the struck party told his foe "now we're even," and resumed the attack.
Their feet moved forward and backward on a long, narrow rug that constituted the dueling ground as they defended themselves from blows and thrusts and tried to score a touch. In a team huddle later, Fryman emphasized the importance of the "lateral transfer" and the "lateral parry."
"If you master these, you become unbeatable," he told the fencers and later explained: "They all find their own style, but we constantly emphasize the fundamentals."
The former college professor brought the martial art to Peachtree Ridge when the school opened three years ago. Fencing provided an avenue for athletes who may not have found a place in the traditional school sports. The 35-member team, he said, has compiled an 11-6 record in tournaments from Charleston, S.C., to Birmingham.
The 52-year-old Advanced Placement world history teacher and fencing enthusiast describes fencing as a sport that requires both an analytical mind "physical chess" he calls it and dexterous feet and hands.
"Quite of few of our students are in the honor society," he said. "They're the ones who enjoy analytical games."
Fencing also requires basic aggression. Its history can be traced back to dueling, after all. Maggie Adams, 17 and a member of the philosophy club, quickly got to the point of why she was attracted to fencing. "You get to stab people, for one thing," she said. "I thought it was cool."
But Fryman quickly points out that the sport, while violent in motion, is largely harmless in terms of injury. Fencers, who are clad in Kevlar and protective headgear, suffer mostly from bruises and twisted ankles, Fryman said. The "weapons" have no sharp points or edges and scoring is done electronically when the swords touch in the scoring zones.
"Fencing ranks among the safest of sports," he said.
The main decision the athletes have to make is the choice of weapons: Do they prefer the superior technique of the foil, the clash of the duel brought by the epee or the flexibility of the saber that allows them to slash and stab their opponents from head to hip?
Scoring comes from "hits," touches on an opponent with a weapon. Each type of weapon requires its own style of fighting and its own scoring zones.
The foil, a light sword, was originally a training weapon for duelists. It requires a superior technique and competitors score by stabbing one another's torsos from shoulder to groin and score nothing for hits on head or limbs.
Fighting with an epee, a heavier sword, more closely resembles dueling. Opponents score by stabbing any part of the body.
"Epee is 'hit wherever you can,' but with foil, you have to find your way in," said Elizabeth Weber, 16, who has mastered both swords. "I compare epee to 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and foil to 'Zorro.' It's more finesse."
Saber clashes mimic the swordsmanship of cavalry attacks and allow combatants, who both stab and slash, to score on hits from the hips to the top of the head.
The first team to score 45 touches with a maximum of five per match wins the competition.
But the combat and contests also breed camaraderie. That might be the sport's main draw. When Weber, Stamm and Adams, all team officers, explain the attraction of fencing, they talk a lot about the friendships they form.
And that's why a group of high school kids from Suwanee can whup up on college students and be invited back to try again.
"We're welcomed everywhere," Stamm said. "It's not like a live-or-die thing. It is excelling for yourself."
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