Fencing Families?

[Skyla_Mar]

I wanted to start fencing and my little brothers decided to join after watching a few bouts.
My Uncle fenced and he was on his school's varsity team. From what I heard he was really good.

[KD5MDK]

My girlfriend and I both fence and we're living together in sin. Do we still count?

Yes or no, these days.

It's so nice having someone close to you that's also interested in the sport.

Isn't it though.

[yeoldearmourer]

Yes the Loomis family does fence on and off matter of fact are club is primary made up of the Family. Bill Marx was the sabre fencer of the 3 Marx's. Janet my wife dated Bill Marx for awhile. Brain H. you might know my wife her name at the time was Janet McGrew. Now I stated fencing in the Military and meet Janet at the club on Base and 3 weeks later we were marry. Janet mainly referee now and Adelia fences sabre and referee. Nate fence epee and sabre at West Point and got fencing stared at the prep school in New Jersey. So the whole family has been involed in fencing for a long time now.

[sabreteur]

My brother fenced foil in college. It always seemed like it would be interesting, but I never did anything about it... Until my kid started bugging me to let him take fencing lessons at the gym. It looked interesting, and I figured if I did it with him, he'd stick with it longer.

He quit after a few months but I stuck with it. Three years later I'm fencing sabre four days a week plus taking four or five lessons.

Funny part is now he's taking lessons again and wants to start bouting on Friday nights at the gym.

[Peach]

My daughter started a few years before I did. I've been fencing 12 years now. She was a competitive fencer from elementary school through college and now fences recreationally; I'm still fencing competitively.

[FoilyDeath]

I started back when I was 7. When I was 13 or so and started producing decent results, my brother decided he wanted in on this crazed sport. When he was 8-9, my sister decided it was kind of unfair for us to steal all the glory, and joined up,

My parents still don't have a clue how the sport works. Never had, never will...Oh well.

[SSMSabreMN]

Well I started fencing 2 years ago for my school. My brother tried it this school year but dropped after learning it'd conflict with his hockey schedule. My sister has an interest but is too young to join my school's team so we're going to get her lessons next year if she's still interested. My mom recently picked up a book I had on fencing, fell in love with the way the author described the sport (shes maybe only watched me fence 2 or 3 times...) and has decided she might pick up a class for a few weeks this summer and see how she likes it. My dad, as it turns out, has a friend who fenced competitively in college and has picked up on alot of the terminology and offers a bit of coaching advice as well. I'll have them hooked on fencing in no time!

I'm realizing now that the majority of my friends have ties to fencing as well, if not directly involved. I guess fencers are destined for fencers.

[escrimeur]

My sister started... i joined a year later...and now our younger sister has joined too! All three epeeists! (we wouldn't allow the youngest to fence anything else).

But this leads to some tough competition. the youngest isn't yet competing but last time my middle sister (i'm the eldest) and i were at a competition, our first DE was against each other. the score was 12-13 her with 5 seconds and i got a touch... we went into over time... this has happened on several occasions before.

Our parents keep threatening to start fencing, but never seriously.

[JEC]

My son and I have been fencing for about 8 years. I did a class too many years ago, then my son began fencing at age 7, and I followed him. But I was out doing rehab from knee injury (skiing accident). He has now fenced longer than I. My daughter (now almost 18) has fenced intermittently prob. about 2 years.

[Dedigan]

It looks like the theme in almost all of these stories is that folks decided to start fencing after seeing someone else enjoying it, or by being intrigued by the equipment in a closet, attic, or basement.

Most of the reasons for dropping the sport seem to be because of life and/or other commitments, not for loss if interest or because it wasn't fun any more. It seems you either love it or you're not interested.

I think that speaks volumes for this sport.

We'll see how it goes with my family.

[roguepoint]

There is is no room in our busy week for another activity, so we only make room for the most important ones... and keep crossing blades

[notalent]

The Hristos come to mind, as does Wes Glon and his daughter, and Boris Sokol and his son back in the day. 'Gypsy' Bill Gelnaw, Dick Richards, and Doug Thistlethwaite are examples of the Veteran contingent now with children fencing as well, and rumor has it the next generation of NoFear epeeists is in the pipeline. (so to speak)

What the good doctor leaves out is that her brother also fencers. In my case I had a GF that started me in fencing 22 years ago. My current GF is fencing at UCLA and has been doing well this season. Much to my WE team consternation. There are several fencing families in socal now. I believe that the Runyons have the largest current number at 4. The Bartuzik brothers all fence sabre. The Gegan kids fencer at the world level. and the father is a good Vet fencer. The Gay family has a father son combo.

[teacup]

What the good doctor leaves out is that her brother also fencers. In my case I had a GF that started me in fencing 22 years ago. My current GF is fencing at UCLA and has been doing well this season. Much to my WE team consternation. There are several fencing families in socal now. I believe that the Runyons have the largest current number at 4. The Bartuzik brothers all fence sabre. The Gegan kids fencer at the world level. and the father is a good Vet fencer. The Gay family has a father son combo.

And of course the Demirchians. (Five of them)
Gago, Nana, Gago's Dad Eduard, and Nana's two children, Chris and Alex Mandalian.

[clagen]

Many of the SoCal division regulars were members of fencing families, come to think of it. If you throw OH's into the mix, that covers a very wide number indeed. Although fencingcest is best avoided, I'm quite chuffed I didn't follow my own advice on that one. At this rate, I'm never coming home
Over here, the easiest examples that comes to mind are Richard Cohen, Nat. sabre champion, and daughter Mary, epeeist for GBR, and of course the Pauls, from Leon to Steve. There are many, many others as well.

[Dr Epee]

My high school, back in the late 60's, was the only high school in Maryland that (to my knowlege) had a fencing team. They even had Dick Oles from Hopkins come once a week to coach. I wanted so badly to be on that team I could taste it, but my father wouldn't hear of it. He was a German immigrant and had come from a blue collar background. His father had been a machinist for Mercedes Benz in the 20's. He looked upon fencing as an upper class diversion for rich kids and my wanting to fence was "putting on airs". My dad was not the sort that would brook much argument from his children, but I regret to this day not standing up to him over this.

At any rate, I took some fencing classes in college and really enjoyed it, but after graduation, life kind of got in the way and I didn't pursue it.

Fast forward to 5 1/2 years ago. I had always kept a fascination for fencing and whenever we saw swordplay in a movie or such, I would talk to my kids about my regrets that I didn't do it in high school. It never occurred to me that I could take it up as an adult. Then in 2001, my youngest son, who was 11, called my bluff and told me he wanted to learn to fence and why couldn't I come along too? So we joined a club together and now he's 16 with his B07 in foil and is thinking about fencing in college. I, having fought through 2 shoulder operations, tennis elbow and plantar fasciitis, am still having a blast. I don't do foil anymore because I got tired of being beaten by my kid.

[Miglin]

I'm the first fencer in my family; my mother finds it incredibly boring (my father is not in the picture). However, my younger siblings will not have the luxury of attending the same high school that I did, so if they want to fence, it'll have to wait until they reach college.