Fencing fun for everyone

SPEED, skill and strategy are essential to becoming a strong fencer, and you can learn the sport from Australia’s former number two player right here in Bendigo.

Greg Stehle has been fencing for some 30 years and is passing his knowledge and experience on to kids and adults as head coach at the Bendigo chapter of the CrossXSwords Fencing Club, based out of the Old Church on the Hill.

“We do introduction to sabre fencing, which is the main weapon we fence here. It is a cutting-edge weapon so you use the edge of the blade as well as the point,” Stehle said.

“To describe it as a sport, it’s similar to the type of exercise like squash, lots of speed, change of direction, timing and distance.

“You need a fair bit of agility and speed to compete in sabre fencing, it’s quite a fast sport.

“There’s a lot of things to do with foot work and using your feet the right way and handling the sword and a lot of tactics involved.

“There’s a lot of mind games going on behind that and you have to build up the actions and blocks so they become second nature so that when it happens in a competition setting it just happens automatically.”

Despite his extensive experience representing the country in about 10 international and commonwealth competitions, Stehle said the club can cater to beginners.

Some of the youngest members are around 10 years old, with the oldest being in their 50s.

“We have people coming in at different points,” he said. “You can come in whenever and join in and we can manage having people at different levels.

“I’ve had some people going for six months or a year and they’re really quite good fencers. Some people it might take longer than that, but it comes down to the commitment of the person.”

“It’s quite an exciting sport and there’s a lot involved in it. If you’re looking for something a bit different, it’s quite intellectually stimulating as well as quite physical, it’s a good sport to get involved with.”

For more information, visit crossxswords.com or search CrossXSwords Bendigo on Facebook.