En garde – fencing squad heads to Commonwealth Games

FOUR members of Maestro Fencing School in Morningside will jet off to London to represent South Africa at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships in August.

Elri Marais (29), Nicci Ramshaw (27), Mitchum Blakeman (33) and Aidan Johnson (15) will be competing in sabre fencing. They are currently raising funds and looking for sponsors to help them on their way.

“There are three different weapons in fencing: épée, foil and sabre. Each weapon has different rules and different target areas,” explained Blakeman who is currently ranked 4th in the senior men’s category.

In a fencing bout, competitors wear electric jackets which are connected to a ‘score board’ – if a competitor’s opponent strikes their suit, a light will go off to signify the point.

“Épée is the easiest weapon to understand – it’s a thrusting weapon. The whole body is a target area. If both lights go on, both competitors get a point; if one light goes on, one person gets a point. With sabre and foil, it depends on who starts the movement and who executes the movement correctly without their opponent interfering,” said Blakeman.

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“Épée is like a long-distance run, foil is a middle-distance run and sabre is your 100m sprint,” added modern pentathlon athlete, Nicci Ramshaw, who took up fencing in 2014. She is now ranked in 5th position in the senior women’s category.

Fencing is played in bouts, which are timed according to the various weapon speeds. The aim is to score 15 points before one’s opponent.

“Sabre is the fastest weapon, so bouts are not timed. With foil and épée, there are three bouts of three minutes each. If no-one reaches 15 points, whoever has the highest points at the end of the time period, wins,” said Blakeman.

For Ramshaw, the speed of the game is what makes it a physically and mentally demanding discipline.

“You have to be very strategic with your moves. Fencing is referred to as the physical form of chess. With sabre, it is such a fast game, you have to pre-plan what you are going to do to score your point. If something changes and it doesn’t go your way, you have to be able to quickly adapt in a split second,” said Ramshaw.

Blakeman described fencing as a conversation – one person will ‘speak’, and the other can only ‘interrupt’ according to the safety rules.

“The weapons used are blunt. Fencing evolved from training for military personnel into a sport,” said Blakeman.

While the weapons used are no longer lethal, Blakeman said competitors still end up with welts and bruises, which is why there are strict guidelines to regulate the weapons used.

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Muscle memory

Elri Marais has been fencing on and off since 2007, taking a few breaks to complete her studies. She is currently ranked in 7th position in the senior women’s category.

“The positions and movements are so engrained – it’s like muscle memory. You do get a little rusty, but you easily pick it up again,” she said.

While fencing might seem like a male-dominated sport, Marais said it is actually one of the few sports where men and women compete against each other.

“Fencing is one of the only sports I’ve ever done where I can confidently compete with men, because it’s not so much about upper-body strength. It’s more about outwitting your opponent. I’ve always felt it’s a great sport for women,” she said.

Youngest member of the London-bound team, Adrian Johnson, was inspired to take up fencing in 2018, after watching the sport in the 2016 Olympics. He is ranked third in the cadet category and second in the junior category.
“One of the reasons I enjoy fencing is because of how different it is to most sports. I am not a runner, so I don’t enjoy most school sports, but fencing relies more on reactions – it’s a really interesting sport to do,” he said.

Johnson said he has a pre-existing condition that presents a challenge.
“I have a collapsed arch in my foot which means I’m prone to Achilles tendinitis. I also have a locked hip. One leg is significantly longer than the other, which makes balance difficult for me,” he said.

Despite these setbacks, Johnson has excelled in the sport, climbing to tied-second-place ranking in the U17 category. He said the sport requires a lot of time and effort to maintain fitness and stamina.

The team of four are looking for sponsors to help them in the self-funded trip. To sponsor the team or for more information, contact Maestro Fencing Club on 073 642 7430 or email, mitchumblakeman@gmail.com.

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