En Garde
VOLUME TWO
THE BEGINNING JOURNEY OF A SELF-PROCLAIMED FENCER
I do believe in one of my past lives, I was an 18th century French nobleman, parading around in knee length pants, a bright-hued waistcoat with braided gold trim, accompanied by a wide brimmed hat with the matching poofy feather and a shiny sword. I like to think that I was categorized somewhere between a musketeer and Louis XIV. My fascination with this time period, magically appeared and I found myself soaking up every morsel of information that I could get my hands on. I'm drawn to any movie set in this time period and it was an absolute must to visit Versailles when I lived in Paris for 2 months after I graduated college.
During my period of resetting, I discovered that fencing could be one of my passions. I've learned that passions linger around for an indefinite amount of time, reminding you to honor yourself by indulging in their mysteries and quenching the thirst of fascination. I vaguely recall how many years it had been, I would say more than seven years ago, the thought of taking a fencing class popped into my mind. I now know that these incidents were pings from the Universe, pushing me towards my desires and guiding me down the path of least resistance. I did light research and surprisingly found a fencing studio less than ten minutes from my apartment. This was also another "this is the Universe speaking - follow the bread crumbs" moment that I completely ignored. From time to time, I would visit the website to look at the class schedule or peruse the options for a custom rose gold fencing mask. However, nothing ever stuck and I would always have an excuse as to why I couldn't attend the hour long class that was free for the first time participants; another ignored confirmation from the Universe.
When I finally decided to sign up for the class, they were no longer available; was this also a sign. I then became confused and the thoughts of fencing not being my passion flooded into my mind. I can be impulsive at times, randomly cutting off all of my hair (this just happened weeks ago) or purging half of my belongings and rearranging every piece of furniture in my space. After taking a breath, this felt different, it felt more like a delay and less like a detour – so I waited.
The next time I checked the website, there was a date for the beginners classes. I made a mental note of the date and committed to a plan. However, the date came and went and so did my plan because I forgot to ask Siri to remind me. I managed to remember a week later, but still didn’t pull the trigger. At this point, I knew that this was connected to fear and decided to give myself some compassion.
The Universe is always flowing and sent in reinforcements. One of my clients, Greg came to the rescue. There’s something about Greg, he could be my guardian angel, my future mentor or pure energy from heaven. His presence ignites my inspiration and I always leave our conversations with clarity. Greg arrived to the boutique with Stanley Tucci energy (if you know, you know), it was an unscheduled appointment and I was about to walk out for lunch. We had a quick chat about what we’ve been up to, I picked out a great dress for his wife and we started to talk about life. I shared that I had been on the fence (pun intended), about signing up for my class and he offered to follow up with me the next day to make sure I pulled the trigger. Being a Manifesting Generator, I had no choice but to respond and the answer was a “hell yes”, I wanted to learn how to fence, I wanted to began a weekly physical activity to keep me moving and hell yes, I wanted to allow all of my desires to flood into my life.
My first class started at eleven in the morning on Sunday, which cut into my slow Sunday morning time but I already planned for the schedule change and edited my routine. I had first day of summer break excitement which had me dressed and ready twenty minutes early. The studio is only ten minutes away from my house and on a Sunday, it’s even closer with ample parking. I walked up to the art center, and a sign caught my attention, Kundalini Yoga Class -Wednesdays-Sign Up Online. The Universe was speaking loud and clear. I snapped a picture with my phone - let’s put a pin in that for now.
As I continued down the corridor, the previous class was still in session and I was able to witness what was in store for me. There were students poking at a bust form with numbers labeled at chest and torso press points as well as advanced fencers suited up and attached to scoring machines. I began to get a little nervous, I’ve never participated in a sport where there was one on one contact and now I was about to put on a mask and pretend to stab a stranger.
The other beginners and myself waited on a worn bench, indulged in small talk and watched the intermediate fencers practice their craft. Karolyn, my instructor, came out to greet us and to make sure we were current members of USFA, United States Fencing Association. I was required to join for insurance purposes. Once in the class, we spread out across the room and memories of 8th grade gym class came flooding back. The worn wooden floor planks that randomly squeaked when you moved across it and the awkward moment of choosing a partner for sparring. Most of the class was instructional, Karolyn, explained different types of fencing and gave a brief history of the sport.
I was doing well with the footwork and mastered the en garde position after the third try. Then it was time to buckle up and ride the horse. My instructor, passed out gloves, chest plates, stray-like jackets and the pièce de résistance, the foil. The jacket had a weight to it, there was an awkward back closure. You had step into the front strap that went through my legs and attached in the back. It had an appearance of worn underwear. Once I was situated in the gear we covered more form with the foil.
The moment of truth raised its head and it was time to find a mask and fence. This called for a hair change, my twelve inch coily twists were in a high bun. I liked the way my they cascaded from the mask to inform the class that black girl magic had been activated. I did have a brief freak-out attack, I’m claustrophobic and didn’t realize that the mask was going to be so close to my face. Two deep inhales and a shit ton of courage settled me down and I willed myself into the en garde position and was ready to slay my first opponent.
We did drills of advance, retreat, parry and riposte. Which translates to shuffle forward, then back, tap your opponent’s foil and stick them where the number one was labeled. After a couple of the drills, the realization that I’m out of shape came into focus, moving continuously for more than five minutes warrants a water break. Thankfully, class was officially over before I wiped out and my desire had been fulfilled. I took a handful of selfies in the mirror to make sure this experience happened and I could finally have an Instagram story to post.
After two beginner's classes, I was able to take the intermediate class. I'm learning more advanced footwork, dueling techniques and fencing lingo. The claustrophobia is still there but there's a conversation before I put on the mask, we're starting to become friends. I think fencing just might be one of my passions - I’m excited to see how this plays out!