In the Fall of 1967 my Freshman year in college my buddy said we should try out for the Fencing team. Fencing? You mean with the swords and all that swashbuckling stuff? Sure why not he said. Well number 1, we have never fenced before in our lives and number 2 -wait there doesn't even need to be a number 2 we've never fenced before you moron. But they're holding tryouts, no experience needed, he said. Being athletic most of my life I thought we could give it a shot. What's to lose anyway. Could be fun. No experience it said. Ok let's do it.
So we showed up and went through the preliminary program learning the basic fundamentals of fencing. It was a lot of hard work let me tell you. My muscles ached for days after each practice. Then one day the coach put up the list of people who made the cut for the team. Oh my-- I made it and so did my buddy! And not only did we make the team , we made the varsity as opposed to just the Freshman team. That was the first year they allowed Freshmen to play the varsity. The Lew Alcindor rule. Before he became Kareem. You know. Anyway I turned out to be pretty good fencing foil. The lightest of the swords. The one that bends real easy. The epee is built like the foil only thicker. It doesn't bend as easy. The saber is the third sword and is 3 sided built for slashing and scored differently.
Once in awhile we practiced with the women's team. But there was never enough protective equipment for everyone so of course the women got the chest protectors. So then we were paired boy-girl, boy girl with the women instructed to thrust and hit on the guys hipbone where we wouldn't feel it. I always seemed to draw the same young woman who when thrusting never could find my hipbone but instead hit me right above the hipbone in the soft part of my flesh just below the ribcage. It hurt, ok-and no amount of encouraging her to aim better seemed to help. I dreaded those practices.
Then our actual season started and one of our matches pitted ourselves with the number 1 rated team in the country. Our cross town rivals Wayne State. I was excited! Now I'm short for fencing at 5'9" but I made up for it by being very quick. I easily defeated much taller opponents which is why I made the varsity. So when I looked at my opponent I was shocked. He was shorter than me. About 3 inches shorter. I didn't know whether it was advantage to me or not. Maybe he was quicker. Well I found out "quick" enough. He was lightening fast! The match was over in minutes. I had managed to get in 1 touch only to his 4. The player to get 4 touches first wins. So I walked back to the bench dejected head held down. But as I got to the bench my teammates were all standing and clapping and cheering! What?--you guys he slaughtered me 4-1.Yes we know they said but you got one touch. So? I said. So they said no one has ever got a touch against him all year. You were the first they said. He was ranked number 1 in the country.
I had to quit the team later that year. It got to be too much traveling by city bus cross town to and from practices and I found that I was flunking most of my classes. The coach wept bitter tears but what could I do? I'm not going to college to be a fencer. What kind of career can you have as a fencer? A coach? Of course he told me he thought a lot of my abilities and said I would probably be ranked 1 or 2 in the country by senior year. Cold comfort if I can't pass my classes. And the athletes do get special treatment. I know I flunked my poly sci course. I drew a blank for the final yet still she gave me a "D". Now I know why all the basketball players were in my classes. En garde!
Stay tuned.
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