Known to many as “physical chess,” the air of complexity found within fencing has helped to deliver the sport into modern times and establish it as a popular activity among people of all ages.

The ISU Fencing Club, which meets twice a week, offers students the opportunity to learn the techniques of the game. It also gives them a chance to practice and compete with others of their skill level. Students pay a fee of $15 per semester in return for all the provided equipment, lessons and coaching.

Fencing is one of the world’s oldest sports. Centered around two people dueling with stabbing weapons along a straight path, fencing involves beating your opponent with clever footwork and swordplay.

Combining elements of art, dance and competitive strategy, various forms of the activity can be found reaching back as far as 1200 B.C.

One of the unique aspects of fencing is that it doesn’t take one type of athlete in order to participate. Instead, the sport becomes a task of learning new skills and motions.

James Boyle, freshman in forestry, said some of the concepts – mainly the footwork – were challenging for him at first.

“It’s all new footwork and motions that you aren’t used to. In the beginning you basically learn how to walk again,” Boyle said.

Aside from the obvious skill curve that comes with every athletic learning process, fencing has a kind of guts curve beginners must learn to get past when engaging in artistic combat.

Boyle said he was fairly intimidated when he had to start applying what he learned and first started to fence against another person.

“The first time you have someone with a sword coming at you, you kind of get freaked out, but you sort of learn to deal with it,” Boyle said.

Club president Sarah Shiley, graduate student in materials science and engineering said the sport shouldn’t seem intimidating, because in reality more injuries are sustained by other common sports such as soccer and football. However, she said she started out feeling like most do.

“For my entire first year, every time I was on the strip and someone attacked me, I would flinch and close my eyes,” Shiley said.

Colin McChesney, freshman in mechanical engineering and armorer for the fencing club, has the most experience in the club and said he tries to use his experience to help teach newer members.

“Since I’ve been fencing the longest, I try to share my knowledge with everybody. I don’t try to beat them down or anything like that,” McChesney said.

What many people might not know is that there are three different styles of fencing, determined by the type of cutlass used in combat. The rules of the game – more specifically, the target areas of the body legal for scoring – vary according to the style.

Such rules are made for the purposes of simulating the live situation of sword fighting.

“If your opponent is attacking you and you just merely counterattack, your opponent would get the point. If this were a real duel, you would want to stop them from killing you before you try to kill them back,” Shiley said.

McChesney said the main focus of the fencing club lately has been recruitment of new members.

“I would like to see this club grow. The more people you have, the more the knowledge base grows and the faster everyone learns,” McChesney said.

Shiley said this year in particular the drive has been toward getting new people to come and learn the sport.

“We have several members who have several years of experience, but what we’re lacking is people who come in for the semester and want to learn,” Shiley said.

Boyle said his decision to join the club was based on his wanting to get involved in something new and different.

“A couple friends of mine went to ClubFest and they thought it looked cool, so I went along with it,” Boyle said.

A team tournament is scheduled for April 29 in room E202 of the Forker Hall as the last event for the club. The club will also have its own display booth during Veishea.