I Went Fencing With Team USA’s Maia Chamberlain and It Was Better Than “The Parent Trap”

Like many cusp Gen Z millennials, my very first introduction to fencing was by way of the 1998 movie “The Father or mother Lure.” If you have not noticed the motion picture in a whilst, you will find an iconic scene where by twins Hallie and Annie (equally played by Lindsay Lohan), who’d been split up as babies and 11 many years later on wind up at the exact summer time camp, reunite through a fencing match. The scene includes some significant footwork and methods (a la stunt doubles), trash chat, and of class a huge reveal when the masks arrive off, putting the twins experience to face. Fencing with Team USA’s Maia Chamberlain was absolutely nothing like that, of program. But, in some way, it was even far better.

I arrived at the Manhattan Fencing Centre, exactly where Chamberlain on a regular basis trains, on a late Thursday afternoon in June. I was advised to dress comfortably, so I went with a traditional pair of Hokas, leggings, and a tank. On arrival, I checked in with the receptionist, who instantly handed me a h2o. “You might be going to have to have this when you happen to be done,” she reported with a playful smirk.

At that second, I knew that I was potentially in about my head, and started off questioning regardless of whether my obviously uncoordinated overall body would essentially keep up in the course of the lesson. Much too late to back out, I took a sip of the h2o and waited for Chamberlain to get there. Fortunately, she quelled some of my fears from the begin, assuring me we’d be starting up with the basic principles. But then she reminded me we’d be focusing on Saber, just one of three fencing disciplines (Epee and Foil are the other people), and the concern started to creep up again.

Each individual fencing discipline has its have distinct weapon and set of policies. “With Saber . . . you can make slashing movements,” she advised me in the course of our locker area chat. “And I like that a great deal simply because it is very very similar to what you see in media when you have sword preventing. It can be a good deal extra quick-paced and there is certainly genuinely grand actions.” As she was chatting I couldn’t support but consider, “I’m going to slash an Olympian?” Then, an even additional daunting imagined came to mind: an Olympian was likely to slash me.

Inspite of that realization, as the two of us acquired dressed I started off to come to feel much more at relieve, layering on the protective equipment, which included breeches, jacket, and gloves. Then, with out hesitation, I followed her onto the piste or strip, also known as the taking part in region. It was time to get commenced.

What It is really Like to Fence an Olympian

The lesson commenced with positioning, each my system and the sword. Then we obtained into hits and goal regions — with Saber, that consists of the physique from the waist up, which include arms, and head. We also lined various drills, training my innovations and parries (blocks).

I immediately discovered that fencing demands a lot of psychological endurance. You happen to be consistently contemplating about moves and counter moves, attempting to anticipate what your opponent will do following. “I am sure people have instructed you, but it can be pretty much bodily chess,” Chamberlain informed me at the Crew Usa Fencing media working day, just a several months ahead of our lesson. But I failed to have a entire appreciation for it right until I was across from her myself with a saber in hand.

The mental agility is what attracted Chamberlain to the activity in the initial position. Each and every opponent is “like a different puzzle to remedy,” she told PS in May well. Turns out, I’m not a pure fencer, but I seriously appreciated the problem. Every single time we reset, Chamberlain would really encourage me to assault harder, or “test a tummy reduce this time.”

It really is much better to be “solid and wrong” or imperfect in an attack than it is to give a fearful or fifty percent-baked try, Chamberlain informed me, encouraging me to permit go of the worry that was visibly inhibiting my cuts. It truly is a lesson she discovered from her coach and just one that she says has carried into her private lifetime.

As the the two of us walked back to the locker area, I felt fairly very good about myself. While I would not be an Olympic fencer whenever quickly, there’s was anything exceptionally satisfying about owning pushed my mind and human body to new extremes.

It also brought about an unforeseen perception of flexibility. In my day to working day lifestyle, I frequently come across myself policing my thoughts and reactions out of worry of reinforcing stereotypes or currently being misunderstood. But fencing presents up the appropriate to attack with a self esteem and aggression that is usually not afforded to women who seem like me.

In the end, I walked away particularly grateful for the chance and newfound outlet. While probable not an Olympic medal, I are not able to hold out to see what my fencing upcoming holds.

Alexis Jones is the senior wellness and conditioning editor at PS. Her passions and regions of know-how include women’s wellbeing and exercise, psychological health and fitness, racial and ethnic disparities in health care, and long-term circumstances. Prior to becoming a member of PS, she was the senior editor at Wellbeing magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women’s Wellness, Avoidance, Marie Claire, and a lot more.