Two years ago, I took my first steps into a sport that has come to be a major part of my life. I was always one of those geeky guys who played with swords and wanted to learn sword fighting. So when my school suddenly started advertising a Fencing Club, I was stoked. I convinced a couple of my friends to come with me and join this new club. And that was how it started.

It didn’t take long for me to start having fun with it. We were barebones, but we made do with what we had. We worked hard, and struggled quite a lot, especially against a school foundation that did not support us in the least. Soon, I was doing my best to help the founders of this club run our organization, and after they left, I took over.

It’s hard for me to describe exactly how my feelings for Fencing developed, but I am sure it is common for anyone who participates in a sport or hobby that they thoroughly enjoy. It started out slow, me having fun at our practices, slowly learning the little nuances of the sport, but as the months went by, my interest grew deeper. I researched tactics online, or found myself practicing my basic form while I was at work. Advance, advance, retreat, advance, parry, lunge. My abilities increased, and by my second year, I was winning our club wide tournaments, and being pushed by my coach to compete in USFA tournaments. I even started to teach the new batch of recruits we had each year, becoming the club’s assistant coach.

I worked tirelessly to try and make this club what my dream for it was, and I did all ofthis because of how much I enjoyed the sport, and what it meant to me. When I am out there on the strip, it is like its own form of peace. I am relaxed, and can let my worries fade away. All that matters is the situation going on in front of me. A deep breath, and I’m at peace. Each movement becomes fluid with my reaction. I don’t need to think, or focus, I just let it happen.

Feeling like that is bliss to me. I love it, and I love this sport. The politics around it, and what I have to do to maintain it may drive me crazy, but it is all worth it for how I feel out there.

I’ll never regret joining this club, because it has been a gift to me. All the work, all the effort I’ve put in. The money I’ve spent, the stress it has given me, I wouldn’t take back any of it if I had to lose this club. I wish with the utmost sincerity, that this little club will grow and grow, to become something great at my school, and even beyond that.

So the real point of this article is to be a thank you. I want to thank the people who are responsible for allowing me to have this major part of my life, and introducing me to something that I never thought I would have been a part of.

Brittney, Codey, Chad, and Dr. Howell.