Over 400 fencers will take part in the Hong Kong Open Fencing Championships this weekend at Shek Kip Mei Park Sports Centre. Competition takes places in three different weapons epee, sabre and foil with points scored each time you hit the correct part of the body.
bc spoke with the HK Fencing Association (HKFA) and one of Hong Kong’s leading fencers Cheung Siu Lun to learn more about the sport.
How easy is it for someone to pick up fencing, say for example having watched it at the Championship or on tv?
HKFA: Due to the safety issue, it is not recommended to learn fencing without any guidance. Thanks to Blue Cross Insurance who are sponsoring the Championships we’ve got more chances to popularise this sport and give learning opportunities to public.
Is there social fencing or is all about competition?
HKFA: Not really, it’s only competition and learning. The Association conducts many training courses in different level.
What should spectators look for when watching fencing? So they can enjoy it more?
HKFA: It is really an open-ended question, just like people watch soccer. For fencing, it is an exciting competition with lots of technique and skill, it really depends. Audiences can try to know the scoring system firstly, so that they will understand better when watching the competition what the fencer is trying to do and the places on the body to hit for a score. Because scoring is done differently in the three variants of fencing.
Is fencing a unisex sport or can men not fight women? If not why not, from watching fencing on TV brute strength doesn’t appear a big factor to the fencers?
HKFA: It’s because men, in general, are physically superior to women–in terms of physical, athletic performance, usually for professional competition, like other sports, we will separate it to Men and Women fencing.
Are HK fencers limited in their achievements through lack of elite competition?
HKFA: We don’t agree with that, our fencers work very hard and have a great record in the international competition, please kindly refer to the achievement we made: www.hkfa.org.hk/hkach.pdf
Thirty-one year old Cheung Siu Lun is one of Hong Kong’s senior fencers having started in school, Cheung has gone on to represent Hong Kong in multiple tournaments winning numerous medals.
Do you fight in all weapons? Or specialise in one? If one, why did you choose that weapon?
Cheng Siu Lun: At high school when I started to learn to fence the only option was the foil, so there is no chance to learn epee and sabre until latter.
How different are the skill sets and requirements between the weapons?
Cheung Siu Lun: Of course there are some differences in terms of techniques and especially the scoring system. First, these three kinds of categories are pursuit of explosive force, concentration, and control power. For Foil the technical requirements will be relatively high one, because the scoring position is relatively small, while the epee is relatively easy to score, as long as the sword spikes in any part of the body can score. The sabre needs a high explosive force and concentration.
What are the core skills / attributes that differentiate a top fencer from a good fencer?
Cheung Siu Lun: As a successful fencer, time management is important, no matter for his own life or during training and competition. Besides, hard-working attitude and team work spirit is also important. We need to communicate with coach and teammates to establish mutual trust between each other, so that we can build a better team, and to set our own short-term or long-term goals.
Hong Kong Open Fencing Championships
Date: 3-5 December, 2016
Venue: Shek Kip Mei Park Sports Centre
Tickets: Free to watch
More info: www.hkfa.org.hk