Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: LIFE

Aledo freshman James Slape waits patiently for his opponent's move in Stoval Hall Thursday night.

An audience hears the clinking sound of metal as two combatants move, both masked, aiming to kill, but no one is alarmed.
The NT Fencing Club brings together a wide range of talent from 7 to 10 p.m. Monday and Thursday nights in the mirror-lined room 175 of Stovall Hall.
Few clubs at NT can boast having a three-time Junior Olympiad practicing beside someone who has just picked up fencing equipment for the first time only months before.
Bedford junior Trevor Riegelman, a Junior Olympiad, returned to the sport at NT after learning the club existed.
"I wanted to get back into it," he said.
Flower Mound sophomore Danielle Tarver joined in the fall and said she enjoys the club immensely.
Christi Madsen, a Denton senior and president of the club, came to NT with no thought of fencing, but was invited by a friend.
"I was really surprised because I actually didn't know that people still fenced," Madsen said.
Former president Curtis Rochelle said the club is one of the oldest on campus, with records of its existence dating back to 1941.
The club competes at Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association tournaments and other tournaments throughout the school year.
"Our main épéeist is almost always ranked 1st or 2nd at 'SWIFA' tournaments," Riegelman said.
The club owns three pairs of scoring machines, allowing for only six people to use them during practice.
When the machines are in use, the rest of the group works on form, technique and other blade work.
Some club members own their own equipment, but the club provides for the rest.
"Usually we'll have enough for everyone to have a blade," Madsen said.
Despite not having enough equipment for the members, anywhere from 15 to 25 people attend practices regularly, rotating in when they can.
"You really have to train very hard to get the right instincts and muscle memory," Rochelle said.
The idea that one can always keep improving was echoed several times by club members.
"It really takes a lot of strategy," Madsen said. "It's kind of like mental chess."
The club costs $10 to join. Compared to the $50 or more charged by other schools, Riegelman said, it is a bargain.
The club allows students to come to one or two practices before paying their dues so prospective members can try out the sport, and the club provides all the equipment needed to practice.
"It reminds me a lot of [color] guard," Tarver said. "The people are really unique and different."

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