Fencing in the United States gives fencers a letter rank, with an A being the highest grade a fencer can receive. There are currently only five A-ranked fencers in Arizona. Two each in Tucson and Phoenix, plus Flagstaff’s first Parker.

Parker qualified for the national competition on April 21 after winning a gold medal and accolades at a regional tournament at Goodyear. Unlike other sports, fencing, including this competition, his tournaments often involve competitors of all ages, including adult fencers. So will the Summer National Championships, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona for the first time since 1987.

Parker said he started fencing when he was 10 and fell in love with the sport within a few years of starting. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the club where he participates in training.

“In 2018-2019, I started competing in quite a few competitions in the state,” he said. “I started to really focus on improving fencing when [my coach] Charlie and some of the other great fencers here have slowly started earning my rating. ”

The Flagstaff Chapter of the Southwest Fencing Club meets twice a week at the local YMCA. The club was founded in 2012 by Mr. Charlie King, who realized that there was no fencing group for him in Flagstaff, with the aim of providing a means for locals to get into fencing and train together. .

About 20 fencers come to the YMCA gym for training and practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Clubs provide equipment to make participation more affordable. These fencers are particularly focused on fencing with the épée (sword in French), as King said épée has simpler rules than the other two types of fencing (foil and sabre). Epee is scored entirely by touch, not by the referee’s decision.

King said the bout was a game of stamina and thinking, with several bouts one after the other, leaving fencers out of the competition.

According to Parker, the most similar sport is boxing. Two fencers (wearing the sport’s white suits and gridded masks as protective clothing) face each other in an area, or “strip,” separated by panels of lighted indicators.

Each of them had a cord attached to a Kevlar jacket, one end attached to a panel and the other to an epee hilt, and a sensor at the end of the sword signaled a light and beep when pressed against an enemy. I will

Matches move quickly, with each player using a combination of tactics and reflexes to tap their opponents in an epee (similar to tag, King said).

“I think what really appeals to me is the intensity of things. The combination of the tactical analysis required and the intensity of the action is very unique to fencing. Only martial arts,” Parker said. It’s very similar to martial arts in that it’s about using your head and knowing when to go super hard and intense, as well as when to keep your pace. ”

Parker will compete in the Summer National Championship tournament in Phoenix the first week of July. For more information on Flagstaff fencing, please visit: swfencing.com/flagstaff-branch-1.