Exclusive Scoop Coverage by Jiang Lei
Chen Chen was an avid fencer in the National Men's Sabre team from 2006-2007 as well as the Raffles Junior College Sabre team. He helped the college win several gold medals in national competitions such as the Novices tournament and also represented the nation in regional competitions overseas such as the Pesta Sukan tournament. He is currently studying business at New York University.
1. What attracted you to join fencing?
Honestly, I wanted to try something different. Fencing, despite its growing popularity, is still considered a novelty sport. It looked really fun and the idea of sparring with each other really attracted me.
2. Have you done other such sports before? Could you describe your learning experience? Is it a difficult sport for beginners to pick up?
I have not tried such sports before. I would think that martial arts, such as Judo, is similar to fencing, but I have not tried it before. Fencing taught me a lot of things, the most important one being the fighting spirit. Unlike soccer or basketball, in fencing, you are on your own and the only way to get a point is to strike your opponent. It is basically a gentler version of boxing. By gaining fighting spirit, I learnt to build up confidence and courage.
Fencing moves are no more difficult than tennis swings, and it is as physically demanding as basketball. Anyone can pick it up easily. However, the troublesome part is fencing requires slightly more equipment and proper supervision.
3. Why sabre as a weapon of choice? What are the characteristics of a sabre fencer?
Sabre is the most fast-paced among the 3 weapons and it favors attackers more than defenders. The aggression in sabre really gives the adrenaline rush and it is awesome. Sabre fencers are generally more aggressive than epeeist and foilists.
4. What are the more fun aspects of fencing? Any interesting stories to share?
Fencers in Singapore are quite a small and close-knit community. Oversea competitions are probably the most fun aspect; I got to know a variety of people through fencing.
5. Is talent or practice more important in competitive fencing? What are some of your training regimes?
As far as regional competitions go, practice is sufficient. In order to sustain the level of training needed to excel in fencing, interest is paramount. If you don’t like it, there is no way you can force yourself to practice.
My training regimes are 5 days a week. We start with an exhaustive warm up. Now thinking about it, it is kind of ironic that we are given a break after warm-up. After warming up, we spend a lot of times on footwork before taking individual lessons from our coach. After that, we spar with each other. We have physical trainings occasionally. They mainly focus on lower body, such tuck jumps and squats. Stamina is stressed as much as explosive speed.
6. What exposure have you gained as a national fencer? How did it feel like to win your first major competition?
I am able to appreciate fencing as much as a sport as an art. The national coaches (first one is from Romania while the second one is from Russia) not just taught us skills and techniques, but also imparted wisdom from their extensive experience.
For example, fencing scores are judged by the president of the match. Many times, the presiding is not completely impartial and that really enraged me at first. No matter how skillful you are, there is no way for you to score a point if the president is unfair. Things really get worse when you get frustrated with the presiding and this often leads to a vicious cycle where you just mentally give up and blame everything to unfair presiding. However, my coach explained to us fencing is like life. Many times, things are just the way they are and it is the fencer’s responsibility to make the best out of the situation. Now when I encounter unfair presiding, I simply play with the president’s rules to my advantage. I think this habit is useful in life as well.
I won my first major medal in Australia. It was terrific.
7. How has being a competitive fencer benefited you?
I learnt to appreciate a very elegant sport and through the training, I became both physically and mentally stronger.
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