Fencing offers great physical and mental exercise
The Russians call it “physical chess.” Tom Ciccarone calls it his life work. It’s fencing, one
From left - Instructors Alex Fotiyer and Andrew Hsieh, student instructors Melissa Tsianes and Michael DeVito, and Tom Ciccarone
of the more under-appreciated sports in the United States. Cicarrone is the owner of Candlewood Fencing Center (CFC) and executive director of the Candlewood Fencing Foundation, which provides funds, equipment, coaching, memberships and various programs for fencers.
Ciccarone left his fish business behind in 1998 to open CFC. To date he has been fencing for 30 years, stepping into the sport recreationally, then competing nationally. Now his focus is on coaching and he teaches about 50 lessons a week. Because Ciccarone is ambidextrous, he teaches both right and left-handed fencing. There are several other coaches at CFC, including Alex Fotiyev, the 1995 and 1996 sabre-fencing champion of the Ukraine. Ciccarone and Fotiyev are also part-time assistant fencing coaches at Vassar College in New York.
Instructors Andrew Hsieh and student Delphine de Vore
Fencing is a unique sport in that it requires great physical and mental strength and acuity. It is also a sport that can span an entire lifetime; Ciccarone’s students currently range in age from eight to over 60. The sport is combat-based but physical contact is not involved.
The flexible swords are what make contact, and when moves are executed properly, fencing should never hurt.
“Fencing is a very physical sport,” Ciccarone said in a phone interview. “You have to be very flexible and very strong. There’s a great calorie burn, and you get a mental workout. It makes your brain strong; it stays pliable, especially as you get older.”
Ciccarone mentioned that in all of his work with senior fencers, not one has hinted at senility. He has also managed to teach non-English speaking students how to fence using only terms of the sport to verbally communicate.
Sudents Cathryn Li and Lyric Lott
There is great diversity in fencing. Girls and boys as well men and women compete. A fencer’s day job might consist of anything from lawyer to plumber to landscaper. Fencing has a huge international following, especially in countries such as Mexico, Cuba, Argentina and Brazil.
The only place where fencing receives little attention and support is here in the United States.
“There are no sponsors, and it’s not televised,” said Ciccarone. “Unless you know how to fence, most people are mystified [when they watch]. It’s fast, it’s scored electronically...on TV, you can’t even see it. If you’re not a team sport, you won’t get sponsorship in this country. Here the team is the model for athleticism.” For Ciccarone, one of the most fascinating aspects of fencing is its age. “Fencing is one of the oldest disciplines–fighting with another human being,” he said. “It’s older than agriculture. There are drawings of fencers on walls in ancient Egypt.
My teacher, master Neil Lazar, taught me, his [teacher] taught him and back and back. What I know goes back to the picture on the Egyptian wall.”
Ciccarone has found that he continues to discover fencing to this day: “When I first started, I thought, ‘This is fencing.’ Then when I won my first tournament, I thought, ‘Oh, this is fencing.’ Then when one of my girls won nationals, I thought, ‘No, this is fencing.’ The thrills I get from fencing are beyond anything. I hope to keep teaching for another 20 years.”
The Candlewood Fencing Center is located at 272 White Street in Danbury. For more information, call (203)778- 0808 or send an email to info@candlewoodfencing. com. Visit the CFC website at CandlewoodFencing.com.
