52 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} her childhood in Ukraine. “From a young age, I saw my dad’s épée in the closet.” She started lessons at 12. “Pretty soon, I got to the National Cadet team and Juniors team. So I fenced in the European championships, world championships, got some world cup medals, a European championship medal,” she says without freedom in their choices. I try to teach them the basics in the beginning … And then they try to style and to progress in the way that works best for them.” She also peppers lessons with well-timed jokes and tales from her own experiences as a young fencer to keep the class engaged. Beyond their coaching responsibilities, Olga and Maksym divvy up tasks to keep their club thriving. While Olga organizes schedules, oversees the coaches and handles construction projects, Maksym develops the business and plans for upcoming competitions. “My husband travels a lot internationally because we have students who compete internationally. Our daughter, every two or three weeks, she goes to Europe,” Olga says, adding that their son also competes in regional and national competitions. “Fencers, they travel a lot.” There are plenty of opportuniPHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: MAXIMUM FENCING much ado. The competition circuit was also where she met her husband. A fierce competitor in his own right, Maksym holds 25 national titles and six Ukrainian National Championship victories. Maximum Fencing’s international roster of coaches mirrors the sport’s popularity in Eastern Europe. “We have a lot of coaches from Ukraine and one from Jordan,” shares Olga. She adds that on the Peninsula, “most of the club owners are Ukrainians, or somehow connected to the Soviet Union, because after the Soviet Union broke up in the 1990s, a lot of coaches immigrated here and opened clubs.” Olga herself earned her doctorate in sports from the National University of Physical Education and Sport in Ukraine, and later coached Division 1 athletes on Stanford University’s Varsity Fencing Team. As for Olga’s coaching style? “Very democratic, maybe even liberal,” she says. “I give kids a lot of
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