54 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} stand & fight maximumfencing.club PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: MAXIMUM FENCING lessons is in her 70s. “She’s in great shape!” Over her own lifetime, Olga’s appreciation for the artistry involved in this sport of swords has only deepened. “It’s art because you have to create—you have to create every touch … Also you trick your opponent. It’s like the art of theater, the art of tricking,” she reflects. “And it’s very important to be physically fit. So it’s also the art of making your body perfect for the sport.” For those ready to join this dance of steel, Maximum Fencing has a blade for you. ties for athletes to shine in a sport that spotlights speed, strength, strategy, flexibility and coordination. When steering students toward the discipline best for them, Olga looks at a few criteria. Often, it’s “tall to the épée, short to the foil, super-fast to the sabre,” she says. This lets students play to their strengths. Typically, “If you’re not very tall, but you’re short, your coordination is better. Tall people, they have advantage in the length of their arms and reaching their points first.” But then you’ve got to factor in the mind games. “Sometimes you can compensate for your physical abilities with your mental abilities,” Olga observes. “So if you’re not so fast, but you’re very smart, you can still beat an opponent who’s very fast.” A sharp-witted competitor, “sees you. He understands what you are going to do, he understands your actions,” she describes. “So you have to overthink, like in chess.” Recently, Maximum Fencing’s competitive students traveled with Maksym to level up their skills at a training camp in Poland. The camp drew athletes from as far as Great Britain, Italy, Finland, Ukraine and Cyprus—meaning they confronted vastly different styles on the fencing strip. “When you come back and compete nationally here, it’s pretty easy for you,” Olga notes. And it’s never too late to start. “Fencing, actually, it’s a lifetime sport,” says Olga. Unlike gymnastics or football, it doesn’t take a toll on your body. One of her students taking weekly private
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==