“En guard, ready? Fence!,” is how junior Charlie Frail begins his favorite sport, fencing.

Frail explained, “The sport combines speed, agility, presision, flexibility and balance. The goal is to land a touch on the opponent by hitting them with the end of the weapon.”

Frail discovered his uncommon talent in the 7th Grade.

“I’m the kind of person that will try anything that draws my interest. Fighting with swords? C’mon, tell me that doesn’t sound interesting,” Frail said.

He added, “A friend of my parents is a fencing coach so it wasn’t too hard to get involved.”

After training, learning the rules of the game and learning the rules for each of the three legal fencing weapons he was ready to compete.

“I’ve gone to nationals in Louisville, KY and San Jose, CA. Those tournaments are insane; they’re the biggest in the world. Fencers from not just around the country, but from around the world go to nationals to compete,” Frail said.

He also competes in local tournaments.

Frail has learned the most important component to fencing is speed.

“People who haven’t fenced before will watch a match and not have a clue what is going on,” Frail said.

He said, “The sport relies so heavily upon both preparation and reaction. A point may only take three or four seconds, but within that amount of time, there are countless moves occurring. Most of which contain little to no thought, but are rather just instinct to the experienced fencer.”

Frail added, “It’s just always intrigued me that the smallest decision, made in a fraction of a second, can have such a dramatic effect on the entirety of the game.”