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The Art Of Fencing With Jack Nop

photo by Marcie Bolton

photo by Marcie Bolton

Tuesday March 27, 2012

By Marcie Bolton

With white suit and chainmail mask Jake Nop looks like a medieval dueler especially holding a three and a half foot sword.  Nop, 16, of Middlebury, is a competitive foil fencer, part of the growing Vermont Fencing Alliance.  

Nop got hooked on fencing after seeing a presentation about the sport at the school he was attending at the time.  He decided to give it a try.  While he also played little league baseball he soon tired of team sports and decided to focus solely on fencing, practicing 3 times a week for the Vermont junior team. Jake focuses on the foil style of fencing mainly.  His favorite session of his practices is the one-on-one practice which he does with his coach Viveka Fox.  She started the Middlebury Vermont Fencing Alliance in 1992 and then started the Charlotte group in 1997.  A fencer herself, she competed as an all-Ivy fencer and was the North Atlantic women’s foil champion, and has over 30 years of fencing experience.

There are three types of fencing; foil, epee and sabre.  Nop describes his specialty- foil fencing as "a game of living chess and a great game of strategy.”  He goes on to say, “It is very satisfying to fool someone when you are defending yourself," adding that the film the "Princess Bride," is a great example of foil fencing.

Foil fencing is a traditional lunge, perry and thrust style.  Points are scored only with the tip of the weapon and only on the front or back of the torso via an electronic scoring device which worn by the fencer which is wired to a score board.  The foil fencing style is a gentlemanly style of back and forth where only a single hit can be scored at a time.

The epee style of fencing different from foil because you can hit anywhere on body, opponents may do it simultaneously to score.  The epee weapon is heavier.  There are not as many starts and stops as foil fencing.

Sabre fencing targets any part of the body above the waist with the exception of the off hand.  Nop describes sabre fencing as, “Hit or be hit.  This style is very theatrical with stabbing and slashing.  It is difficult with many rules and it is a very quick game.  You will see it in the “Pirates of the Caribbean.”  Points are scored with the tip and the side of the weapon.

In martial arts, levels are deciphered by different colored belts.  In fencing the athletes have letter ratings.  Ratings begin at E and top off at an A rating.  An unrated fencer compares to a martial artist’s white belt.  Once you earn a rating it stands for four years.  Jake will have his “C” rating until 2016. One may earn letters by competing in tournaments.   Jake jumped from an “E” to a “C” at the beginning of this year.  He traveled as a qualifier for the Junior Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah this past February.  
Not many from the region go on to the Junior Olympics.  Most of the area fencers compete regionally in the Vermont, New Hampshire and New York areas.  

Fencing season usually starts up in the fall goes through the winter and winds down by Memorial Day.  “It is a great time to start and try it out right now!” Jake lets us know.  The spring season starts in Middlebury (Mary Hogan School) fencing classes are on Wednesdays, April 4-June 6 from 6:30pm-9pm.  In Charlotte classes are on Tuesdays April 3-June 5, from 7pm-9pm.

Jake is not sure what the future will hold in regards to his passion for fencing.  He is thinking about doing it in college, but not sure if it will be his main focus.  Good Luck Jake in all your endeavors.

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